Caterpillar Bulldozes Boy Scouts Dough

Heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar today announced that it will no longer fund the Boy Scouts because of the continuing ban on openly gay troop leaders.

Caterpillar spokeswoman Rachel Potts said Thursday that the Caterpillar Foundation has decided to withdraw its supports for Boy Scouts of America. Potts says the company believes the group's policy barring homosexual adults from serving as scout leaders is discriminatory. Potts said the decision wasn't necessarily related to the Boy Scouts of America's recent decision to allow homosexual scouts, while still prohibiting participation by openly homosexual adults. Other companies such as United Parcel Service and Intel Corporation stopped supporting the scouts well before the recent decision.

The Boy Scouts have issued a statement expressing regret at today's announcement but they also thanked Caterpillar for its previous support.