Disney Pulls Donations to Boy Scouts Following Ban on Gay Leaders

The Boy Scouts of America will no longer receive donations from the Walt Disney Company starting next year after the company decided that it does not supports the scouts’ policy to ban gay adult leaders.

Disney hasn’t commented yet, but a Disney spokeswoman told the Orlando Sentinel that the company does not give grants to organizations that "operate or support activities that are counter to the policies of The Walt Disney Company."

According to Disney's charitable giving guidelines, groups are ineligible to receive Disney funding if they "discriminate in the provision of services unlawfully or in a manner inconsistent with Disney's policies on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, marital status, mental or physical ability, or sexual orientation."

The Boy Scouts organization said they are "disappointed" by the decision, Deron Smith, a Boy Scouts spokesman, said in a statement Sunday.

"We believe every child deserves the opportunity to be a part of the Scouting experience and we are disappointed in this decision because it will impact our ability to serve kids," he said.

Disney’s decision to cut its funding came after the president of a Boy Scout council in Orlando, Fla. sent a memo to other troops about the decision.

Through its VoluntEARS program, Disney allows employees to do volunteer work in exchange for cash donations to the charities of their choice, which had included the Boy Scouts.

Earlier this year, the Boy Scouts lifted a ban on gay youth.Some argued the policy didn’t go far enough, while conservative advocates argued the youth organization has abandoned its core values.

Publication Date: March 4, 2014.