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Boy Scout’s anti-gay stance blamed 

An Alameda County judge sided with Berkeley that the city has the right to charge the Sea Scout organization for docking its boats at the marina, after the group’s admission it does not allow openly gay members. 

The city stopped offering free berths in 1998 after the Sea Scouts, and the parent organization Boy Scouts of America, refused to budge on their anti-gay policies. The Sea Scouts sued in 1999 alleging a violation of the group’s rights of free speech and association. 

Alameda County Superior Court Judge James Richman ruled Friday that “public entities may condition public subsidies ... upon the recipient’s compliance with state and local laws that prohibit discriminatory membership policies.” 

Berkeley had provided free berthing to the Sea Scouts program since 1945. The Sea Scouts found their yearly renewal stymied inn 1998 after the Boy Scouts of America’s Mount Diablo Silverado Council denied a scoutmaster position to a man because he was gay. 

About 15 Sea Scouts were named as plaintiffs in the suit filed in 1999 against the city, seeking a return of the free berths for the group’s two sailboats and about $1.5 million in damages. 

But the city of Berkeley, long a climate for tolerance and inclusion at all levels involving public funds, held fast that it didn’t need to give away pricey waterfront berths to the organization that discriminates. 

“It seems like a no-brainer, you would think, that if you are going to get our money, there are strings,” said Deputy City Attorney Laura McKinney. “We don’t have a right to keep them out of there; we just have a right to refuse a public subsidy to them if they do not adhere to our requirements regarding nondiscriminating member policies.” 

The Sea Scouts issue was the center of heated public debate since 1998. Crowds overflowed at Berkeley city council meetings on the issue, which sharply divided supervisors. 

The Sea Scouts argued to the city council that they did not inquire about the sexual preferences of its members, but it someone was openly homosexual they would not meet membership requirements. 

Sea Scout officials were not available for comment after Richman’s ruling was released. The group has 60 days to appeal.