D.C. hardware store drops Boy Scouts partnership

(Photo by Another Believer via Wikimedia Commons)

WASHINGTON—The owner of several D.C. hardware stores has canceled an event that promoted a Boy Scouts of America program.

Gina Schaefer, who owns seven Ace Hardware stores in the nation’s capital, had been promoting the Cub Scouts’ Soapbox Derby Race before she ended the promotion. A number of social media networks raised questions about it in light of the growing controversy over the Boy Scouts of America’s ban on gay scouts and troop leaders.

The Boy Scouts of America last week announced it would delay a decision on repealing the policy until May.