LGBT POV

After almost a decade of complaints from the LGBT community about the connection between the LAPD and the Boy Scouts of America, the Los Angeles Police Commission Tuesday indicated they are moving forward with plans to start a youth program of their own.

The LAPD’s Explorers Program has been run by the Learning for Life (LFL) organization, which community activists and three gay police commissioners have repeatedly proven has direct ties with the antigay Boys Scouts of America (BSA).  In fact, even the first line of Wikipedia (last updated May 26) on Exploring says, Exploring is a worksite-based program of Learning for Life, a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America, for young men and women who are 14 through 20 years old.

Contracting with businesses or organizations that discriminate based on sexual orientation – as the private, religious BSA has a US Supreme Court-granted right to do – violates city law.

Former LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo issued an opinion that waffled on the LFL-BSA connection, but suggested the LA Police Commission should err on the side of doing what’s right. Newly elected LA City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, however, not only declared that a connection existed but said:

“LFL provided us with what it contends is the LA Scouts’ policy on non-discrimination. The document is entitled ‘Sexual Advocacy or Behavior: Zero Tolerance Statement’…..

This LA Scouts document falls well short of a policy of non-discrimination…..and does not comply with the City’s law. If LAFD or LAPD desire to continue to contract out the administration of their youth development programs and the LA Scouts desire to be a contractor or subcontractor, then the LA Scouts should adopt a non-discrimination policy that adheres to the City’s law on non-discrimination.”

At the outset of Tuesday’s meeting, Commission President John Mack noted that the issue was “a very, very significant one that has been with us for several years.” Mack and openly gay Commissioner Rob Saltzman talked about how the Explorers Program itself was a “very valuable service” and both pressed the LFL hard and directly about their connections to the BSA.

After praising the program’s services, Salzman said:

“The issue today is how that program will be administered going forward – by the Police Department or an outside group, and if an outside group – they must be in full compliance with city law.”

He suggested that if the LAPD contracted with LFL to run the Explorers Program, LFl, the local BSA – and the national Boy Scouts of America would have to change their policies to comport with the nondiscrimination policies of the city. If a contractor is not in compliance, he asked, how could the LAPD continue the contract?

Attorney Robert Scoular, who serves as a pro bono attorney for LFL, declared that LFL had already severed ties with BSA and promised to comply with city laws if the city attorney would just provide them with the proper language and a contract, not a memorandum of understanding.

Scoular said:

“Those changes can and will be made by Learning for Life.”

And he went on to promise that BSA would not be involved in the “delivery of the program.”

Mack pressed him hard and directly on whether there was still any connection with BSA – saying he met with LFL’s executive director who was then “on the payroll of the Boy Scouts.”

Mack got a laugh saying he was “trying to be as diplomatic as possible, though it ain’t easy” – and then referred to a Gladys Knight song: “neither one of us wants to be the first one to say goodbye.”

This was a very welcome change from the position Mack took during the Nov. 20, 2007 commission meeting when – despite emotional goodbyes and awarding the Police Commission Distinguished Service Medal to retiring openly gay commissioner Shelley Freeman who raised the LFL-BSA issue again – Mack and his colleagues punted.

In a quick interview during a break at Tuesday’s meeting, Mack told me they were waiting for a definitive decision and guidance from the city attorney – which they now have. But for LGBT people in the audience who have long admired Mack, that 2007 farewell to Freeman and punting of the issue was a let down, even an insult. How could this hero of the civil rights movement not get the discrimination-connection. When I asked Mack about this, he didn’t seem to know how to respond and abruptly stopped the interview to re-start the meeting.

But despite earlier concerns, confidence was restored as Mack presided over a meeting with commissioners who were clearly fed up – finally – with the flimflam of the LFL/BSA.

Saltzman – the openly gay, married commissioner who looks like a distinguished USC legal academic – emerged as a kind of Rachel Maddow-style Geek Superhero.

He raised a brochure which he said had come attached with a LFL letter last week – and quipping that the new LAPD facility now had computers – he said he’d googled the address on the brochure and the address on the letter and they both were both BSA-related. And, he said, he’d been through all LFL’s 990s for the last year available – 2007.

Saltzman said:

“We’ve been told that these changes have been made. But there’s no demonstration of that.”

It was an unexpected “gotcha” moment that raised eyebrows and created a new LGBT hero.

Several people spoke during the public comment period, including Lorri Jean, CEO of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, and Paul Waters, Executive Director of Los Angeles/Valley Pride.

Waters said:

“But Learning for Life is nothing but the Boy Scouts in disguise – or in this context, the Boy Scouts in drag. A subsidiary shell organization created in 1991, then and now under the full control of the Boy Scouts from when the heats gets too hot – and the Boy Scouts have need for a shill, ready and waiting, to be the recipient – of the programs and the assest in danger of being lost – if retained within the prejudicial and discriminatory organization that IS the Boy Scouts.

The LAPD Cadet program being a prime example of this — deceptively shuttled off to Learning for Life when the heat started getting too hot.”

Lorri Jean said:

The L.A. Board of Fire Commissioners has already voted to disaffiliate with Learning for Life.  So, too, must this Commission vote to sever all ties with that Boy Scouts affiliate.  This result has the full support of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Complete disassociation from Learning for Life would be required even if there were not an alternative to their youth program.  Fortunately, the LAPD is prepared to administer its own impressive youth program; one without any hint of anti-gay discrimination or association with anti-gay discriminators.  There can be no price put on the value of a non-discriminatory program.”

Ah, but here may be a rub.

During his presentation, Assistant Chief Paysinger revealed that the LAPD had been preparing for this transition and presented an outline for the “future of LAPD youth programs.”

At no time, however, did he mention the word “gay” or “LGBT,” or if or how there would be recruitment of and outreach to LGBT youth and potential scout leaders, or how openly LGBT youth and scout masters would be integrated into the new plan. Nor did he indicate that there are openly gay people currently in the program who might be able to offer counsel – a glaring omission since he stressed the importance of getting a “buy-in” from youth currently in the Explorers Program.

During his comments, LFL’s David Tomblin said LFL in fact does have openly LGBT youth.  But given their track record of obfuscation, it is unclear if there are any open LGBTs youths and scouts in the program – something Paysinger should have known and reported since this brouhaha is about LGBT people, not just an unlawful contract.

Paysinger later told me that he is not concerned about homophobia within the ranks or within the program because the he doesn’t care about race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation – nondiscrimination principles are taught in the Explorer Academy.  He apparently is not anticipating any problems after openly gay youth and scouts are integrated into the new program.

There are a couple of red flags for me here.

Paysinger spent a lot of time talking about marketing and re-branding the Explorer Program as if he was doing a sales pitch on behalf of the company apparently already hired to do what he was laying out. It’s the same company, he said, that did the successful LAPD recruitment ads. First, that sounds like a no-bid contract arrangement that should draw some attention.

But as some LGBT community leaders may remember, that is the same company that introduced their new recruitment advertising and marketing plan at the Chief’s LGBT Community Forum a few years ago – and forgot to include any representation of the LGBT community at all!

That was rectified after much complaining. But for all the talk about marketing and re-branding the new LAPD youth program – once again there was no mention of reaching out to the LGBT community – confusing since this is the community most directly impacted by the change.

Additionally, this is the same Paysinger who defiantly put up a huge Explorer banner on Parker Center to aggressively promote recruitment and support for the Learning for Life program – at the same time the Police Commission was last questioning the connection to the BSA and thus, the validity of the program. Additionally, he directly and defied openly gay Police Commissioner Shelley Freeman’s order to take the banner down and only did so when ordered by Commissioner John Mack.

Paysinger referenced that aggressive recruitment during the commission hearing Tuesday – talking about the 1,000 new recruits. “These young people came and they came by the legions,” Paysinger said. That he recruited those “legions” of young people under a banner he knew was emblematic of discrimination of LGBT people and defiance of an openly gay police commissioner – and talked about it Tuesday with pride – is a cause for concern if Paysinger is the man overseeing the transition and implementation of any new program that has to do with LGBT people.

It should also raise a red flag with advisors to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is in the process of considering a replacement for Bratton. The LA Times says that Paysinger is among the top four LAPD insiders being considered for the job. Of the other three – Assistant Chiefs Jim McDonnell and Sharon Papa and Deputy Chief Charlie Beck, only McDonnell (pictured here, center) has consistently been involved with the LGBT community, from LAPD forums and LGBT events such as the annual Pride events.

Matt Szabo, Villaraigosa’s openly gay Deputy Chief of Staff, says of the lack of gays on the advisory board:

“There is absolutely no question that the interests and concerns of the LGBT community will be well-represented as the mayor chooses his nominee for police chief.”

But by whom on that advisory board?  As wonderful and as legendary as Connie Rice is as a longtime and highly regarded civil rights activist who constantly stands up for us – does she know the LGBT community’s long history with the LAPD, Learning for Life, and the Boy Scouts, for instance, to be able to ask nuanced questions and give cultural marrow-bone advice?

Meanwhile, Shelley Freeman (pictured here with Chief Bratton), who now lives and works in Florida, said this about the long awaited severance of LAPD ties with BSA:

At long last, the Explorer Program is out of the closet. I wouldn’t expect anything else from the LA Police Commission than what they did today – which is to put an end to the LAPD’s association with this bigoted organization.

I implore the commission to see its action through to the end and I expect the Police Commission to be vigilant in its oversight of policy – not just in the manner it is intended but in practice.”

The LA Police Commission instructed Paysinger to return in two weeks with a detailed plan for the separation and new LAPD youth program.