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SEABOURN v. CORONADO AREA COUNCIL3/10/1995
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Bradford W. Seabourn appeals from summary judgment granted to the defendants, Coronado Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, a Kansas not for profit corporation, and Boy Scouts of America, a Washington, D.C., not for profit corporation (the defendants hereinafter are referred to as the Boy Scouts), ruling that "Boy Scouts is not a public accommodation" as that term is used in the Kansas Act Against Discrimination, K.S.A. 44-1001 et seq.
The court ruled that the Boy Scouts could legally deny Seabourn's registration to serve as an adult leader of the Boy Scouts because of his unwillingness to subscribe to the religious principles of the organization. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we agree that the Boy Scouts are not "public accommodations" under the Kansas Act Against Discrimination and affirm.
The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated in 1910 in the District of Columbia. In 1915, the First Session of the 64th Congress
of the United States of America undertook to incorporate the Boy Scouts. Section 3 of the Charter stated:
"That the purpose of this corporation shall be to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in Scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods which are now in common use by Boy Scouts." Section 4 reflected that the "object and purposes [of the Boy Scouts were] solely of a benevolent character and not for pecuniary profit to its members."
In the "Congressional Report in Support of Act to Incorporate Boy Scouts of America" it is stated:
"The Boy Scout movement is . . . intended to supplement and enlarge established modern educational facilities in activities in the great and healthful out of doors where may be the better developed physical strength and endurance, self-reliance, and the powers of initiative and resourcefulness, all for the purpose of establishing through the boys of today the very highest type of American citizenship.
"It tends to conserve the moral, intellectual, and physical life of the coming generation, and in its immediate results does much to reduce the problem of juvenile delinquency in the cities. . . .
"The Scout scheme is based upon the methods involved in educating the boy. It is a scheme of placing the boy on honor. In addition to requiring him to live up to a standard or code of laws which insure development of character along proper lines, it requires him to study in order to pass certain tests of qualification. The passing of these various tests is recognized by the award of appropriate badges or medals and insignia.
"If any boy can secure these badges without meeting the required tests, the badges will soon be meaningless, and one of the leading features of the Scout program will be lost. Likewise, with the uniform which designates the Scout. At the present time this is protected by the use of insignia — a seal woven or stamped into the cloth. All of these various badges and insignia are at present protected by the patent laws, but under the patent laws such protection is available for a limited period only. The passing by Congress of this bill will, it is believed, provide the organization with proper protection for its distinctive insignia, the integrity of which is essential to the maintenance of the movement, and protect it from those who are seeking to profit by the good repute and high standing and popularity of the Scout movement by imitating it in name alone."
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