Caterpillar Drops Boy Scout Support Over Gay Ban

Caterpillar Inc. says it will no longer give money to the Boy Scouts of America because the organization doesn't allow homosexuals to serve as adult leaders.

Caterpillar spokeswoman Rachel Potts says Thursday that the Caterpillar Foundation made the decision while reviewing the groups it supports.

She called the Boy Scouts' policy barring homosexual adults from serving as scout leaders discriminatory. She said that policy doesn't square with the Peoria-based heavy equipment maker's own anti-discrimination policies.

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.

A message left with Boy Scouts' headquarters wasn't immediately returned.

Other companies such as United Parcel Service and Intel Corporation stopped supporting scouts well before the recent decision.