Sending A Letter Of Support To The Girl Scouts Jim Howell (Reply) (6-01)

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Sending A Letter Of Support
To The Girl Scouts
Jim Howell

Reference: In Support of Inclusiveness

From: "Jim Howell"
To: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2001 7:20 AM
Subject: Positive Atheism Letters Section

Cliff:

I read your "In Support of Inclusiveness" and would like to send Girl Scout leader Connie Matsui a letter of support, but I would like to know what it is that she said or did that got the AFA so upset. I looked on both the Girl Scouts website and the AFA website, but was unable to find anything about this on either site. Do you have any details that might be helpful?

Thanks.
--Jim Howell

Cliff Walker responds:

We initially expressed our skepticism about the integrity of the spam, and deliberately did not post the spam for this very reason. But here's the entire spam nonetheless. Again: We are skeptical about the integrity of this spam and are posting it for informational purposes only. We highly recommend atheistic activists getting our facts straight before issuing direct statements. This is why our letter to the Girl Scouts was very general and deliberately vague: we do not have all the facts in this situation.

GIRL SCOUTS ATTACKED FOR INCLUSION OF LESBIANS AND GAYS
A group of religious extremists called the American Family Association, based in Tupelo Mississippi, is attacking the Girl Scouts because that organization refuses to discriminate against lesbians and gays. Unlike the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts has always been inclusive. In the mid-90s, the organization went on the public record with a statement to the Associated Press that said it does not discriminate based on sexual orientation. A few months ago, the Girl Scout national president, Connie Matsui, made favorable remarks about a video called "That's A Family," which positively depicts lesbian and gay family groups. (Ms. Matsui attended a screening at The White House during the final days of the Clinton Administration.)
The bigots at the American Family Association have sent 10,000 letters of protest to the national Girl Scout organization, demanding that Ms. Matsui retract her statement and/or resign. In contrast, the Girl Scouts have received only 5 -- that's right, five -- letters of support.
Please write to Ms. Matsui and let her know that we appreciate the Girl Scouts' stand on behalf of diversity and of gay and lesbian families. And please forward this message to all of your friends.
**Send messages to cmatsui@girlscouts.org**
It's important that the Girl Scouts hear from us, since they are beginning to equivocate on their stand. Let them know that they are doing the right thing!

Cliff Walker
"Positive Atheism" Magazine
Five years of service to
people with no reason to believe

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