United Parcel Service (UPS) said earlier this month that it would stop giving money to the Boy Scouts of America because of the group's decision to continue its longtime policy of prohibiting homosexuals from serving as Scout leaders. UPS pulled the plug on the Boy Scouts in response to an online petition drive posted at Change.org that attracted some 80,000 signatures pressuring the company to stop its funding. The petition drive was launched by former Eagle Scout Zach Wahls, who has been pursuing an aggressive campaign against the Boy Scouts over the group's position on homosexual Scout leaders. Wahls was behind an earlier campaign targeting computer chip manufacturer Intel's Scout funding, and has also mounted a similar drive against Verizon.
Wahls, who was raised by his lesbian mother and her “partner,” founded Scouts for Equality as a vehicle for his anti-Boy Scout activism. “UPS showed true bravery today in standing with the 80,000 Americans, including thousands of Scouts and Scout leaders, who oppose the Boy Scouts’ hurtful anti-gay policy,” Wahls said in a statement following UPS' concession to his petition drive. “That bravery is what Scouting is all about. Corporate America gets it better than most: policies that discriminate aren’t simply wrong, they’re bad for business and they’re hurting the Scouting community.”
The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported that UPS had confirmed its policy change, which was reiterated in the following statement on the company's website: “The UPS Foundation seeks to support organizations that are in alignment with our focus areas, guidelines, and non-discrimination policy. UPS and the UPS Foundation do not discriminate against any person or organization with regard to categories protected by applicable law, as well as other categories protected by UPS and the UPS Foundation in our own policies. These include, but are not limited to race, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran or military status, pregnancy, age, and religion.”
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