PABill

Here is the actual law.....it is Federal, it is called the "Gun Free School Zones Act of 1990" 18 U.S.C. 922 (q), further amended in 1995....most states followed suit with their own restrictions or enhancements. For example, weapons are prohibited in schools in PA....18 PA. C.S. 912 I just wanted to help clear this up, while I have a license to carry, it does me no good at a school in PA.

Packsaddle, he isn't wrong, but I think what he meant here is although those states issue permits, the laws are on the books about NOT being allowed to carry on school grounds whether you have a permit or not. in the case of the Aurora movie theater, Cinemark Theaters prohibits carry (other than LEO"S) on their property. Again it can be said, only the law abiding will abide by these restrictions.....you can create all the laws and post all the signs you want, someone bent on murder is going to do it. A nice place to do so is one knowing where your victims are disarmed. I carry every day. Just my .02

"The meetings have ceased"...that will be something we hear more often than not. I am kind of surprised at the thread title and discussion here "Current BSA policy VS the local option", if the BSA goes with the local option, as I understand it the protection of BSA v. Dale no longer applies. Now what? The reality is there is no local option, the lawsuits won't stop and any CO sticking to their beliefs will drop scouts en masse as soon as the first lawsuit is filed.

"And even moreso when the "private" organization gets a good chunk of funding from public sources... thats the real (and IMHO very valid) rub most people make with the membership policies." I would like to see some sources on the trough of public money the BSA is feeding on, care to share this info? It sure would be helpful for my troop. Maybe we should be submitting bills for scout projects that benefit the public? Basementdweller, can you be more specific as to how you responded to the inquisitive parents? I usually get so angry at the misinformation people start out with, I like to make sure I present my facts in a calm cool manner. I think we will be dealing with BSA infiltrating "activists" more and more.

I have not had a subscription to a newspaper in years because of "sloppy journalism" add the poor writing skills and I can usually barely get through an article. Right now it is in vogue to attack the BSA....or any organization or group that has certain values and sticks to their guns. As long as they do there will be rabid attacks on these organizations no matter if it has true merit or not. YIS in the Reading area (This message has been edited by PABill)

Our summer camp uses the Quarter method. My son got his rifle merit badge last year (13) at camp. All I can say for anyone whose scouts are planning on signing up for it at camp, be prepared for extra money for ammo and brief your scout to take advantage of every open shoot to qualify. My son took until Thursday to get his last target to qualify. It took him a lot of work and dedication all week. He had to hustle every day to get to the range and keep going. I think I was just as proud as he was. Out of about 36 scouts who signed up, only 11 made it at weeks end. It is a tough one to get in a week.

Wow...thanks for the fast replies! This is a real nice piece of land, it is heavily wooded, I haven't measured it out, but I would guess at least 10 acres, still has a road into it and a few clearings from the camping that used to take place there. Surrounded by farmland and a few residential houses here and there. It would definately be a good camp, there are NO facilities of any kind. As for making a habit of camping there...that isn't my intention, but we NEED to get camping and get an outdoor program in place. Webelos open house is a great idea. Yes I was concerned about the camping requirements for advancement, we have all these new scouts, this place being so close would really help shake things out for our other outings, but parents being parents they also want to make sure these outings "count" for advancement. I will try to get the SM on the same page, this should work out well for the Troop and our Pack in the long run. NOW.....if I can only figure out how to get the adult leaders to camp AWAY from the scouts!!!

Relatively new to scouting, I have a little over 2 years under my belt as an adult leader in a small troop. My schedule finally worked out and I have just completed OLS and SM/ASM training this year with some very good trainers. Been reading and learning quite a bit, and really want to bring all I have learned to the troop. I want to thank everyone here for all the good info you take the time to write and hope I can be a useful contributor myself.

"Designated Scouting activity or event"....that there line seems to be causing a bit of confusion in our troop. First a little background, our troop is pretty new (2 patrols, one new and one a year older) and we have some good adult volunteers getting trained. We are really trying to get the Outing back in Scouting (only 4 campouts last year counting summer camp) in our troop and have made great strides with Boy led and the patrol method in a very short period of time, basically we just stopped what we were doing (adult led) and started over (boy led). I will say, it has been an easier transition for the scouts than the adults!!! Now, our charter org. has a hunk of land behind it that used to be used by the Troops of old years ago and the Churches youth group, it is a pretty good piece of land, rural farming area with some houses here and there. Campfires/ and outdoor burning is allowed in our area so that is great. The CO has said we could use it if we wanted, we just need to get back there and do some clean up at the old campsites. I and some of the other parents are pretty excited about this, mainly because of the cost of some of our few trips and we could camp at a good location for free. The SM isn't necessarily against it, but has said "it doesn't count as camping", while my read on the rules is it IS a Scouting activity and it will count. Far as I know as long as you are camping by troop or patrol it counts. The only thing that doesn't count is family camping or school activities...as long as it is with the troop, you are good. Am I off the mark here or is the SM?