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Statement of Boy Scouts of America: Court Rules Boy Scout Jamboree to Go Forward http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/04-04-2007/0004559911&EDATE= http://tinyurl.com/396mft IRVING, Texas, April 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Boy Scouts of America is pleased that the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit dismissed the ACLU's lawsuit against the Department of Defense for supporting the National Scout Jamboree. For more than 25 years, Boy Scouts have held the National Scout Jamboree every four years at Fort A.P. Hill near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Scouts from all over the country camp together for ten days and participate in activities emphasizing physical fitness, appreciation of the outdoors, and...

In 2005, a federal district court in Chicago sided with the ACLU and ruled that the military’s support for the National Scout Jamboree - held once every four years at Fort A.P. Hill in Fredericksburg, Virginia - unconstitutional. The case is Winkler v. Rumsfeld, No. 05-3451 (7th Cir.). The ACLU’s claim is that the Scout Oath’s “duty to God” makes the Boy Scouts a religious organization, like a church, and that military support for the Jamboree violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. If the ruling stands, the military may not lend equipment or provide logistical support to the...

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) filed a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago on Tuesday, November 8th, 2005, in Winkler v. Rumsfeld, a case involving the Boy Scouts of America. The brief was filed on behalf of the ACLJ as well as eighty-eight current members of the United States Congress. For almost sixty years, the United States military has provided supplies and services in support of the Boy Scouts' National Scout Jamboree held every four years. The military has supported the Boy Scouts because of their commitment to patriotism, good...