Gay Boy Scouts?

The Boy Scouts of America have a long standing tradition of denying admittance to gay scout members and troop leaders, but that may soon change.

BSA says it will introduce a compromise to its voting national council, to allow gay scouts but still deny gay scout leaders.  It’s an odd compromise that has gay rights groups questioning both the legality and the logic of the “half” ban.

The new resolution says no youth may be denied membership in the Scouts “on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone,” however gay rights groups say this is inadequate.

“What message does this resolution send to the gay Eagle Scout who, as an adult, wants to continue a lifetime of Scouting by becoming a troop leader?” asked Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign.

Even conservative groups questioned the so-called compromise.

“The policy is incoherent,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. “The proposal says, in essence, that homosexuality is morally acceptable until a boy turns 18 — then, when he comes of age, he’s removed from the Scouts.”

Perkins also predicted that if the proposed change was adopted, it would subject the BSA to “crippling lawsuits” because it would no longer be able to argue that excluding gays was integral to its basic principles.

Perhaps the most ignorant and least talked about part of this debate is that people still believe there are no gays in the BSA membership or leadership.  Gay people are everywhere and in all walks of life.  They just haven’t announced their presence in the BSA.  So this entire argument only comes down to scouts being able to admit their truth, or being forced to keep it quiet.  It’s a game of semantics, make-believe and Hide-and-go-Seek all in one!