May 22, 2001

Dear Representative:

On behalf of the 155,000 members and affiliates of the American Psychological Association (APA), I am writing to urge you to oppose the "Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act" to be offered shortly by Representative Van Hilleary as an amendment to the "Better Education for Students and Teachers Act." This amendment would deny all federal funds to any school district or state educational agency that has been found to "discriminate" against the Boy Scouts of America or any other youth group that denies membership to gays and lesbians, based solely on their sexual orientation.

The Boy Scouts are already protected under existing law. Although some public school districts may choose not to sponsor local Boy Scout troops because of their exclusionary policies, these policies apply only to sponsorship and NOT access to the facilities. The Boy Scouts, like all other groups, are entitled to the use of public facilities. The amendment is an unnecessary, unwarranted intrusion into a local school district's ability to set standards of use for their own facilities and gives the Boy Scouts and other youth groups unique rights that are not available to other student-led groups.

We question the merit of legislation that bestows special equal access protections upon an organization that in and of itself discriminates against a class of individuals -- namely, gay and lesbian persons. Based on psychological research in such areas as child development, sexual orientation, and prejudice, APA has challenged discrimination against gay, lesbian, and bisexual people, and has declared that such discrimination is detrimental to mental health and the public good.

One harmful justification used for discriminating against gay men working with children is the erroneous belief that they pose a particular danger to children. However, all available research data and clinical experience indicate that gay men are no more likely than heterosexual men to sexually abuse children. In addition, psychological research on child-rearing skills of gay and lesbian parents has consistently found that they are as good parents as their heterosexual counterparts and that their children do not differ appreciably from children raised by heterosexuals.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. For further information, please contact Lori Valencia Greene in our Public Policy Office at 202-336-5931.

Sincerely,

Henry Tomes, Ph.D.

Executive Director for Public Interest

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