Patch’s Poll: Do You Care About a Group’s Public Stance on Civil Issues Such as Gay Rights?

The Boy Scouts of America made national headlines last week when it reaffirmed its ban on allowing gay youths to be Scouts and gay men or women to be Scout masters.

The announcement came last Tuesday after a two-year review by a special 11-member Boy Scout committee, as reported by The Washington Post, in which the committee agreed to continue an anti-gay policy upheld following a 2000 Supreme Court decision.

Around the same time this news broke, the president of the Chik-fil-A chain of restaurants, Dan Cathy, said that his privately owned company is “guilty as charged” in its support for traditional marriage, the Post reported.

Both stories sparked a media firestorm from supporters and detractors of gay marriage.

Some Democrats have taken hard lined stances against the business, such as Boston Mayor Tom Menino who wrote a public letter announcing “there’s no place” for the company’s discrimination in Boston.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, some Republicans have “doubled down” on eating Chick-fil-A, as reported by Politico, saying they support the business and its right to free speech on the issue of marriage.

Back on the Boy Scouts issue, Eagle Scout Kelsey Timmerman wrote in a Huffington Post blog that he would send back his Eagle Scout badge because of the organization’s anti-gay policy. Like Chick-fil-A, this issue has brought out both supporters and detractors.

The core argument at the center of these issues has often centered around free speech and discrimination. Taking another look at it again, we’d like to hear your feelings on whether you are bothered by a decision on a civil issue like this from two private entities.

Do you care about an organization's or business' public stance on civil issues such as gay rights? Take our poll and share your thoughts in the comments.