Red Bluff Daily News

July 14, 2015

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CHUCKBURTON—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Charleston, S.C., shooting suspect Dylann Storm Roof, center, is escorted from the Sheby Police Department in Shelby, N.C. ByJeffreyCollins The Associated Press LEXINGTON,S.C. Ajailclerk made a mistake when en- tering information about a drug arrest for church shooting suspect Dylann Roof, the first in a series of missteps that allowed Roof to purchase a gun he shouldn't have been able to buy two months before the attack, authorities said. Lexington County Sher- iff Jay Koon told The Asso- ciated Press in a statement that the jail discovered mis- takes two days after Roof's arrest, but the change wasn't corrected in the state police database of ar- rests. So when a FBI exam- iner pulled Roof's records in April, she called the wrong agency, and Roof was even- tually allowed to buy the .45-caliber handgun that would be used in the June 17 shooting at Emanuel Af- rican Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, au- thorities said. FBI Director James Comey on Friday prom- ised a full review when he said Roof should have never been allowed to buy the gun. The sheriff on Monday also promised he was mak- ing changes that would flag discrepancies like the one that appeared to let Roof slip through the cracks. The FBI allows a gun sale if it can't give a defini- tive answer about whether someone can buy the gun after three days, which is what happened in Roof's case. The FBI examiner knew Roof had an arrest re- cord, but couldn't find the documents. In 2014, the FBI reported about 2 percent of back- ground checks end with the FBI not getting enough information and failing to give an answer. Officials said they do about 58,000 checks on a typical day. There were a couple of mistakes that ended up in the criminal records data- base. State police records of Roof's drug arrest pulled by AP after he was identi- fied as the church shoot- ing suspect had the drug charge listed as a felony with the arresting agency as Lexington County Sher- iff's Office. They have since been corrected. The charge is a misdemeanor and the arresting agency was the Columbia police depart- ment. Koon, the sheriff, said that when the FBI examiner called his deputies, they pointed out the arrest was by Columbia Police. But the woman doing the FBI back- ground check checked a spreadsheet of law enforce- ment agencies in Lexington County and it did not in- clude Columbia because it is mostly in neighboring Rich- land County. The examiner called the police depart- ment in West Columbia — where the gun was bought — and found nothing. Jail clerical error ac kn ow le dg ed i n ch ur ch shooting gun purchase CHARLESTON By David Crary The Associated Press NEW YORK The execu- tive committee of the Boy Scouts of America has unanimously approved a resolution that would end the organization's blan- ket ban on gay adult lead- ers and let individual Scout units set their own policy on the long-divisive is- sue. Units sponsored by churches opposed to the change could maintain the ban if they choose. In a statement Mon- day, the BSA said the res- olution was approved by the 17-member executive committee on Friday, and would become official pol- icy immediately if rati- fied by the organization's 80-member National Exec- utive Board at a meeting on July 27. The committee ac- tion follows an emphatic speech in May by the or- ganization's president, for- mer Defense Secretary Robert Gates, declaring that the long-standing ban on participation by openly gay adults was no longer sustainable. He and other BSA leaders said the ban was likely to be the target of lawsuits that the Scouts were apt to lose. In 2013, after bitter in- ternal debate, the BSA de- cided to allow openly gay youth as scouts, but not gay adults as leaders. Under the new reso- lution, local scout units would be able to select adult leaders without re- gard to sexual orientation — a stance that several scout councils have already adopted in defiance of the official national policy. "This change allows Scouting's members and parents to select local units, chartered to orga- nizations with similar be- liefs, that best meet the needs of their families," the BSA statement said. "This change would also respect the right of reli- gious chartered organiza- tions to continue to choose adult leaders whose beliefs are consistent with their own." Several denominations that sponsor large num- bers of Scout units — in- cluding the Roman Cath- olic Church, the Mormon church and the Southern Baptist Convention — have been apprehensive about ending the ban on gay adults. Southern Evangelical Seminary President Rich- ard Land, who formerly led the Southern Baptist Con- vention's Ethics and Re- ligious Liberty Commis- sion, said he was glad the policy allowed an exemp- tion for religiously spon- sored groups, but it didn't resolve his main concern: That neither boys or girls in scouting should have leaders who are sexually attracted to their gender, whether the leader is gay or straight. "If you put them in the compromising situations that you are sometimes in with Scout leaders and Scouts, in terms of camp- ing and other situations, it could lead to great tragedy for children," Land said. "It's best to avoid the temp- tation." In a memo sent Mon- day to local Scout offi- cials nationwide, the BSA's top leaders said they had consulted their religious partners before acting on the resolution, and they pledged to defend the right of any church-sponsored units to continue exclud- ing gay adults from lead- ership posts. The BSA "rejects any in- terference with or condem- nation of the diverse beliefs of chartering organizations on matters of marriage, family, and sexuality," the memo said. The Mormon church, in a statement, indicated that this stance was crucial to its continued role as a lead- ing sponsor of Boy Scout units. "As a chartering organi- zation, The Church of Je- sus Christ of Latter-day Saints has always had the right to select Scout lead- ers who adhere to moral and religious principles that are consistent with our doctrines and beliefs," the church said. "Any reso- lution adopted by the Boy Scouts of America regard- ing leadership in Scouting must continue to affirm that right." The BSA's deference to the religious organi- zations was criticized by Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Cam- paign, a national LGBT- rights group. "Half measures are unacceptable and dis- criminatory exemptions have no place in the Boy Scouts," Griffin said in a statement. "It's long over- due that BSA leaders dem- onstrate true leadership and embrace a full na- tional policy of inclusion." Among other points in the BSA's memo: • Prospective employ- ees of the national orga- nization could no longer be denied a staff position on the basis of sexual ori- entation. • Gay leaders who were previously removed from Scouting because of the ban would have the op- portunity to reapply for volunteer positions. • There would be no change in the long-stand- ing requirement that youth and adult Scout members profess a "duty to God." YOUTH GROUP Boy Scouts committee OKs ending ban on gay leaders MARK ZALESKI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates addresses the Boy Scouts of America's annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn. By Lisa Cornwell The Associated Press CINCINNATI A former Cin- cinnati-area bartender who said he believed House Speaker John Boehner was the devil was found not guilty by reason of insan- ity Monday of threatening to kill the Republican law- maker. Federal Judge Timothy Black found Michael Hoyt not guilty of a charge of threatening to kill a U.S. official. Authorities had accused Hoyt of threatening to kill Boehner, either with a gun or by poisoning his drink. The judge ruled that Hoyt was insane at the time of the alleged offense and ordered him to a federal medical fa- cility for evaluation. Black scheduled an Aug. 21 hearing to determine whether Hoyt, who has been diagnosed with bipo- lar disorder, is mentally sta- ble enough to be released or could be dangerous to oth- ers. Hoyt could have been sentenced to 10 years in prison if found guilty. Hoyt sat quietly through the pro- ceedings, responding yes the judge's questions about whether he understood the court proceedings. Boehner's office declined to comment on the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Grimes would not comment after the trial, but said in court that pros- ecutors accepted the foren- sic psychologist's report on Hoyt's mental state at the time of the alleged offense. The judge read from court documents Monday saying Hoyt, of the Cincin- nati suburb of Deer Park, had a history of mental ill- ness since he was struck on the head in 2012. 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