Boy Scouts close to ending ban on gay members, leaders

[suzifrommd]

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/28/16739587-boy-scouts-close-to-ending-ban-on-gay-members-leaders?lite

By Pete Williams, Justice Correspondent, NBC News

The Boy Scouts of America, one of the nation's largest private youth organizations, is actively considering an end to its decades-long policy of banning gay scouts or scout leaders, according to scouting officials and outsiders familiar with internal discussions.

If adopted by the organization's board of directors, it would represent a profound change on an issue that has been highly controversial -- one that even went to the US Supreme Court. The new policy, now under discussion, would eliminate the ban from the national organization's rules, leaving local sponsoring organizations free to decide for themselves whether to admit gay scouts.

[KayCeeDee]

It's about time! Would be glad to see this come to pass.

[Liminal Stranger]

I just heard this on the news around half an hour ago, and silently cheered whilst wondering why this wasn't done sooner, just as I did now that women are allowed to serve in combat roles and back last year when gay marriage was legalized in my state. I mean, it's great that it's being done now, but why only now and not before?
I wish that these things could have happened much earlier and perhaps saved many people grief and heartbreak in the past for not being able to realize their dreams just because the almighty rule book says so.

[aleon515]

I wouldn't expect transboys to get admitted anytime soon. This is a VERY conservative organization, not at all like Girls Scouts.

--Jay

[SunKat]

Don't cheer just yet.  It sounds like they may just be dropping the gay ban as a national policy but will be "respecting" local groups rights to continue to ban gay members and leaders.
Unless they make a national policy to include gays then this may just end up as a marketing ploy to gain back some of their lost corporate donors.

[VeryGnawty]

Don't cheer just yet.  It sounds like they may just be dropping the gay ban as a national policy but will be "respecting" local groups rights to continue to ban gay members and leaders.
Unless they make a national policy to include gays then this may just end up as a marketing ploy to gain back some of their lost corporate donors.

^^
This.

So much of this.

Don't kid yourselves, gals.  This is a PR stunt, nothing more.

[sandrauk]

Back in 1985 I went to aberystwyth and took the family on a trip up the mountain railway. About half way up, there was a scout camp with a huge banner saying, boys gay scout movement. The scouts were standing around posing in pairs hugging each other. It was a real WTF moment. I often wondered whether it was a wind up or what.

[mistressstevie]

this may just end up as a marketing ploy to gain back some of their lost corporate donors.

It is not donors they need as much as youth members.

In 1998 they were able to count 3.4 million youth.

Down to 2.9 million in 2006.

And 2.7 million in 2012 from their page today at:
http://www.scouting.org/media/mediakit/ataglance.aspx

This article suggests they peaked in 1972 at close to 6 million youth.
http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/02/boy-scouts-at-100-years/

There is more to the picture than just stances on sexuality involved
in my opinion.  Something around half of BSA's units today are sponsored
by Mormon Wards (churchs) and fewer and fewer sponsored by
secular organizations. 

My kids suggested BSA was a recruiting ground for church membership
in their tenure.

[Anna++]

I approve!  Although I'm still expecting them to take away my Eagle for being an atheist... I think I'd be more ok with them taking it away for being transgender.  Maybe there is some process that I could go through to have it converted to the equivalent girl scout rank if I transition?

[~RoadToTrista~]

Cool.

[Embrace]

I was happy to see this and I hope it goes through.

As a former member in my youth, I was upset (and frankly, embarrassed) when I learned of their stance.

[suzifrommd]

Don't cheer just yet.  It sounds like they may just be dropping the gay ban as a national policy but will be "respecting" local groups rights to continue to ban gay members and leaders.
Unless they make a national policy to include gays then this may just end up as a marketing ploy to gain back some of their lost corporate donors.

I think it is much more than a marketing ploy.

Now, if you're a scoutmaster and one of your scouts' lesbian mother comes to you wanting to help out, or an openly gay child wants to join your troop, you must refuse, regardless of how you or the rest of the troop feels.

Under the new policy, you would be allowed to admit them. Although I wish they were going further, to me that sounds like a big difference.

[Allana Lovins]

This is just my opinion, but I definitely have lost a HUGE portion of respect and trust for the "Boy scouts". I have heard of "boyscout" leaders sexually molesting and raping boys and that is something so serious it cant even be described, only fought. Obviously not all are bad people...thus not all being molested and all, but I will be DAMMED!  before I say that I think "GAY" leaders should be allowed to lead boyscout troops. I think if they are serious about fixing laws, and regulations around "boy scout's" they will add a criminal, Personal, and ACTUAL background check on EACH and EVERY individual who shall apply to be a boyscout "Leader"... very simple to me, but of course not so simple to go about it. I think allowing gay people more rights and freedoms is a beautiful thing, but seriously... Its BOY SCOUTS! boys should be allowed to be boys... I don't completely support this new law, and they better just be real about it, and check People before they are allowed to take they're children into the woods and such...! HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE!

[BunnyBee]

Um, gay doesn't = child molestor.   Having measures in place to keep those boys safe from molestors is obviously a super, but separate, important issue.

[Anna++]

Um, gay doesn't = child molestor.   Having measures in place to keep those boys safe from molestors is obviously a super, but separate, important issue.

Similar logic works to defeat the main argument I've heard for why the BSA didn't want to admit gay scouts and leaders in the first place: gay != immoral.  There are lots of awesome gay people, but unfortunately there are also lots of horrible straight people.

[suzifrommd]

There are lots of awesome gay people, but unfortunately there are also lots of horrible straight people.

The solution is easy. Stop allowing straight people to be scoutmasters.

[Anna++]

The solution is easy. Stop allowing straight people to be scoutmasters.

There's cool straight people, too, though... I don't think there is any correlation between somebody's orientation and how "good" of a person they are.  I would expect that the percentage of horrible straight people is equal to the percentage of horrible gay people.

[suzifrommd]

There's cool straight people, too, though... I don't think there is any correlation between somebody's orientation and how "good" of a person they are.  I would expect that the percentage of horrible straight people is equal to the percentage of horrible gay people.

Well yes, it doesn't make any more sense to ban straight people than it does to ban gay people. It was a poor attempt on my part to be ironic.

[Anna++]

Well yes, it doesn't make any more sense to ban straight people than it does to ban gay people. It was a poor attempt on my part to be ironic.

And it doesn't help that I have a "take everything literally" mindset right now due to a morning spent programming...

[Dawn Heart]

I am a former Eagle Scout, and I say former because I stopped associating myself with the BSA many years ago because of their hateful, backwards, indifference to everyone who isn't rich, narrow-minded, and "in the big club". I have watched with joy as one big money sponsor after another has disowned the BSA and stopped funding them.

I think that the public needs to know that the BSA has been knowingly employing LGBT people forever and a day. There are lots of LGBT people in their ranks, and even I knew who the LGBT people in my own troop were. We had an asst. Scoutmaster who was gay, and at least three scouts who fell somewhere in the LGBT spectrum. As a girl trapped in a boy's body, I had to watch my fellow scouts live in silence with who they were.

This pending policy of allowing LGBT people into the scouts is long over-due! I think that under this pending policy, the public needs to pressure the BSA into being like the girlscouts as far as allowing trans people as members. If the GSA can allow transgirls, the BSA can accept transboys!