Scouting in the United States

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Scouting in the United States can refer to Scouting associations that are recognized by one of the international Scouting organizations as well as independent groups that are considered to be "Scout-like"or otherwise Scouting related.

Contents

[edit] Scouting organizations

[edit] Scouting for boys

The Boy Scouts of America is by far the largest supplier of Scouting to boys in the United States of America. The BSA is the only Scouting association of significance in the United States that boys can join and there are no comparable alternative organizations available to them throughout most of the country.

The situation is different in some countries where there are a number of Scouting associations with varying membership criteria. Some of these associations may be segregated on the basis of ethnicity, language, or religion; and some may have more inclusive membership criteria than the BSA (see Mainstream Scouting membership policies).

Scouting began in the United Kingdom in 1907. After the founding of the Boy Scouts of America in 1910 and having received the endorsement of Baden-Powell, the BSA began an active campaign to absorb all other Scout-type youth organizations in the United States.[2] As a result, essentially all competitors had ceased to exist within a few years.

[edit] Federal charter

In order to thwart commercial exploitation and competing Scouting organizations (some of which advocated certain religions, or drill and military instruction), the BSA lobbied Congress for a federal charter to afford it the sole rights to Scouting in the United States.[1] The Boy Scouts of America was granted a federal charter in 1916, stating that their purpose is to,

"promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916."

It is codified as 36 U.S.C. Chapter 309.[2] A federal charter is considered to be a prestigious national recognition of an organization.[3]

After the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Boy Scouts of America v. Dale in June 2000, the Scouting for All Act was initiated in July 2000. It was an attempt to repeal the BSA's federal charter because as stated in the bill, the BSA "sets an example of intolerance through its discriminatory policy regarding sexual orientation".[3] The effort failed in the U.S. House of Representatives in September 2000 by a vote of 12 - 362.[4]

[edit] Litigation

The BSA has litigated to protect what it sees as its right to Scouting in the United States. The BSA sued an early competitor in 1917, the United States Boy Scout, which folded after the court ruled that they could no longer use the terms "Boy Scout", "Scout", "Scouting", or any variation thereof.[4]. The BSA was likely aided in this lawsuit by a provision in the federal charter that gives the BSA the "exclusive right to use emblems, badges, descriptive or designating marks, and words or phrases" that they adopt.

By 1930, the BSA claimed to have stopped 435 groups from unauthorized use of "Scouting" or similar words as part of an organizational name or for commercial products.[5] Currently, the BSA actively protects its registered trademarks of words like "Scouting" and its claimed right to the word "Scout" (by association) through legal means.[6]

In 2003, the BSA filed a Notice of Opposition with the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) against the founder of the Youthscouts, claiming that the registration and continued use of the term "Youthscouts" would be "likely to cause confusion, deception, mistake, and misrepresentation" regarding the name's source or sponsorship, and would cause injury and damage to the BSA.[7] Their grounds for opposition include an allegation that the word "Scout" is recognized by Americans as being connected with the BSA and points out that some dictionaries' definition of "Scout" includes "a member of the Boy Scouts".

The founder of the Youthscouts responded by filing a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court asking for the cancellation of BSA's federal trademark registrations, claiming among other things that, "The BSA is guilty of unclean hands resulting from the BSA's violation of the antitrust laws of the United States, including, without limitation, obtaining registrations involving generic or descriptive terms through fraud, and using such registrations to prevent competitors from using the terms, in an illegal effort by [the BSA] to monopolize and maintain a monopoly in the market for scouting programs for boys." [8] As of March 2007, the Court is awaiting a ruling by the TTAB prior to proceeding.

[edit] Scouting for girls

The Girl Scouts of the USA is by far the largest supplier of Scouting to girls in the United States of America. The GSUSA is the only Scouting association of significance in the United States that girls can join and there are no comparable alternative organizations available to them throughout most of the country. The situation is different in some other countries where a number of Scouting associations with varying membership criteria are available to girls.

[edit] Other notable organizations

[edit] See also

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