ACLU vs Boy Scout Case Heads To Court Of Appeals
April 5, 2006 - Chicago, IL - PipeLineNews.org - In 2005, a federal district court in Chicago sided with the ACLU and ruled that the military's support for the National Scout Jamboree - held once every four years at Fort A.P. Hill in Fredericksburg, Virginia - unconstitutional. The case is Winkler v. Rumsfeld, No. 05-3451 (7th Cir.).
The ACLU's claim is that the Scout Oath's "duty to God" makes the Boy Scouts a religious organization, like a church, and that military support for the Jamboree violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
If the ruling stands, the military may not lend equipment or provide logistical support to the Jamboree, as it does for many other civic organizations. The Department of Defense appealed this decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago. Oral arguments are now scheduled for Thursday, April 6 at 9:30 a.m. CST.
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