To say that the city council completely derailed justice when they made their decision to support the Boy Scouts brand of bigotry on Dec. 4, 2001, would be putting it lightly. Fortunately the justice system has stepped in to hold them responsible and explained to the city council, City Attorney Casey Gwinn and San Diego Superior Court Judge-turned-mayor Dick Murphy that the Scouts’ lease of taxpayer subsidized land in Balboa Park is tantamount to the city endorsing religion —which is indeed unconstitutional.

“It is clear that the Boy Scouts of America’s strongly held private, discriminatory beliefs are at odds with values requiring tolerance and inclusion in the public realm,” said U.S. District Judge Napoleon Jones Jr. in his judgment.

Regardless of what the city council was advised by City Attorney Casey Gwinn, the lease extension was the result of exclusive negotiations that implied the city’s endorsement of the Scouts’ “inherently religious programs and practices,” said Jones.

It’s a lesson and slap on the hand that is long overdue.

With the backing of the federal courts and the Constitution of the United States of America, the city had the opportunity to stand up to the boy scouts when they voted in closed session on what their next step should be. Of course, no one can be sure what options City Attorney Casey Gwinn gave the council in regards to what they should do next. Suffice it to say the council opted only to take baby steps towards rectifying the situation this week, voting not to participate in the boy scouts current appeal.

Don’t get us wrong, we’re thrilled that the boy scouts are out in the woods on their own — facing the “big bad wolf” they would have us believe the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is. On the other hand, the Boy Scouts went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to prove that they were a private organization and therefore had the right to be bigots — they pitched their tent, now it’s time to camp in it.

More to the point, it’s about time the city council stop hiding behind closed doors and really talk seriously about getting the Scouts out of our park. As taxpaying San Diego citizens, Balboa Park belongs to each and every one of us, not just those the Boy Scouts deem “morally straight.”

We cannot tolerate anymore baby steps from our city council; no more waiting for council members to be drug kicking and screaming into a modern world that does not endorse discrimination. It’s time to talk seriously about terminating the boy scouts lease in Balboa Park.

The GLBT community and other fair-minded San Diego citizens have known this lease was wrong for years — the city has been given the message repeatedly, by some of their own colleagues.

Four years ago the ACLU sent the city attorney and then mayor Susan Golding a letter explaining that the lease was wrong and the city chose to ignore the issue. Now Federal Court Judge Napoleon Jones Jr. has told them that they were not only wrong to extend the lease, but shouldn’t have granted it in the first place.

Voting not to appeal this ruling is simply not enough. The city needs to take the lead and show its residents that it is serious about being America’s Finest City, or as Mayor Murphy puts it, “A city worthy of our affection.”

Until the city council stands up for the rights of every single one of its residents, this cannot be America’s Finest City and it will not be worthy of our affection.

The Gay and Lesbian Times calls upon all of the members of our community to contact their city council representatives, and, while thanking them for not supporting the Boy Scouts’ appeal to Judge Jones’ ruling, let them know that they have not gone far enough. With the federal court’s ruling on our side, it is time for the city council to send a message to the Boy Scouts and all organizations who would follow in their footsteps: discrimination will not be tolerated in our city. To contact your city council representatives and the mayor, visit www.sandiego.gov and click on the link for city hall.

Next Thursday, Sept. 11, at 6:30 p.m., the GLBT community will be hosting a reception for Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante at the home of Tom Felkner and Bob Lehman and the Gay and Lesbian Times is asking our community to come out and show their support. Bustamante has proven himself a friend and ally of the GLBT community over his many years in office and the legislature, appointing three openly lesbian legislators to key state leadership positions and lobbying hard for AB 205, a bill which would grant domestic partners almost all of the rights of marriage offered by the state of California. As of press time, in no small part due to the efforts of Bustamante, that bill had cleared its final legislative hurdle and is now headed for Gov. Gray Davis’s desk.

For more information on the reception, call (619) 692-1967 or (619) 291-4043.