Boy Scouts of America lifts ban on gay youths

Better late than never.

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I have two friends (a husband and wife) who have been heavy into scouting, and they are also pro equal rights. They voted for this. And they are cheering very loudly now about the "next step," which is to lift the ban on gay scout leaders (adults).

One step at a time, but this is definitely progress.

I know how important it is at that stage in life to feel equal. I was a cub scout myself, but quit, not long after that, because I just didn't fit in. It didn't scar me for life or anything (remotely), but imagine what it might have been like if I had discovered a group that accepted and encouraged me with leaders who I could look up to and identify with as "normal" and "part of the group."

It's on its way. Scouting may still be silly or totally unnecessary for some, but at least we can be invited to the party now, even if we decide on our own not to go.

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Definitely.

It's all movement in the right direction.

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The Bigots react

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They were all telling people who supported allowing gay boys into the Scouts that they should form their own organization. Now the shoe is on the other foot. I invite all of those who do not want gay boys in the Scouts....to form their own organization. Have fun getting corporate sponsorship! Maybe Chick-Fil-A can help you out.

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Yes PalJoey. Unfortunately that is the case. You can be an "out Scout" and then once you become 18 - since they know you are gay - you are not welcome to be there any more.

I am an Eagle Scout. I was a leader through my mid-20s. I wasn't out at the time. I loved being available as a single guy to drive the younger guys to weekend camping trips when I saw that their own parents weren't available for them. I had the time, disposable income, truck, experience...but ultimately knew I had to leave even before this was a hot button issue. I was genuinely fearful of being questioned what my ulterior motivations were for participating without a son in the program. For the sake of my reputation I walked away.

It was also becoming obvious that things were going this way because the Parent Scout Manual added an entire section on sexual abuse. Accusation can be as damaging as being found guilty. I had no interest in anything but volunteering my time and experience.

I can't agree that this is a backwards step, or anything like it.

Anything that moves us in the direction of providing children with same-sex attraction the ability to navigate their youth with an increased sense of normalcy and/or belonging is a huge, positive step in helping them to develop the reserves of self-respect and inner strength that they need to become healthy, whole adults.

It is disappointing that the BSA stopped short of allowing participation by Gay adults, but this is a pretty hot-button issue, and it is hardly surprising that they punted.

Rather than cause a tidal-wave of suicides among Eagle Scouts--a notoriously resilient crowd--I expect it will cause a tidal wave of law-suits by gay Eagle Scouts, demanding the BSA explain in court how the clock striking midnight on their 18th birthday transformed them from the most valuable, highly-respected and successful members of the organization into Pariahs.

By the time these lawsuits occur, the BSA community will--one hopes--have discovered that having gayz in the family is nothing to be feared, and they will abolish this arbitrary and utterly illogical cut-off.

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I see where people who are disappointed are coming from but I think the progress needs to be celebrated. Allowing openly gay scout leaders is the next logical step. Especially if they get a good reaction from this.
Truth Wins Out was not impressed.
"Today’s Boy Scout’s decision was insulting and pandered to ignorance and bigotry at the expense of gay people and their families. Allowing gay scouts but not adult scout leaders was a compromise – only in the sense that BSA compromised its integrity and decency. Let’s be clear — this was not a step forward, but a step backward, because it reinforced the most vile stereotypes and misconceptions deliberately peddled by anti-gay activists."
Statement from Truth Wins Out

It tells an 8-year old baby gay--who is probably not in a position to discuss his inchoate and confusing feelings of same-sex attraction--that if he wants to join the Webelos there is NOTHING about "those feelings" that make him 'less than' any body else.

It tells that kid that there are other kids with the same feelings--there must be, or the BSA wouldn't have a policy prohibiting discrimination against them.

It tells little straight kids that--despite what their parents may say--it is wrong to pick on little gay boys.

It provides for increased possibilities that little gay and straight boys can become--and stay--friends as the gay ones discover and navigate the path to their sexual identities.

All of which will help create precisely the kind of healthy, fully-integrated 18-year old Queer who won't put up with the BS of the "Adult" cut-off.

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Updated On: 5/24/13 at 09:17 AM

That's true, Roscoe. But even the most cursory statement that the organization does not discriminate based on sexual orientation is a powerful message to a deeply closeted little kid struggling with the idea that he is terribly--and uniquely--different from everybody else in the world.

I know it's a very different world than the one in which I grew up a thousand years ago--sneaking Gordon Merrick novels inside of magazines at the mall bookstore and reading a few pages with my heart pounding in my ears--but I still believe that there are scared, isolated, confused little kids out there and I can't be sorry that they are being told that it's OK for them to join the Scouts.

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but I still believe that there are scared, isolated, confused little kids out there and I can't be sorry that they are being told that it's OK for them to join the Scouts.

But Addison, Addison, Addison--what happens to those "scared, isolated, confused little kids" the day they turn 18?

And what about the 17-year-old "scared, isolated, confused little kid"? What good news is there in this for him? "You've got seven months--and then you're scum."

This is not an positive message. This is a stupid move that does more harm than it does good, more akin to the passing of Don't Ask Don't Tell than the passive of a civil-rights bill.

The truly evil message here is the one it sends to straight Scouts: Any Scout who comes out of the closet--or indeed any Scout you think may be gay--will grow up to be a predator.

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Updated On: 5/24/13 at 09:53 AM

I can see the positive "possibilities" for this change, but how might they conflict with the "realities"? Especially since Scouting places such a high value on teaching 'Character Development'.

The concept of Character Development is subjective and open to the moral guidelines of any troupe's sponsoring organization (i.e. school, church, etc.)

How does the Scouting organization plan to normalize the information shared and disseminated between ALL troupes regarding the "morality of homosexual behavior"?

How could they possibly reconcile any kind of "positive" message with their policy that once deemed an adult, a person is no longer deemed "moral" enough to participate?

Also, we're all focused on male homosexuals, but does this new policy also extend to the Girl Scouts organization?

Updated On: 5/24/13 at 11:32 AM