Stonewall Akron is in the process of finalizing plans to respond to the anti-gay actions of the Boy Scouts of America. We believe this action is important because of the outrageousness of what the Boy Scouts did and because, like the military and marriage, the Boy Scouts are regarded as an institution central to American culture.

The Boy Scouts of America is one of only a few other organizations, including the American Red Cross, and the American Legion to be chartered by Congress, giving them access to public schools and governmental institutions that other not-for-profit organizations do not have.

The United Ways are a major source of the Boy Scouts’ funding. Between Summit, Stark and Portage Counties, the United Ways give the Boy Scouts more than $500,000 per year. That is more than any other youth organization per capita.

You can do something about that.

Because United Way money is allocated a year in advance and based on projected contributions, if you only tell the United Way that you don’t want your contribution to benefit the Boy Scouts, it doesn’t change the amount they get.

Instead, to make a difference, you must refuse to send the United Way your money, replacing it with a letter stating that you will give no more until they stop funding the Boy Scouts.

Get a list of the organizations your United Way funds. Choose the ones you want to support and send them your contribution directly with a note telling them why you are doing it.

Learn more about what you can do about the bigotry of the Boy Scouts at www.lambdalegal.org

Also, keep the evening of September 12 open for a possible direct action in Canton.

But we can shed a little light. Be political, not polite -- Romanovsky and Phillips