A Boy Scout is supposed to be trustworthy, loyal and helpful and now Utah is joining a legal battle to make sure a Boy Scout is also worthy of charity. Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has signed a friend of the court brief that challenges Connecticut’s decision to eliminate the Boy Scouts of America from a list of charitable organizations used by state employees for payroll deductions.

"The state of Connecticut has ignored all of the positive ideals of Scouting and decided to punish the organization because of its leadership policies," says Shurtleff.

Connecticut decided the Boy Scouts of America must be excluded from the list because the organization does not allow gay adult leaders. The brief argues that a government cannot exclude an organization because it disagrees with their view on a single issue.

"The Roman Catholic Church might be told to ordain women priests or lose its tax exemption for church property. A political party might be told it must stop criticizing a Governor’s proposal to rase taxes or lose the right to hold its conventions in a publicly owned arena," the brief states.

The Second Circuit Court has upheld Connecticut’s decision but most courts have ruled against any government effort to regulate First Amendment rights. Here are some examples:

• The Eighth Circuit Court held that Missouri cannot keep a private organization like the Ku Klux Klan from participating in an "adopt a highway" litter clean up program.
• The Eleventh Circuit Court ruled that universities cannot refuse to fund gay and lesbian student clubs.
• The U.S. Supreme Court ordered a private parade organization to include an entry from the Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston.

"We do not believe that the First Amendment gives the government such censorship power. Inclusion in the State Employees Charitable Fund should not depend on whether a government bureaucrat agrees or disagrees with that group's ideas," says Utah Solicitor General Annina Mitchell.

The friend of the court brief was authored by the Attorney General of Virginia and includes signatures of the Attorneys General of Utah, Idaho, South Dakota and Alabama.

12:42:34 PM