Orlando – Walt Disney World cut its business support of the Boy Scouts of America over the organization’s refusal to end its ban on openly LGBT adults acting as troop leaders and volunteers.
For years, the “Ears to You” grant program presented by Walt Disney World made donations to organizations that volunteered their time, which included a variety of Boy Scout troops. As was announced Feb. 28, it will no longer fund local Scout units in support of employees’ volunteer work. Walt Disney World’s corporate Standards of Business Conduct states the company itself and any other affiliates of Disney must not allow “any form of harassment or discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identification, national origin, age, marital status, covered veteran status, disability, pregnancy or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.”
The Florida Council’s board president addressed the change in writing, saying:
“The National BSA Council has reached out to WDW to try to resolve the situation, however, according to WDW, their views do not currently align with the BSA and they are choosing to discontinue this level of support.”
In May 2013, the Boy Scouts of America’s National Council voted to end the ban on allowing openly gay youth to be Scouts, but it kept the ban on allowing openly gay adults to be troop leaders or volunteers.
Walt Disney World joins the ranks of many other companies, such as Lockheed Martin, Major League Soccer and UPS, which have ended their funding or support of the Boy Scouts because of the organization’s discriminatory policy.
“We’re never happy to see Scouting suffer as a result of the BSA’s anti-gay policy, but Disney made the right decision to withhold support until Scouting is fully inclusive,” Scouts for Equality co-founder Zach Wahls said in a statement. “Scouts for Equality will continue to advocate for a fully inclusive membership policy, to help build a stronger Scouting community that is eligible for the support of Corporate America.”
