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| State Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs) has promised to introduce legislation banning the state from doing business with Bank of America for the bank’s refusal to donate to the Boy Scouts of America. |
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HOME > NEWS > LOCAL
By: RYAN LEE
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State Rep. Earl Ehrhart, who has twice sponsored legislation preempting the city of Atlanta from not doing business with private companies that discriminate against gay men and lesbians, is threatening to end the state’s business with Bank of America because the Republican lawmaker said it discriminates against the Boy Scouts of America.
In April, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation informed the Alapaha Area Council Boys Scouts chapter in south Georgia that the bank would no longer support the troop because it “cannot provide funding to any organization that practices discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, or veteran or disability status.”
The national policy of the Boys Scouts of America prohibits openly gay men and atheists from serving as scoutmasters. Bank of America Charitable Foundation officials told the south Georgia chapter that its funding application may be reconsidered if it was to “depart from the current discriminatory practices of the national organization.”
Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs) and state Sen. John Wiles (R-Kennesaw) responded by promising to introduce legislation next year that would allow the state not to do business with Bank of America and other companies that legislators believe discriminate.
“I don’t think the citizens of Georgia would want their tax dollars going to a business that discriminates against the Boy Scouts of America,” said Wiles, who voted to support Ehrhart’s previous legislation to negate Atlanta’s Equal Benefits ordinance, which required city contractors to provide the same benefits to gay couples as married couples.
Ehrhart did not respond to interview requests by press time, and Bank of America spokesperson Alex Liftman declined comment on any possible legislation.
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation implemented its non-discrimination policy Jan. 1, 2006, after Bank of America merged with FleetBoston Financial, Liftman said.
Other corporations and charities have also severed ties with the Boy Scouts because of the group’s anti-gay policies, including several chapters of United Way. However, the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta continues funding the Boy Scouts, including donating more than $1.1 million to three local chapters last year.
“The volunteers who lead United Way have elected to continue supporting Boy Scout programs, placing the needs of local youth in our 13-county region above any other considerations,” according to a statement from the United Way of Metro Atlanta.
The United Way of Metro Atlanta requires grant recipients to agree not to discriminate in “opportunity for participation in programs, policy formulation, and staff employment,” but the non-discrimination policy does not include sexual orientation.
The United Way also donates to several local HIV/AIDS and gay organizations, including AID Atlanta, AIDS Survival Project, Positive Impact, Jerusalem House, Project Open Hand and YouthPride. YouthPride saw the size of its grant increase about 30 percent from last year, going from $29,000 to $41,782.
While it objects to the Boy Scouts’ ban on gay scoutmasters, YouthPride Executive Director Edward Gray said the organization isn’t troubled by the United Way’s continued support of the scouts.
“The United Way is an attempt to bring together 300,000 donors in the metro Atlanta area to find a ‘united way’ — but we can’t agree on everything,” Gray said.
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