Boy Scouts of America Reaffirm Gay Ban

[Milkster]

NEW YORK — After a confidential two-year review, the Boy Scouts of America on Tuesday emphatically reaffirmed its policy of excluding gays, angering critics who hoped that relentless protest campaigns might lead to change.
The Scouts cited support from parents as a key reason for keeping the policy and expressed hope that the prolonged debate over it might now subside. Bitter reactions from gay-rights activists suggested that result was unlikely.
The Scouts' national spokesman, Deron Smith, told The Associated Press that an 11-member special committee, formed discreetly by top Scout leaders in 2010, came to the conclusion that the exclusion policy "is absolutely the best policy" for the 112-year-old organization.
Smith said the committee, comprised of professional scout executives and adult volunteers, was unanimous in its conclusion – preserving a long-standing policy that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000 and has remained controversial ever since.
As a result of the committee's decision, the Scouts' national executive board will take no further action on a resolution submitted at its recent national conference asking for reconsideration of the membership policy.
The Scouts' chief executive, Bob Mazzuca, contended that most Scout families support the policy, which applies to both adult leaders and Scouts.
"The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve value their right to address issues of same-sex orientation within their family, with spiritual advisers and at the appropriate time and in the right setting," Mazzuca said. "We fully understand that no single policy will accommodate the many diverse views among our membership or society."
The president of the largest U.S. gay-rights group, Chad Griffin of the Human Rights Campaign, depicted the Scouts' decision as "a missed opportunity of colossal proportions."
"With the country moving toward inclusion, the leaders of the Boy Scouts of America have instead sent a message to young people that only some of them are valued," he said. "They've chosen to teach division and intolerance."

Darlene Nipper, deputy executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said the Scouts "have turned their backs on a chance to demonstrate fairness, exercise sound judgment, and serve as a role model for valuing others."
The Scouts did not identify the members of the special committee that studied the issue, but said in a statement that they represented "a diversity of perspectives and opinions."
"The review included forthright and candid conversation and extensive research and evaluations – both from within Scouting and from outside of the organization," the statement said.
The announcement suggests that hurdles may be high for a couple of members of the national executive board – Ernst & Young CEO James Turley and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson – who have recently indicated they would try to work from within to change the membership policy. Both of their companies have been commended by gay-rights groups for gay-friendly employment policies.
Stephenson is on track to become president of the Scouts' national board in 2014, and will likely face continued pressure from gay-rights groups to try to end the exclusion policy. Asked for comment on Tuesday about the Scouts' decision to keep the policy, AT&T did not refer to Stephenson's situation specifically.
"We don't agree with every policy of every organization we support, nor would we expect them to agree with us on everything," the company said. "Our belief is that change at any organization must come from within to be successful and sustainable."
A statement from the executive committee of the Scouts' national executive board alluded to the Turley-Stephenson developments.
"Scouting believes that good people can personally disagree on this topic and still work together to achieve the life-changing benefits to youth through Scouting," the statement said. "While not all board members may personally agree with this policy, and may choose a different direction for their own organizations, BSA leadership agrees this is the best policy for the organization."
Since 2000, the Boy Scouts have been targeted with numerous protest campaigns and run afoul of some local nondiscrimination laws because of the membership policy.
One ongoing protest campaign involves Jennifer Tyrrell, the Ohio mother of a 7-year-old Cub Scout who was ousted as a den mother because she is lesbian.
Change.org, an online forum supporting activist causes, says more than 300,000 people have signed its petition urging the Scouts to reinstate Tyrrell and abandon the exclusion policy. The petition is to be delivered to the Scouts' national headquarters in Irving, Texas, on Wednesday.
Eagle Scout Zach Wahls, an Iowa college student who was raised by lesbian mothers, said Tuesday's announcement didn't change his view that eventually the Scouts would relent under pressure from campaigns such as those that he and his allies have mounted.
"I'm sure they'll keep saying this until the day they decide to change the policy," said Wahls.
He contended that the committee review process should not have been kept secret. "The very first value of the Scout Law is that a Scout is trustworthy," Wahls said. "There is absolutely nothing trustworthy about unelected and unnamed committee members who are unwilling to take responsibility for their actions."
The Boy Scouts' policy stands in contrast to inclusive membership policies adopted by several other major youth organizations, including the Girl Scouts of the USA and Camp Fire.

Gays are pedophiles, etc, etc.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1679854.html

Boyscout's statement: http://www.scouting.org/Media/PressR.../20120717.aspx

[Komm Suesser Tod]

As a former boy scout myself, I can say that I never would have cared if we had either gay scouts or scout masters. I'm fairly sure that opinion would be held across about 99% of the people I was in scouting with.

Honestly, some of the most understanding and broadminded people I have met were in scouting, and I think it's pretty shameful the ban is continuing.

[Melena]

Do you expect any less from a religious organization? Go watch Penn and Teller's episode on the boy scouts. It's why my kids if the wife and I ever have any will never join that organization.

[archibaldcrane]

Does this just exclude gay scout leaders or also exclude gay scouts?

[Correction]

They'll only change their policy if you hurt their bottom line. I have a hard time imagining the Boy Scouts are a relevant part of a kid's experience in any major urban population in America these days but that could just be my jaded eyes not seeing boy scouts anymore.

[Rhyis.]

http://southparkstudios-intl.mtvnima....jpg?width=480

[Rhyis.]

Scouts is pretty gay anyway. Sewing medals? Yeah...

[Rhyis.]

Just take your kids out camping yourself like normal people do.

[Ksandra]

The Boy Scouts' policy stands in contrast to inclusive membership policies adopted by several other major youth organizations, including the Girl Scouts of the USA and Camp Fire.

fuck ya girls > boys


good to know as I'd like my daughter to do girl scouts someday. I had tons of fun when I did it while young and I feel cali girls don't get out into the woods often enough.

[BaneTheBrawler]

As a former boy scout myself, I can say that I never would have cared if we had either gay scouts or scout masters. I'm fairly sure that opinion would be held across about 99% of the people I was in scouting with.

Honestly, some of the most understanding and broadminded people I have met were in scouting, and I think it's pretty shameful the ban is continuing.

This. Scouts was awesome. Pinewood derby, wilderness survival badge, camps. Fun stuff.

[ronin sparthos]

Meh . . . I'd love to have my kids involved in the scouts but I can't support this.

Send your kids to secular camp.

[Komm Suesser Tod]

Send your kids to secular camp.

You know, I'm an athiest now, and I was when I was in scouts. I worked at a scout camp for a few years, and met dozens of scouts in my own troop as well, and I never felt any pressure. They would say grace before meals and stuff like that, but if you weren't a believer, nothing was forced on you and I never saw one person get asked about converting or accepting jesus christ or anything like that. I'm not saying every scout troop everywhere is like this, but while a lot of the people I was in scouts with, and the various parents and scout masters, were christians, it wasn't ever a big deal at all.

[ronin sparthos]

You know, I'm an athiest now, and I was when I was in scouts. I worked at a scout camp for a few years, and met dozens of scouts in my own troop as well, and I never felt any pressure. They would say grace before meals and stuff like that, but if you weren't a believer, nothing was forced on you and I never saw one person get asked about converting or accepting jesus christ or anything like that. I'm not saying every scout troop everywhere is like this, but while a lot of the people I was in scouts with, and the various parents and scout masters, were christians, it wasn't ever a big deal at all.

Fully understood what you're saying but if the refusal to accept gays rubs you the wrong way then there are alternatives to the well-known Boy Scouts. You don't need to deny your kids the experience of the great outdoors simply because one organization refuses to change policy.

[Guitarman]

Oh yeah pinewood derby was good times. Scouts was a good experience growing up. Met alot of friends I kept for most of my life in the scouts. I wouldn't let something like this affect your decision to take your kids to scouts if it's not relevant to you. There was zero religious pressure whatsoever.

[Churchill]

Organizational policy=/=local policy

I'm sure you could find a troop near you that doesn't really give any fucks. Mine was lead by Apache helicopter pilots who took some kids up for flights every year. Shit was tits

[Furionstormrage]

When the ban was first announced, I was pretty embarrassed to admit that I had been a Scout, but I'll echo others experiences here. I never felt any religious pressure, or even recall anything remotely religious. It was all pinewood derby, tying knots, camping in the woods, canoeing, shit like that.

[Acturus]

Good for the Boy Scouts. They're holding on to their belifs. Their absurd, discriminating, unfounded, fucktardworthy beliefs.

[Dimmauk]

There is a gay and lesbian task force? I wonder if they wear a neckerchief with a slide holder too?

[Raldo]

I'm Jewish and I was a scout. I was the only one, but it was never a thing. Great place to make friends.

Man, the pinewood derby. That brings back memories.

I didn't even realize the Scouts was a religious organization back when I was a kid.

Looking back, I recall a lot of penis-shaped pinewood derby cars (probably not deliberately) and coupling that with this thread makes me chuckle.

[Dimmauk]

I wonder if the Jewish penis shaped Derby cars looked different than the European kids penis shaped Derby car?