LGBT POV

The late legendary LGBT activist Morris Kight must be clapping his hands with glee over this latest development with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Not only did the LA Police Commission finally sever ties between the LAPD and the antigay Boy Scouts of America after almost two decades of contention, but LGBTs are stepping up to help make the transition from the BSA-Learning for Life Explorer Program to the new LAPD Cadets.

Openly gay LA Police Commissioner Rob Saltzman, Associate Dean at USC Gould School of Law, told LGBT POV:

“I am very pleased that the LAPD has moved quickly to sever all ties with the Boy Scouts ahead of the December 31^st deadline.  I commend Chief Charlie Beck and Chief Earl Paysinger for making this transition a priority.  The young adults involved in the program deserve no less.

I was gratified to receive positive responses to my requests for financial support to finance the transition from the Explorers to the new LAPD Cadets.  (The primary cost was for new uniforms to replace the old Explorer uniforms that included a patch with an insignia of the Boy Scouts.) Donations to support the transition received included:

• $10,000 from the David Bohnett Foundation.
• $ 5,000 from the LA Gay and Lesbian Center.
• $ 1,000 from former Police Commissioner Shelley Freeman.

• Chief Paysinger secured donations from the LAPD Command Officers’ Association and from the Weingart Foundation.

• Another likely donor is the Wells Fargo Foundation.

Other good news is that Chief Paysinger reports that other law enforcement agencies throughout California have contacted him regarding their desire to partner with the LAPD in this new effort.  As a result, instead of the LAPD Cadets being isolated (as the critics feared), the actual end result may be that the Explorers themselves will end up being isolated from the rest of the law enforcement agencies that will not accept the Boy Scouts’ discriminatory policies and practices.

At the recent (final Explorers) graduation at the LAPD academy, I spoke with the Explorers Command Officers.  To a person, they are 100 percent in support of non-discrimination.  I found this very gratifying.

I am confident that the LAPD will create a new youth program that will not only be non-discriminatory, but will also be of the highest quality.  I look forward to the first LAPD Cadet graduation sometime in spring of 2010.”

Saltzman adds that

“people in the community who wish to support the transition from the old Explorers program to the new LAPD Cadets program may do so by making contributions directly to the LAPD Foundation with the gift directed toward the new LAPD Cadet Program.  The information is:

1.  The donors should make their donation payable to the Los Angeles Police Foundation with a note or memo on the check indicating that the funds are for the “Explorer Transition Fund”

2.  The checks should be mailed to the  Los Angeles Police Foundation, 515 South Flower Street, Suite 1680, Los Angeles, California, 90071, Attention: Beth Ryan, Senior Vice President

3. The link for donations is http://lapolicefoundation.org/

Sgt. Joseph Kuns, who is working with Paysinger on the transition, told me that the insignia and new uniforms will be modeled after those worn by the LAPD. At an earlier presentation, Paysinger said they were going for a “total transition away from the Explorer brand” – including name, insignia, uniform, marketing and website changes (among others).

Kuns said that as of now, the new program will be called “LAPD Cadets” and from Jan 1 until the new uniforms are completed and distributed by mid-January, the 1,000-3,000 youth ages 14-20 who participate in the program at 20 police stations around the city will wear everyday clothes or even sweats to their training sessions.

Paysinger told the Police Commission:

“There has been a major push to get this together and we are there.”

The youth program is a recruitment tool for largely at risk youth who seek a career in law enforcement. The LAPD began their association with the BSA’s youth Explorer Program in 1962, with its subdivision Learning for Life taking over in 1998.

Though Learning for Life professionals denied there was any discrimination against LGBT youth or scout leaders, evidence clearly showed an intermingling of finances and personnel with the discriminatory BSA.

Two of the primary reasons the LAPD and the Police Commission were reluctant to sever ties with the BSA/LFL program were because the outside outfit paid for insurance coverage for the young people and because the program had popular sports competitions with other BSA Explorer groups outside of Los Angeles.  With the severing of ties, the city has agreed to pick up the insurance tab and word of the new LAPD Cadet program has drawn inquiries from other law enforcement agencies also interested in breaking away from BSA.

In response to a complaint from a member of the public during the Dec. 23 hearing, Saltzman said that he has spent considerable time to ensure that the LAPD Cadets program is

“as good or – I’m confident – better than the program it replaces.

[snip]

The Boy Scouts are clear that they discriminate based on sexual orientation, gender identity and religion, and the result of that is I could not be active on the Boy Scouts.”

Police Commissioner Alan Skobin saidof the transition:

“It’s bittersweet in the sense that the Boy Scouts or Learning for Life have been part of this for a long time – in name only – but the LAPD is committed to a better program and we can do that without having discrimination.”

In an interview with me last November, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said he “absolutely” supports the Police Commission’s decision to severe ties.

“It should have happened a long time ago. There is no place for groups that practice that kind of discrimination in today’s LAPD.”

Roger Coggan, Legal Director for the LA Gay & Lesbian Center, said this about the final transition:

“This has been quite a chapter in our ongoing LGBT American narrative.

By its actions, the LAPD is sending a clear message of inclusiveness to the diverse communities of LGBT youth who may wish to pursue a career in policing. Beyond that, the positive ripple effects of this message will extend to communities of all sexual orientations, races, ethnicities and genders.

This happened because of the persistence of many, including [former Police Commissioners] Dean Hansell, Shelley Freeman and [LA Gay & Lesbian Center CEO] Lorri Jean, and Rob Saltzman — who deserves special kudos for expertly guiding the process and many players necessary to bring this to a most successful conclusion.”

Jon Davidson, Legal Director for Lambda Legal – who has played a role in the major lawsuits fighting BSA’s discrimination – said this:

“I feel very gratified that the LAPD is finally terminating its relationship with the Boy Scouts and instead supporting all youth, free from discrimination.  Lambda Legal has been fighting for this reform for nearly 10 years.

When other government bodies and funders such as the United Way previously sought to disassociate from the Boy Scouts because of its policy and practice of discriminating based on sexual orientation and religion, the Boy Scouts responded by setting up a shell organization called Learning for Life to run certain of its youth programs.  The LAPD properly saw through this sham, given the organizations’ co-mingling of funds and shared offices, staff, and management.

Hopefully, the LAPD’s decision will lead others to follow suit and stop supporting discrimination that harms young people and, ultimately, us all.”

But the news brought tears to the eyes of Rev. Troy Perry, founder of the Metropolitean Community Church, who in 1970 went before the LA Police Commission with Gay Liberation Front co-founder Morris Kight and Rev. Bob Humphries of the US Missions seeking a permit for a parade to celebrate the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York.

Perry recalled that as he was explaining why they wanted the permit, LAPD Chief Ed Davis interrupted and said:

“‘Did you know that homosexuality is illegal in the state of California?’ I looked at him, and I said, ‘No, sir, it’s not.’ We then debated the issue. And he said, ‘Well, I want to tell you something. As far as I’m concerned, granting a parade permit to a group of homosexuals to parade down Hollywood Boulevard would be the same as giving a permit to a group of thieves and robbers.’

Finally, the motion was made. One commissioner said, ‘There’ll be violence in the streets.’

’Well,’ I said, ‘I remember that Captain Wesley of the Hollywood Division said the same thing about the first Gay-In that the Gay Liberation Front sponsored. And he said, ‘Around 5:00, violence will start in that park.’ And around 5:00 the law moved in and started making arrests. That was the violence.’”

The Police Commission debated and announced they were against the parade but said:

“‘We’re going to give the permit, if you can post two bonds, one in the amount of $1 million, one in the amount of $500,000. And if you will post, in cash the amount of $1,500, that amount will go to pay for the policemen that it will take to protect you. And, you must have at least 3,000 people marching. If not, you go to the sidewalks.’”

Perry, Kight and Humphries called the ACLU – and Perry went on a fast to underscore their commitment to making the parade happen. The next day, the ACLU referred them to attorney Herbert Selwyn who appeared with them before the commission the following week. Perry said:

“The Police Commission dropped all of its specifications except the requirement that we pay $1,500 for police protection. That was to protect us from the hard hats that might attack us. “Well,” I said, “I didn’t know any hard hats in Hollywood.” So we left.”

The next stop was the California Superior Court where they got a court order granting the parade permit and requiring the police to provide protection. Perry said:

“In making his ruling, the judge said that we were all citizens of the State of California and entitled to equal protection under its laws. We would not pay any extra taxes or fees to the Los Angeles Police Department; and they were ordered to protect us as they would any other group.”

Of course, there were many antigay encounters with the LAPD – to which Kight always drew attention. For instance, when then City Attorney Burt Pines ordered the LAPD to stop persecuting gays by arresting them on morals violations (trying to pick up a man at a bar), then assistant police chief Daryl Gates told him,

“We don’t take instructions from the city attorney.”

The LAPD subsequently deployed a hundred police officers with guns and two helicopters to raid a Los Angeles Gay Community Services Center fundraiser. How ironic, then, that it was the LAPD and the Police Commission following the express opinion of LA City Attorney that the LAPD’s ties to the Boy Scouts of America violated the city’s anti-discrimination laws.

Perry said Wednesday:

“That was almost 40 years ago when we went before the Police Commission to celebrate Christopher Street West. I am thrilled to death to have lived to see what we started so early on still bearing fruit today – especially around the police and youth. They used to say all of us were child molesters. I cried when I saw Fairfax High School marching band in the CSW parade – it was unbelievable. And now, at long last, to have the Police Commission and the Police Department come around – to see this day arrive means more to me than you’ll ever know. And I’m sure Morris is looking down and he’s just applauding.”