Boy Scout Troop 54 Blocked from Raising Money for the Troops in Iraq

Boy Scout Troop 45 and Ship 45 got booted out of the polling stations in Cambridge, Mass. What were they doing? The Boy Scouts had boxes and were taking donations to send to the troops in Iraq.

Why were they booted from the polling stations? The election commission got a call from one woman who complained that the Boys Scouts were "implying" pro-war messages.

Marsha Weinerman, who is the executive director of the city's election commission, said that Boy Scout Troop 54 violated the law that says you have to be 150 feet away from polling stations if you have a political statement.

One woman called in to complain about Boy Scout Troop 54. She said that the Boy Scouts were collecting for the troops in Iraq and that made it a "pro-war" political statement.

After receiving one complaint,Marsha Weinerman reviewed the 150-foot law and determined that Boy Scout Troop 54 had violated it. Resulting in the removal of Boy Scout collection boxes throughout the 33 polling stations.

The other side of this comes from Jamisean Patterson who said that Boy Scout Troop 54 had twice been granted permission to set boxes at all 33 polling stations. And was puzzled by the removals.

Cambridge Honda has given Boy Scout troop 54 a $5,000 donation. It is suspected that the Boy Scout troop will garner more donations in the near future, not only from companies, but also from private persons throughout the United States.

Out cry over booting the Boy Scouts can be "heard" locally and nationally. Many residents have said that they are embarrassed by what happened to the Boy Scouts. Others have said that this is absurd because the Boys Scouts already had permission and there was only ONE complaint about it.

What happened to Boy Scout Troop 54 seems to go along with the national debate on our troops in Iraq. Can you support the troops in Iraq without supporting the Iraq war? Those who are anti-war are quick to say yes, you can support the troops and not the war. These same people say that preventing the Boy ScoutTroop from raising money for the troops in Iraq makes their statements unbelievable.