Disney World withdraws funding from Boy Scouts of America

Company’s views do not align with those of the Scouts: report

Disney World has reportedly told the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) that it would no longer provide funding to Florida chapters because of the organization’s prohibition against out gay adults, Reuters reports.

Last year, the BSA voted to lift a ban on gay youth, a move that was welcomed in some quarters but criticized as too limited in scope as it means that gay youth will eventually be told they can no longer serve when they turn 18.

Reuters notes that BSA’s national council had tried to seek a resolution with Disney World but was reportedly told by the company that its views do not align with those of the Scouts.

The Walt Disney Company’s anti-discrimination policy states that employees are prohibited from “harassing any other employee, guest or other person in the course of the company’s business for any reason prohibited by law, including, but not limited to, race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, covered veteran status, mental or physical disability, pregnancy, or any other basis prohibited by state or federal law.”

Natasha Barsotti is originally from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. She had high aspirations of representing her country in Olympic Games sprint events, but after a while the firing of the starting gun proved too much for her nerves. So she went off to university instead. Her first professional love has always been journalism. After pursuing a Master of Journalism at UBC , she began freelancing at Xtra West — now Xtra Vancouver — in 2006, becoming a full-time reporter there in 2008.

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