Lockheed Martin Ends Boy Scouts
Gifts over Gay Ban
from AP 19 Dec 2013, 9:24 AM PDT
BRETT ZONGKER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON
Defense and aerospace giant Lockheed
Martin is halting its donations to the Boy Scouts of America
over the organization's ban on gays serving as adult leaders after a review of
the company's philanthropy guidelines, the company said Thursday.
Lockheed Martin spokesman Gordon
Johndroe said the company decided it will not support nonprofit organizations
that do not align with its corporate policies or commitment to diversity. The
company did not disclose how much it has contributed to the Boy Scouts.
Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed
follows UPS Inc., Merck & Co. and computer-chip maker Intel in withdrawing
support for the Boy Scouts over its no-gays policy in the past two years.
In a written statement, Johndroe
said Lockheed seeks to support nonprofit groups that value diversity.
"We believe engaging with and
funding an organization that openly discriminates is in conflict with our
policies," he said. "While we applaud the mission of the Boy Scouts
and the good things they do in our communities, their policies that
discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and religious affiliation
conflict with Lockheed Martin policies."
This year, the Irving, Texas-based
Boy Scouts revised its policy to allow gay boys to participate in Scouting, but
it maintained the ban on gay leaders. The change drew criticism from both sides
of the debate over the anti-gay policy.
Johndroe said Lockheed Martin was
pleased to see the Boy Scouts revise its membership policy but opposes the
continued ban on gay leadership. The company's review of its philanthropy came
at the end of the year as it reevaluates priorities for 2014, he said.
"We're taking a close look at
all nonprofit organizations we support to ensure they align with our company's
core values," Johndroe said.
Deron Smith, a spokesman for the
Boy Scouts, said Lockheed Martin was not a national sponsor but has had a
positive impact by supporting Scouting in local communities.
"We respect the company's
right to express its own opinion and appreciate its recognition that Scouting
is a valuable organization," he said in an email. "Scouting believes
that good people can personally disagree on this topic and still work together
to accomplish the common good."
The decision from Lockheed was
first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In October, the Boy Scouts of
America announced that former Defense Secretary Robert Gates will serve as its
next president to lead its national executive board for two years. Gates was an
Eagle Scout.
As defense secretary under
President Barack Obama, Gates helped change the military's "Don't Ask,
Don't Tell" policy banning openly gay soldiers. He also served under
President George W. Bush.
Gay-rights groups have praised the
appointment of Gates and called on him to push the organization to end
discrimination against gay adults.
Lockheed
Martin
Marillyn
A. Hewson is the president & CEO for the Lockheed Martin Corporation,
and a member of the President's Export Council.
Note: W.
James McNerney Jr. is the chairman for the President's Export Council,
a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and the chairman &
president & CEO for the Boeing Company.
Barbara
G. Fast was a VP at the Boeing Company, a VP for the CGI Group
Inc., and is a friend of Keith B. Alexander.
CGI Group
Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov
web site.
Obamacare
is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.
Keith
B. Alexander is a friend of Barbara G. Fast, and a director at the National
Security Agency (NSA).
Edward
Snowden leaked information about the National Security Agency (NSA),
and an employee at Booz Allen Hamilton.
Booz
Allen Hamilton is a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).
Steve
Isakowitz was a senior consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, and a
corporate manager for the Lockheed Martin Corporation.
Arthur
E. Johnson is a director at Booz Allen Hamilton, and was the SVP for
the Lockheed Martin Corporation.
Joseph W.
Ralston is a director at the Lockheed Martin Corporation, and a
director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Brian D.
Dailey was the SVP for the Lockheed Martin Corporation, and is a
director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank).
George Soros
is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, and the
chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution
(think tank).
John C.
Whitehead is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), an
honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and the
co-chairman for the Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts.
Arthur
B. Culvahouse Jr. is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank),
a partner at O'Melveny & Myers LLP, and was a lobbyist for the Lockheed
Martin Corporation.
Thomas E.
Donilon was a trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), a partner at O'Melveny & Myers LLP,
the White House deputy national security adviser for the Barack Obama
administration, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg
(think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Kathleen
Brown was an attorney for O'Melveny & Myers LLP, is California
state government governor Jerry Brown’s sister, and a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
Commercial Club of Chicago,
Members Directory A-Z (Past Research)
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
W.
James McNerney Jr. is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
the chairman & president & CEO for the Boeing Company,
and the chairman for the President's Export Council.
Marillyn
A. Hewson is a member of the President's Export Council, and
the president & CEO for the Lockheed Martin
Corporation.
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