After suffering a heartbreaking defeat over the Boy Scouts’ renewed lease of parkland in Balboa Park two years ago — given the organization’s national policy barring gays from its ranks — our community received great news last week. On July 31, a federal judge ruled that the Boy Scouts’ lease with the city is unconstitutional, violating separation of church and state provisions in both state and federal constitutions. U.S. District Judge Napoleon Jones Jr. said the city had acted incorrectly when it renewed the Boy Scouts’ lease of 18 acres of prime parkland in 2001 for a token fee, saying the Boy Scouts’ national policy barring gays and atheists precludes it from receiving preferential treatment.

Though long overdue, the ruling comes as no surprise to GLBT and civil rights advocates in San Diego, who have argued for years that the city’s lease with the Scouts violates San Diego’s Human Dignity Ordinance (HDO), which, at the time of the vote, prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation.

As of last month, the HDO now also prohibits discrimination based on gender identity. At a time when we are strengthening the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance, it would seem absurd, if not criminal, to continue ignoring its fundamental tenets.

One thing the city council has now that it didn’t have when it voted to renew the Scouts’ lease is a progressive majority. Gone is the influence of vocally homophobic, former councilmember George Stevens, who was replaced by Charles Lewis. Though Stevens’ handpicked successor, Lewis campaigned as a friend of the GLBT community and vowed not to be a “mini-me” of his former boss. We can also cite the inclusion of progressive Democratic Councilmember Michael Zucchet, who has gone on record opposing the Scouts’ lease.

Though the council and city attorney’s office were scheduled to meet in closed session this past week to discuss the recent ruling, the Chargers inevitably swallowed up the council’s time and the issue has been pushed back until September.

This should give our community and its allies more than enough time to contact the mayor and the members of the city council to urge them to let the federal court’s ruling stand — regardless of the moral convictions of a handful of conservative constituents. Our country has separation of church and state laws that neither President George W. Bush (see page 26), nor the city of San Diego has the right to disregard.

For the council to spend hard-earned taxpayer dollars and valuable time arguing against the federal court’s ruling, upholding discrimination against a significant portion of San Diego residents would be outrageous — not to mention an ultimate embarrassment.

Just as history has shown discrimination against other groups to be wrong and shot down many a bigot clinging to ignorance, public opinion on GLBT Americans and their relationships is fast changing across the country. The day of using GLBT people as scapegoats is over.

Every week we hear of another United Way chapter across the country discontinuing its funding of the Boy Scouts, based on the organization’s discriminatory policies. Or of a Boy Scouts chapter challenging the organization’s national policy.

Before voting to renew the Scouts’ lease in 2001, Councilmember Scott Peters admitted that the vote was not easy for him. Peters said he didn’t think the council realized how personal the vote was for his colleague, openly lesbian Councilmember Toni Atkins, saying, “The message this sends to her is that she’s not qualified and she’s not good enough and that you have to be straight to be morally straight. And incidentally, as a Christian, I don’t think that’s what my religion says.”

Mayor Murphy also said he didn’t agree with the Scouts’ national policy before voting in favor of the lease.

As with Councilmembers Toni Atkins, Ralph Inzunza and Donna Frye — the sole opposing votes against the lease — we believe that each of our city council members knows at their core that sanctioning discrimination against the GLBT community is wrong. Now they have the legal opinion to back up their convictions — and should act accordingly. We should all urge the mayor and the city council to act with courage and conviction when they meet to discuss the issue next month.

To contact the office of Mayor Dick Murphy, phone (619) 236-6330 or e-mail DickMurphy@SanDiego.gov. Contact Councilmember Scott Peters at (619) 236-6611; Michael Zucchet at (619) 236-6622; Toni Atkins at (619) 236-6633; Charles Lewis at (619) 236-6644; Brian Maienschein at (619) 236-6655; Donna Frye at (619) 236-6616; Jim Madaffer at (619) 236-6677; and Ralph Inzunza at (619) 236-6688. You can also reach your city council representatives via e-mail by visiting their individual websites at www.sannet.gov/city-council.