IRVING, Texas — Following several weeks of speculation that the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) would lift its ban on openly homosexual scouts and leaders, the organization on Wednesday announced the decision would be postponed until May.
The leadership of the National Catholic Committee on Scouting responded to the Feb. 6 announcement by urging Catholics who participate with the Scouts to continue to voice their opposition to such a policy change to their local Scout councils.
The national executive board of the Scouts, which has been meeting since Feb. 4 in Irving, Texas, issued a statement that read, in part:
“After careful consideration and extensive dialogue within the Scouting family, along with comments from those outside the organization, the volunteer officers of the Boy Scouts of America’s national executive board concluded that, due to the complexity of this issue, the organization needs time for a more deliberate review of its membership policy.
“To that end, the national executive board directed its committees to further engage representatives of Scouting’s membership and listen to their perspectives and concerns. This will assist the officers’ work on a resolution on membership standards. The approximately 1,400 voting members of the national council will take action on the resolution at the national annual meeting in May 2013.”
The policy change under consideration would eliminate the ban on open homosexuals at a national level, allowing a decision about their participation to be made at the unit, district or council level.
The BSA has a highly centralized structure, but each unit is chartered at a local level. There are approximately 100,000 units, with almost 70% of them created by religious organizations. This includes Cub Scouts (ages 7 to 10), Boy Scouts (ages 10 to 18) and Venturing Crews (ages 18 to 21).
Catholic churches account for 8,570 of these units, placing them third, after the Mormons (37,882) and Methodists (11,078). More than half of all Scouts belong to religious bodies that actively oppose a change in policy.
Conflicting Rules?
The policy change could create a constellation of conflicting rules, as each troop sets its rules based on the values of its chartering organization. Units in the same town could thus have completely different membership policies. Chartering organizations that maintain the ban in accordance with their values will likely face legal challenges, a factor BSA leaders will need to consider as they go forward.
Eagle Scout Brad Hankins of the pro-homosexual-rights Scouts for Equality rejects any compromise that would allow chartering organizations to set their own policies. Saying they “don‘t want to see scouting gerrymandered into blue and red districts,” groups pressing for an end to the policy want it to be mandated by a universal change in the Scouting bylaws.
At the moment, an unofficial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is in effect. It is possible for homosexuals to participate in scouting if they do not “come out” about their homosexuality.
In the past, challenges over the Scouts’ policy on homosexuals have come from either court cases or public-relations efforts. In its Boy Scouts of America v. Dale decision in June 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that the Scouts could ban active homosexuals because their lifestyle conflicted with the core mission of the Scouts, which was imparting values.
More recently, Ryan Andresen was denied his Eagle Scout honor in October 2012 when he announced his homosexuality after completing the requirements for the award. Meanwhile, ousted lesbian Cub Scout leader Jennifer Tyrrell claimed she gathered 1.4 million signatures on a petition about overturning the ban.
Last year, the Scouts were roiled by a sexual-abuse scandal following the revelation of secret files documenting the abuse of boys by their leaders. Twenty thousand pages from the BSA’s secret “Perversion Files” detail countless cases of abuse from 1965 to 1985, and there are more files waiting to be opened.
The cases were a chilling echo of the Catholic clerical-abuse scandal, with Scout leaders failing to notify authorities, allowing perpetrators to have a “second chance” or simply declining to act. The result was that abuse went on for years.
Pressure From Within
The most recent challenge, however, is coming from within Scout leadership itself. Just six months ago, the Scouts reaffirmed the policy, saying in a statement: “The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve value their rights to address issues of same-sex orientation within their family, with spiritual advisers and at the appropriate time and in the right setting. While a majority of our membership agrees with our policy, we fully understand that no single policy will accommodate the many diverse views among our membership or society.”
Since then, two new members of the board have been pressing the issue. Randall Stephenson, chairman and chief executive of AT&T, and James Turley, chairman and chief executive of Ernst & Young, have both indicated that they support a more inclusive policy regarding homosexual leaders and scouts.
In a June 2012 statement, Turley said, “As CEO, I know that having an inclusive culture produces the best results, is the right thing for our people and makes us a better organization. My experience has led me to believe that an inclusive environment is important throughout our society, and I am proud to be a leader on this issue. I support the meaningful work of the Boy Scouts in preparing young people for adventure, leadership, learning and service; however, the membership policy is not one I would personally endorse. As I have done in leading Ernst & Young to being a most inclusive organization, I intend to continue to work from within the BSA board to actively encourage dialogue and sustainable progress.”
Even President Barack Obama weighed in over the weekend, urging Boy Scout leaders to admit homosexuals in a CBS interview. “The Scouts is a great institution that is promoting young people and exposing them to opportunities and leadership that will serve people for the rest of their lives,” Obama said. “And I think nobody should be barred from that.”
Catholic Opposition
The U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops refers to the National Catholic Committee on Scouting (NCCS) on all matters related to scouting in the U.S. The NCCS has expressed its objections to the policy change and continues to work to make Catholic voices on scouting heard by the leadership of the BSA.
John Halloran Jr., national chairman of the NCCS, urged Catholics to make their opinions known to their councils. In a statement following the Feb. 6 decision, Halloran said, “All leaders and organizations that serve young people have a responsibility to protect and foster a life of virtue according to their particular mission. Organizations have a duty to select leaders that model virtues and core values with integrity; Catholic chartered units will continue to provide leaders who promote and live Catholic values.”
“This is a matter of responsibility, not a matter of unjust discrimination, which is always wrong and contrary to the inviolable dignity of every human person,” Halloran said. “The National Catholic Committee on Scouting (NCCS) will participate in the Boy Scouts of America’s initiative to listen to its members’ concerns regarding a change in its membership policy. The NCCS will offer input based on Catholic teachings and values.”
Register correspondent Thomas L. McDonald writes about Catholicism, technology and culture at GodandtheMachine.com.
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I was a youth member of the BSA and then worked for them for many years. When confronted about this question, I liked to pose this question in return: ” I belong to the Boy Scouts. My brother belongs to the Gay Mens’ Chorus. Which of those organizations is discriminatory? Which should be forced to admit members who do not represent the values of the organization?
Nobody, of course, could give an internally logical, consistent answer.
Now, the BSA stands at a crossroads. I believe they have already made a decision, and that is to feed the crocodile so that it does not eat them. The method is simple—they will cut off an arm and feed it to the crocodile. Then, when it is still hungry, they will cut off a leg and then another leg, all to avoid being eaten. When the last arm is gone and the crocodile is still hungry, what will they do?
Thank you Jesus!! We want to protect our boys from the vicious indoctrination of the homosexual agenda that is demanding society accept their lifestyle as normal and something to celebrate. Stand strong scouts!! The Supreme Court is on our side!!
I really wish I knew what they mean by the phrase “openly homosexual.” Are they referring to men who are attracted to other men, and who are public about that fact (but possibly are intentionally chaste)? Or are they referring to men who not only are attracted to men, but also act on that attraction by engaging in homosexual relationships? I think that there is a very important difference between these two definitions, and I honestly don’t know which of the two they mean.
Venturing Crews are 14-21, not 18-21
The BSA headquarters are in Irving, Texas. Irvine is in California.
It’s curious how other cults are not able to advance to the degree that the cult sodomites have. Cult sodomites are 3% - 7% of the population in America; this small percentage is not proportionate to how much press this cult garners. Other cults, that have to do with heretical religious beliefs or occult practices and so forth, have not been able to worm their way into every facet of American life like this one. The Obama administration is enabling (through forced compliance), and promoting, the view that America is institutionally an oppressive nation. One way to do this is to enable sexual deviancy. The deception afoot is to name that which is moral, immoral and then infect the moral with immorality. Hence the manipulation of the word ‘inclusive’, an aspect of the lie of relativism. Please see 1 Tim 1:8-10.
It is not unjust discrimination to discriminate against acts that respect the inherent personal and relational essence of the human person created in The Image and Likeness of God, equal in Dignity, while being complementary as male and female, and acts that are demeaning because they do not respect the inherent Dignity of the human person and thus can never be acts of Love. We live in a Time when there are those who will deny the personhood of the son or daughter residing in their mother’s womb, yet claim that personhood exists in sexual preference or orientation so that it appears as if those of us who will not condone sexual acts or sexual relationships that do not respect the inherent Dignity of the human person are discriminating against a person, when in fact, we are discrimination between acts that serve the Good of the other, and acts that are harmful and can never serve the Good of the other. Love is not coercive, nor is it possessive, nor does it serve to manipulate for the sake of self-gratification. God did not order us to live our lives in relationship as objects of sexual desire,
(heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, transexual, polysexual…) in direct violation of His own Commandment regarding lust and the sin of adultery. We are husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters…, called to live in Loving relationship with one another in communion with God. Our call to Holiness has always been a call to authentic Love.
It looks like the Scouts are declaring the youth to be ‘fair game’ for homosexual seduction. How many more organizations will implode in the same way, I wonder.
It is profoundly sad that the survivability of a respected organization that has provided great and wonderful service to the guidance, formation and nurture of millions of children for many, many years is now threatened over the supposed “rights” of certain adults. This is a crying shame.
This is NOT a complex issue. To the contrary, the issue is whether or not we want our children to be placed in harms way.
Whether they change the ban or not, why not go to a program that is fully Catholic rather than have scouts which adds Catholicism on. The best one I know of is www.conquestclubs.com, I have even done some unpaid writing for them.
Whether they change the ban or not, why not go to a program that is fully Catholic rather than have scouts which adds Catholicism on. The best one I know of is Conquest (www.conquestclubs.com), I have even done some unpaid writing for them because I believe in what they offer. There are some others like Blue Knights too, I just don’t know as much about them.
Homosexual scouts? Since when should young boys know or should decide they have a different sexual orientation? No difference to giving teens the right to have a concealed weapons permit.
If they want to be included with straight kids, they must understand that they need to blend in. To protect human dignity, other boy scouts should be protected from unwanted overtures from other members. The age of the perpetrator doesn’t matter, and the victim’s own orientation doesn’t matter. No one should be forced into a lifestyle they’re not comfortable with. If it is someone’s nature to prey on others, he should’t be admitted to scouts, period. His rights end where another’s begin. Why is this so hard to understand? If inclusiveness is imperative, why don’t those with same-sex attraction start a gays only scout club? Then they can engage in every kind of behavior they want.
Don’t give up Boy Scouts!
Please do not compromise like so many do during this age of Obama.
Well, what can I say with that kind of logic. I think the more inclusive language should read ‘preparing young people for adventure, leadership, learning, service and homosexuality.’ What if the Catholic Church openly chose priest that were homosexuals? After what happened in our Church AND the Boys Scouts,you would think “they” would learn. But, oh no, let’s just throw our kids to the wolves. Oh, oh, I have a good idea let’s open the Boy Scouts up to murders or rapists or any kind of violent crime. Hello, hello, hello! The BSC needs to read about the mind of a pedophile. They are very often homosexuals AND as a Catholic psychiatrist (my dear friend) has said that these people have a charactor disorder. This means Boy Scouts of America Hierarchy that they have no remorse and can not change; nor do they want to change. It matters not to them what harm they inflict. The BSA reminds me of those who were supposed to protect our childre and did more harm than the perpetrators. This is crazy logic. This deeply saddens me not just because some of our kids would be more open to being molested than before but because the situation could have been avoided. Pray, pray, pray!!
Obama’s support of homosexuals in the scouts, just as his support for abortion and other vile acts, is not surprising. But I must say that his quote, containing the word “exposing”, brought a clear picture of what’s in store for the scouts.
Priests, dioceses paying millions for victims of sodomites. The Sandusky sleaze,now practicing sodomites want access to the Boy Scouts. Stop it!
Parents of scouters should seek the ouster of BSA board members Ernst and Young CEO, James Turley and AT&T Inc. CEO Randall Stephenson for their blatant attempt to sneak this change in BSA policy through without consulting all the stake holders. It was arrogant and imperious. They should take their big corporate money with them and leave this venerable organization. BSA families will do just fine without them or their big money.
It is on thing to advocate aggressively, but attempting to railroad their agenda without full consultation is unworthy and devious. Cut them loose!
AT&T and Ernst & Young are not in the business of “caring” for male children. Thus, they can say “diversity” works in their organizations. However, because I now know they promote homosexuality, I will not use their organizations. E&Y is a surprise to me. AT&T is not since they promote pornography. Companies that promote the homosexual lifestyle will not get my business. I’ll play the same game the radical homos want to play. BOYCOTT.
I hope they indeed decide to stay with their true values as the Boy Scouts have always been looked up for their honesty, integrity, and faithfulness. If they do turn the other way, I will not support them any longer and won’t purchase any Christmas items such as wreaths, the popcorn fundraisers, etc. Right is right no matter if you agree with it or not. The real truth can’t be changed just because some people this it’s fine - no more than you can change the color red to yellow - it is what it is.
Principles that are based on truth or a funny thing. They should never change. What was different 1 year ago 2 years ago or even 3 years ago. The fact is the Boy Scouts should not give up their basic principles.
Are there any bishops/priests willing to speak out for gays being allowed into scouting? Your silence is a disgrace.
If the boy scouts accept homosexuals that would end my support of them in any way. The boy scouts might as well just cease to exist rather than bow to social pressure. The sexual abuse that they are discovering now was most likely perpetrated by homosexuals since their literature and lifestyle promote sexual contact with minors. Thirty years ago I worked with a depraved homosexual who had made aggressive unwanted advances toward new young employees in our office. He was a scout leader at the time and I am sure he didn’t volunteer for honorable reasons.
Even though heterosexuals can behave promiscuously and therefore end up in an immoral and sinful state, there is no parity in the beginning. Homosexuality is disordered to start with, even before it is acted on. It is always intrinsically evil to act on homosexual impulses, whereas, it is not sinful, but God ordained, to act on heterosexual feelings within the context of marriage.
That makes sense. In another generation, Equal Marriage laws and a more accepting younger crowd will be more friendly to allowing gays into the Scouts. The intolerant, older generation will die out.
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Gays can wait.
The Boy Scouts of America would be committing suicide as an organization if they allow homosexuals to join. They should stand on their principles and continue to be the fine organization that they have been for the last 100 years.
Allowing openly homosexual people to become part of the leadership and/or membership of the Boy Scout of America is tantamount to okaying sexual relations between them and other members. Young boys and men are impressionable and easily led astray, so allowing the homosexuals to openly flaunt their sexuality could very well be construed as condoning and encouraging the homosexual lifestyle. While some may think that’s allowable, I don’t think men with sons would want that, unless of course they are homosexual themselves.
During this vulnerable and fascinating time of life for boys and into this cherished institution, we are now to do what—introduce sexual practice identity into the world of scouting. First, the issue is not confined to the identity of sexual preference/activities for boys 6 to 17, as the BSA will also allow homosexual scout “leaders” to go camping with these boys—openly and with full acceptance. Seriously, has the BSA gone nuts; is this proposition really in need of deep discussion….give it a break. Tolerating the intolerable is wrong.
Second, the “gay” agenda goes far beyond the moments of hurt for some boys struggling with the awkwardness of their youth and their sexual awakenings. It is self serving in its efforts to recruit into its pathos, culture and outlook.
Third, the gay agenda defies any moral, social or psychological discussion or critique about homosexuality and how to address such tendencies in young men. We are now to proclaim someone as “gay” without resort to protecting that child from such a “choice”. In that sense, what the BSA proposes is a betrayal to those boys.
I agree with NCCS stands, our catholic values and virtue must be uphold at all times
If they decide to leave it up to the local units, the courts will force all the Scouts to accept homosexuals. The thing that saved the Scouts before in the courts was their unity. I think these pro homosexual board members should be give the shaft. It’s terrible to see one of our great institutions being destroyed along with everything else. God bless you. Susan Fox I"ll pray for the Scouts. http://christsfaithfulwitness.blogspot.com
If blatant gay leaders come in to the Scouts, the Christian boys will not be attending; it is that simple. The act of Homosexuality is a grave sin; to allow or condone the act is teaching the “act of Homosexuality” to be an acceptable Christian lifestyle. It is not, has never been; nor will ever be acceptable any more than heterosexual singles engaging in fornication, which is a grave sin, is acceptable. These are “GOD’S” commandments not man’s. . .
I’d like to know what’s in it for AT&T Randall Stephenson and Ernst and Young executive, James Turley? More than just trying to be “fair”. I hope in 3 months the parents and friends of scouting can counter this lastest attack from the homosexual militant movement with a 10,000,000 signature petition. The homosexual movement is insane.
Are you planning on changing the pledge if you allow gender identity challenged persons to join?
Please consider this. God fearing men and women have joyfully and without payment served millions of scouts since the conception of the Boy Scouts. God fearing.
If the rainbow warriors wish to promote their anti-God beliefs then let them…but please let it be far away from the Boy Scouts.
Promotion and or legitimizing same sex attraction as being normal is absurd. It is not normal or natural. Love your neighbor as yourself. Then seek help for your child that is confused, or manipulated by a culture that seeks its own interests and not a culture that is seeking to do Gods will. Yes. The Bible is our guide. Those ashamed of the Gospels will themselves be ashamed before the judgment seat.
Those that practice in the way of Truth shall be honored by Truth himself when He crowns them heirs to His kingdom.
We must love our neighbors. Turning a blind eye to their “lifestyle choice” is not loving them, but promoting Gods Love for them by explaining that acts contrary to nature are harmful for their future. Amen to Couragerc.org. A chaste outreach for gender identity challenged people.
Further consideration of allowing the Boy Scouts to be pressured by the LGBT into endorsing homosexuality should be delayed until certain events take place. The BSA should not take up consideration of admitting homosexuals until after the Mullahs are seen to be waving to the public from the lead float in the next Teheran gay pride parade.
My thoughts:
The arrogance and imperious action of the National Executive Council is breath-taking. Large corporations like AT&T and Ernst and Young, whose executives have bullied the BSA for a few years now, have made catastrophic decisions in the past with their own companies when they failed to be customer-centric. It is time for Scouting to shed corporate board room tyranny. This should be about parents and children (you know…the customers) and not corporate decisions. The scouts may have lost membership since 2000, but unless the National Executives get their act together and listen to all the Scouting stake holders membership will plummet by 70%. The local units that are left can join the Girl Scouts and compete in their corporate cookie sales.
One of the best researched articles on this topic: http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324590904578287862636139462.html?_nocache=1360335673158articleTabs=comments&user=welcome&mg=id-wsj&mg=reno64-wsj#articleTabs=article
WSJ: Vote on Gay Ban Threatened to Split Scouts
By GEOFFREY A. FOWLER and ANA CAMPOY
The Boy Scouts of America on Wednesday delayed until May a decision on whether to end the group’s ban on gay members, after a planned vote exposed rifts that threatened to break apart the nearly 103-year-old group.
The Boy Scouts of America delayed until May a decision on ending the group’s ban on gay members, after a planned vote threatened to break apart the group. Scouts for Equality’s Zach Wahls and WSJ’s Ana Campoy discuss on the News Hub. Photo: Getty.
The delay extends a longtime internal dispute that has intensified in the last six months at the group, which has nearly 2.7 million youth members. Recently, top Scouts leadership had decided it was time to end the national ban and let local groups decide for themselves whether to admit gays.
The Boy Scouts of America’s national executive board is delaying a vote on changes to the group’s ban on gay scouts and leaders, amid pressure from religious groups. Geoffrey Fowler has details on Lunch Break. Photo: AP.
But in private meetings over the past few weeks, Scouts executives encountered bewilderment, resistance and anger, participants told The Wall Street Journal. It came to a head during closed-door executive board meetings early this week in Irving, Texas, with some church representatives imploring the Scouts to delay the vote, according to people briefed or present for the deliberations. One top Scouts leader was driven to tears Monday, according to several participants.
One board member who was present for the meeting Wednesday said the Scouts didn’t take a formal vote before deciding to postpone the decision. In a Web conference with Scouts leaders on Wednesday afternoon, Scouts Chief Executive Wayne Brock said the proposal to end the ban came about as outside forces put pressure on the Scouts to address its policy on gays. He urged leaders to show up at their next meeting in May with an open mind.
“Whatever the outcome is, we need to be one BSA,” he added.
The delay added to confusion that Scouts executives sowed by recently surprising religious leaders with the plan for gays.
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Three weeks ago, for example, Mr. Brock visited the Nashville offices of the General Commission on United Methodist Men, the church organization that charters more than 11,000 scouting units. In that meeting, Mr. Brock told Methodist General Secretary Gilbert Hanke that the Scouts had decided at their February meeting to end the ban, and wanted to know how the Methodists might implement it, said Mr. Hanke.
“We never had the opportunity to say whether the policy should end,” said Mr. Hanke. “It was: ‘This is what we are going to do, and does that match the polity of your church?’ “
According to Mr. Hanke, Mr. Brock offered one main reason for the change: corporate sponsors who had threatened to pull away support.
The Boy Scouts declined to provide any details on its leadership meetings with chartering organizations.
The Boy Scouts is one of the largest institutions for young men in the U.S. But membership has declined nearly 19% since 2000, as the organization has grappled with controversies and has been forced to compete with digital technology and organized sports for the attentions of young men.
The proposal to allow the local groups that charter Scout units to create their own rules on gay membership had been on this week’s agenda for the executive board, which has about 75 members. Under its new plan, the wider, 1,400-member national council will decide at the Scouts’ May annual meeting whether to change the policy.
Discussions on Wednesday, the board member present said, were at times intensely personal and focused on the concerns of some religious groups, companies that could withdraw financial support from the Scouts, and the legal problems that could stem from local Scouting councils that developed their own policies.
Delaying the vote, the board member said, would allow time for talks with religious groups, corporate sponsors, scouting alumni and parents. He expects leaders will present conclusions, though not necessarily recommendations, from that study to the national council at least a month before the May meeting.
But some religious Scouting leaders called the delay an abdication of the organization’s values. Jay Lenrow, the former national chairman of the Jewish Committee on Scouting, said continuing the ban is “absolutely allowing the teachings of certain religious groups to trump the teachings of other religious groups,” he said.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the largest Boy Scout church sponsor, said it wouldn’t comment on the proposed policy change until it has assessed all of its implications. Spokesman Michael Purdy urged others not to speculate on the LDS’s position.
Roger Oldham, a spokesman for the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, said that holding off on a decision will give the Scouts time to analyze the implications of lifting the ban.
A Scouts spokesman said the board concluded that “due to the complexity of this issue, the organization needs time for a more deliberate review of its membership policy.”
Scouts leaders have been divided over gay rights since at least a 2000 Supreme Court decision that said the Scouts had the right to discriminate against gay members if doing so was a core belief of the group. In the Web conference with Scouting leaders on Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Brock said the plan to end the ban resulted, in part, from outside events, including the 2011 repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the U.S. military.
Still, the Scouts in July had announced their intent to keep the gay ban in place, saying it was “absolutely the best policy.” Doing so created a public-relations crisis and angered some corporate sponsors. Companies including Merck & Co. and Intel Corp. pulled funding last year.
Recently, the Scouts began to break the news of a possible policy change to their members.
As Scouts leaders gathered at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport Marriott North hotel in Irving on Monday, members of the Scouts’ Religious Relationships Task Force, who don’t have a vote on the board decision, met for about two hours with Mr. Brock, as well as with national officials Wayne Perry and Tico Perez.
The Scouts executives gave a presentation citing what they viewed as compelling reasons for the change, said two task force members in attendance, Methodist official Larry Coppock and Rabbi Peter Hyman.
Mr. Perry preceded his comments by saying the proposed change was contrary to his personal beliefs. At one point, Mr. Perry wept, both attendees said.
A Scouts spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment on the meeting, or make Mr. Perry available for questions.
At Monday’s meeting, leaders from Jewish, Southern Baptist and other religious groups gave impassioned pleas on both sides of the issue. Mr. Coppock said that at the end of the discussion, representatives from the Mormons, Roman Catholics, Methodists and Southern Baptists asked Mr. Brock to delay the vote.
Large corporations like AT&T and Ernst and Young whose executives have bullied the BSA for a few years now) have made catastrophic decisions in the past with their own companies when they failed to be customer-centric. The arrogance and imperious action of the National Executive Council is breath-taking. It is time for Scouting to shed corporate board room tyranny. This should be about parents and children (you know…he customers) and not corporate decisions. The scouts may have lost membership since 2000, but unless the National Executives get their act together and listen to all the Scouting stake holders membership will plummet by 70%. The local units that are left can join the Girl Scouts and compete in their corporate cookie sales.
i am afraid if the gays are allowed to be openenly gay in the boyscouts it will be the end of the boy scouts. the next will be the end of the girl scouts. i don’t go around telling everyone how i like sex and tell people that they have to accept that,that is a sexual act and should remain in the bedrooms. i have several friends that are gay like them very much,but don’t feel they should be allowed to force their sexual preference on me, or me on them. this world is so sad. i think the LORD needs to show us a sign that he is tired of us going against his wishes
What could possibly go wrong with this likely scenario?
An 18-year old sexually active same-sex attracted male Assistant Scout Master (ASM) leads a week long high adventure hike with scouts between the age of 12 and 17? Would you feel differently if the same male Assistant Scout Master (ASM) were a heterosexual leading a hike with 12-17 year old girls?
What could possibly go wrong with this likely scenario?
A 17 year old sexually active same-sex attracted male Senior Patrol Leader or Junior Assistant Scout Master leads a group of scouts age 12 -16 at scout camp. SPLs and JASM are not prohibited from sharing tents with other scouts as are SMs. Would you answer be different if the same male a SPL or JASM were a heterosexual in a girls camp with 12-17 year old girls?
Do not same-sex attracted men have the degree of sex drives?
Maybe all the true Christians will leave the Scots, but my cousin was totally unchurched for most of his life, and was very active in the Scotts in his youth. He was an Eagle Scot, then a military doctor in the first Gulf War. He retired and then after 9/11 he rejoined the military to go back to active duty in Iraq. If the Boy Scotts continue to operate with a change in rules allowing homosexuals, our unchurched youth will not leave the Scotts, and they will be led astray. You just have to read the inside story of the Catholic seminaries in the 1960s-90s to know the horrible result. We need to pray. God bless you. Susan Fox http://christsfaithfulwitness.blogspot.com
Scouting’s enrollment continues to decline, from 4.5 million in the 1980s to 2.7 million today, and at least for Scouts in my community considering joining scouting, this policy is the #1 or #2 reason given for not joining (the other being “overscheduling”).
Scouting is at an inflection point. It can continue as a niche youth group for conservative religious organizations, or a group for all Americans, supporting a spectrum of beliefs. A recent poll showed 55% of Americans, and 63% of white Catholics, support ending the ban.
As a troop leader, I can tell you are gay Scouts in many troops today, they just cannot be open about it. If you have a Troop of 50 boys, statistics say 2-10 of them will be gay. They cannot “join another organization” because they didn’t realize when they were 6-7 years old and joined Scouts that 10 years later they would realize they were gay. No, the question is at what point would you kick a child out of your troop, and subject them to bullying and potentially suicide, when you had a gay scout in your troop? And on what basis would you make this assessment - someone whispers in your ear a boy is gay, the boy admits he’s attracted to the same sex, or would you have me, the scout leader, conduct a deeper investigation into the boy’s activities? No, I’ll do none of that.
This policy is ridiculous to administer. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” was abandoned by the military because soldiers were forced to lie to their commanding officers about what was going on. I am in favor of being truthful and open rather than lying, and believe everyone deserves a chance to be in Scouting. We should support and not harm these young men.
There are solutions today for 14-year old girls and boys to go on the same outings. Let’s not confuse sexual orientation with sexual misconduct. As recent news has indicated, heterosexuals are not immune from sexual misconduct either, and those issues are being and will continue to need to be addressed through youth protection trainig. Again, you have probably had, or currently have, gay scouts in your troop - how much of a behavioral problem has it been?
I believe Scouting should teach the same leadership boys will need to work in business, government or the military. Teaching discrimination based on sexual orientation is illegal in my state, the Federal Government and military. Why would Scouting want boys to “Be Prepared” incorrectly?
Here’s the poll:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/06/poll-majority-support-opening-boy-scouts-to-gays/
News flash, Steve T: 70% of Boy Scouts are associated with Conservative Religious organizations. Further more the percentage of the gay populations is closer to 3% not 20% (10 out of 50) as you suggest. Let me guess. You are from the bluest of blue states so this is a political issue in your “community,” where as it is a moral issue with “Conservative religious people who represent 70% of the scout units. Over 50% of the population are not single which means their only interest in Boy Scouts is academic or political. They are simply not the “customers” here.
The point at which a scout would be “kicked out of scout units” would be when they “misbehave” sexually or try to advocate for Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual causes within the scouts Troops or patrols. That is when they themselves “sexualize” their relationships with other troop members. Unless and until that happens, no one cares.
Can you be more specific about your troop leader credentials? Not that I question your credibility, but inflating the gay numbers and caustically casting aspersions on “conservative religious” folks do make me curious about where your are really coming from. My guess is you are part of the Venture program and have never had to deal with the dynamics of a Boy Scout Troop. Just curious?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms that persons with homosexual inclinations “must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.”
Given that, how, in God’s good name, can the National Catholic Committee on Scouting support a ban on participation by gays in Boy Scouts? It seems that you should follow the Catholic Catechism if you wish to call yourself Catholic.
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