Discrimination in Boy Scouts

What does being gay or straight have to do with the merit of a person? 

I was a Boy Scout, my son was a Cub Scout, I work with Scout Leaders, we run an Explorer Program where I work.......I like the Scouts.  I know the organization and what they stand for.  The fact is, BSA made it a point to exclude gay men from being leaders if they found out about it.....there is no denying that, whether it was an official sanction or not.

Here's my problem with that as far as the BSA goes.  There are kids involved in Scouts who are gay.  There just are.  The same as there are kids involved in baseball, soccer, swimming, blah,blah,blah who are also gay.  There just are.  It's not a choice.  What are we telling those kids if we won't allow people like them to be leaders?  What are we telling our own kids, gay or straight, if we don't allow gay people to become leaders? Are we teaching our children that gay people can't be leaders?  They don't have value?  It's wrong to not allow gay people into leadership roles in any capacity.......ESPECIALLY when it comes to our children. 

I have 5 kids.  I don't know if any of them are gay.  The older two live a hetero lifestyle so I assume they are not.  The younger 3 I couldn't really say for sure....they are just becoming sexually aware.....I guess we'll see.  But I know this without a shadow of doubt.......no kid of mine will ever feel ostracized from my family if they are gay, and I would hope that no child would have to....and it should be a given that the rest of society feels the same.

What will you do if one of your boys is gay?  Will you tell him he can't be a Scout Leader?  Will you tell him that there are doors that are closed to him in life because of his sexual orientation?  I will not.  I'll unleash proud , standing tall gay kids on society......not because they are gay, but because they are good people, with fine attributes and good values and great worth.......who just happen to be gay.

started writing a reply, decided we would all be better served just reading this post one more time.

I'll second it.  Great post LB.

All I will add is that discrimination is illegal and being gay is not a choice.  Just like the color of your skin is not a choice.  Based on that sort of logic I should be able to start a group that only allows people of a certain skin color to join. 

My cousin had a scout leader who was the cream of the crop, and all the parents knew it. He was the best leader with the kids, did wonders for their self esteem, and everyone loved him. Then one day someone found out he was gay, and they kicked him out immediately. He lost that day, the kids lost that day, everyone lost that day, for no good reason. There were some leaders that I would have loved to have seen ousted when i was a scout, but it's because they were lazy guys who were terrible at interacting with children. That's what I cared about, not someone's sexual orientation which is nobody's business anyway. I've heard the argument that the kids are at risk because if a leader is gay, then may be a pedophile, and I think that's a really insulting thing to say to a gay person.  So was kicking out my cousin's scout leader the right thing to do?

BSA decided to lift its ban on gay leaders, even though they had the right to keep the ban.  Regardless of the reasons for the decision (public pressure, change of heart, etc.), they were not legally forced into the decision.  Contrary to what some may think, freedom of association is still a constitutionally protected right.

Great post LB.

Did I miss something? What lawsuits did BSA lose? 

So- if you claim that you don't have a problem if there is a gay leader... exactly what types of people do you feel like you should be able to discriminate against?  Blacks?  Jews?  Muslims?  Atheists?  women?  Divorcees?  Native Americans?  Mexicans?  Shiites?  Just curious- what exactly are you thinking?  Because we settled this 50 years ago in this country, and your view lost the argument.  We're now just fiddling with the details.

If it makes you feel any better (and it shouldn't) even tho' gay marriage is now legal in all 50 states, you can still fire (or not hire) someone for being gay in over 30 states, without legal retribution.  Yes.  in most states- gay people are not a protected class.  You can get same-sex-married on Sunday, and have your boss fire you because of it on Monday.  And you can't do squat.

I suggest you give up on your prior stance, and join the majority who believe in acceptance and inclusion.

Actually - Wal-Mart is a publicly traded company.  Even though the majority of shares are still held/controlled by the family.

not that this matters to the argument much.  You could easily substitute Chik-Fil-A in there.  it's a private company.  (er... I think, I didn't check)

homosexual does not mean pedophile.....i thought we were past this

You are comparing pedophilia to homosexuality?  That is just insulting. 

You know what then?  I don't think they should allow Catholic priests anywhere near boy scouts.  If you want to play that game I will go there too.

Jackemy1 - I hear that kind of comment frequently with regard to gay rights......and every time I do I know it's complete garbage and I suspect you do to.  What is the point of throwing that into a discussion like this?  Seriously, that's just ridiculous and of course it's absolutely insulting to gay people.  Would you allow a man who's sexual orientation is toward young girls be a scout leader?  I guess that guy's not gay so what the hell, huh?  Just stupid.

Your talking about two things here (1) beliefs - which can be changed and are optional and (2) how someone is born.

I don't care if you think being gay is a choice, because if you do, I will be blunt and tell you that you are wrong, it isn't.     

Being Christan, Muslim, Jewish, atheist - those are all choices.

Based on your logic we should be able to discriminate against people for the color of their skin.  Or heck why stop there?  People with disabilities, or who were born in a different country.  It's reprehensible.