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East Oregonian
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Elation, alarm at end of Boy Scouts’ ban on gays
By DAVID CRARY
and LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY —
The lifting of the Boy Scouts
of America’s ban on gay adult
leaders prompted some gay
Eagle Scouts to quickly rejoin
the movement on Tuesday.
But the Mormon church —
the nation’s largest sponsor
of Scout units — warned that
it may split away to form a
global scouting organization
of its own.
The contrasting reactions
followed the BSA national
executive board’s 45-12 vote
on Monday to lift the nation-
wide ban while allowing
church-sponsored Scout units
to continue excluding gay
adults.
Across the country, scores
of gay Eagle Scouts signed
forms with the advocacy
group Scouts for Equality,
expressing interest in rejoining
the Boy Scouts as volunteers.
Among them was Charles
Spain, a 56-year-old attorney
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worn a Scout uniform since
his post-college years as an
in-the-closet Scout employee
before he entered law school.
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
In this June 28 file photo, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts
prepare to lead marchers while waving rainbow-
colored flags at the 41st annual Pride Parade in Seattle,
two days after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay
marriage nationwide.
On Tuesday morning, he
registered as an adult leader
with the local Scout troop that
his 13-year-old son belongs
to, then hurried out to buy a
uniform and posted a photo of
it on his Facebook page.
“I haven’t worn a Scout
uniform in 30 years,” said
Spain. “I support and believe
in the Scouting program. It’s
the best youth program that’s
ever been invented.”
The mood was different
at the Salt Lake City head-
quarters of The Church of
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would have liked DPSST
to create the standards
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“The in-car cameras
essentially are regulated by
industry standard,” he said.
“There is no legislation
that says this is how it will
be deployed. A camera’s a
camera. Why are we making
this distinction about body
cameras?”
Roberts said he has
spoken with other chiefs who
have stopped using body
cameras since the legislation
was passed.
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Jason Edmiston agreed that
the new regulations will deter
other agencies from imple-
menting body cameras, but
he said his department will
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although the bill was a “good
compromise” compared to
the initial proposals, he was
not overly happy with it.
The department began
mandating
that
patrol
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three and a half months ago.
Edmiston said he does not
plan to change the policy
he drafted then because
it complies with the new
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group was trying to develop
a standardized policy, at
which point he may modify
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Edmiston said he would
have preferred that the
Department of Public Safety
Standards and Training
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the legislative mandates in
the bill are “setting the table
for future legislation,” which
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using their discretion.
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bothers me because it starts
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tion, and I think once we go
there, you’re going to have
nothing but a bunch of robots
out here that cannot operate
in the gray, which — like it
or not, call it what it is — a
lot of what police do is in the
gray because we’re looking
for what’s reasonable,” he
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and white, you’re not going
to like them. It’s not going to
be fun for anybody.”
Edmiston said he was
pleased that the law did not
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their entire shift. The depart-
ment purchased 15 cameras
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contract for a total of about
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little more than a quarter of
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were generated when the
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at any given time were only
recording their interactions
with people.
Edmiston said, in prin-
ciple, he is opposed to the
exemption of the recordings
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said, however, editing the
video to blur the faces is
extremely time consuming,
and many of the recordings
would pertain to pending
criminal matters, which
would not be released until
after a trial anyway.
“The concept of keeping
stuff from the public is
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because, frankly, those days
are over,” he said. “If it’s a
matter that’s pending, the
person deserves a right to a
fair trial.”
Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, which described itself
as “deeply troubled” by the
BSA’s decision to lift the
nationwide ban.
Just two weeks earlier,
Mormon leaders indicated
they were comfortable with
the pending policy change.
But in a strongly worded state-
ment issued after Monday’s
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described the admission of
openly gay leaders as “incon-
sistent with the doctrines of
the Church.”
One possibility, church
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be for the Mormons to form
their own worldwide scouting
movement.
The Mormons’ statement
noted that the church has
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of them without scouting
programs. “Those worldwide
needs combined with this vote
by the BSA National Execu-
tive Board will be carefully
reviewed by the leaders of the
Church in the weeks ahead,”
the statement added.
At Boy Scout headquar-
ters in Texas, reaction to the
Mormons’ declaration was
muted.
The BSA issued its own
statement expressing appreci-
ation for its long relationship
with the Mormon church, and
asserting, “America’s youth
are better off when they are in
Scouting.”
A conservative activist
in Utah, Gayle Ruzicka,
applauded the Mormons’
tough reaction and noted that
the church already ran its own
scouting-style program for
young women.
“There’s not any reason
why the church can’t start
their own boys’ program —
one that will teach the same
things,” she said.
Brad Daw, a Republican
legislator in Utah who’s
been involved in Scouting
since he was 11, said he was
disheartened by the BSA vote
to allow gay leaders, but also
saddened about the “pretty
big hint” by church leaders of
a Mormon exodus from Boy
Scouting.
Given that most units in
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Daw said, being part of the
BSA is “an opportunity for
us to welcome boys from
other faiths to be part of the
Scouts.”
The Mormon church
— which serves more than
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38,000 scout units — still
opposes gay marriage and
believes homosexuality is a
sin. But the religion’s leaders
have shifted their tone on
gay rights in recent years,
away from harsh rhetoric
and toward compassion
and acceptance of gays and
lesbians.
The church was deeply
involved in compromise
legislation enacted in Utah in
March that extends nondis-
crimination protections to
gays, lesbians, bisexuals and
transgender people, while
providing exemptions for
religious groups and for the
Boy Scouts.
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FLOOD: City crews saw no
damage to nearby streets
Next door, Sister’s Cafe
co-owner
Rosemary Garcia
said a family member he sent
reported
extensive water
to get them was not able to
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fetch them in time. “I wasn’t
that
prohibited
her from
even mad about it,” he said
of the broken window, which reopening until Monday.
has since been covered with There was minimal smoke
and water damage to a few
plywood.
Garcia said he and his other Main Street buildings.
Public Works Superinten-
brother Chris do not currently
dent
Jeff Brown said streets
have insurance for the shop.
around
the old city hall
But he said they will invest in
building
do not seem to be
LWDIWHUWKH¿UH+HFDOOHGWKH
damaged in any way.
incident an “eye-opener.”
Continued from 1A
POT SALES: Walla Walla
shop will open next month
La Grande. According to
the La Grande Observer,
edibles.
Because
they
have its city council will discuss
been banned, there are no at next week’s meeting
dispensaries in Umatilla or whether to ban the pre-sale
Morrow counties. Many of recreational marijuana in
FLWLHV LQFOXGLQJ +HUPLVWRQ the city.
A retail marijuana shop
and Pendleton, have banned
will
open in Walla Walla
dispensaries as well.
in
August,
according to the
The nearest medical
Union-Bulletin.
dispensary in Oregon is in
Continued from 1A
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