A Web site has been created by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America to help inform the public about the legal issues that confront Scouting.

Scouting has been under a relentless legal assault and publicity barrage since 2000 when the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed the organization’s First Amendment right to freedom of association. The new Web site, bsalegal.org, is part of Scouting’s communication effort. Our goal is to educate key audiences and counteract misinformation and disinformation about the organization and its policies. Those audiences include the media, the general public, and supporters of Scouting.

The BSA is one of a growing number of organizations using the World Wide Web to address litigation challenges. The site gives the BSA a way to reach key audiences from the media to Scout families. It does so by employing many of the same features used by larger organizations. On the site, you will find fact sheets and answers to frequently asked questions about various cases and legal issues; copies of legal filings in important cases; and news clips and opinion articles from respected journalists and scholars. There is even a video Webcast of February 2004 conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., where legal scholars made presentations supporting the BSA’s legal position.

What’s more, there are tools on the Web site that you can use to stay informed and to help spread the word. For example, you can enter the e-mail addresses of friends and send them a customized e-mail inviting them to visit bsalegal.org with a link to the site.

The Web site, bsalegal.org, went live on February 3, 2004, and has been a resounding success:

More than 50,000 unique visitors looked at the site in the first three months. The number of visitors is growing month by month.
More than 500 registered at the site during the same period for regular e-mail updates, and nearly all of those checked a box identifying them as supporters of Scouting.
More than 2,500 have watched the Webcast.
More than 70 Web sites have linked to bsalegal.org, up from 12 in the first month. The majority are local council Web sites, but they also include the American Legion’s Web site. Even some of our critics provide links to us, including Inclusive Scouting and nonbeliever.org.
You are invited to see for yourself. Visit bsalegal.org. Register for updates. E-mail your friends, fellow Scouters, and colleagues. Most of all, use the new Web site to keep yourself informed and aware.

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