Boy Scouts Voting Yes or No on Gays

[undercoverbrother]

http://www.calgaryherald.com/busines...668/story.html

With its ranks deeply divided, the Boy Scouts of America is asking its local leaders from across the country to decide whether its controversial membership policy should be overhauled so that openly gay boys can participate in Scout units.
The proposal to be put before the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA's National Council on Thursday, at a meeting in Texas, would retain a ban on gays serving in adult leadership positions.
Nonetheless, some conservatives within and outside the BSA community oppose the proposal. There have been warnings of mass defections if the ban is even partially lifted.
Gay-rights supporters, including some Scout leaders, have welcomed the proposed change as a positive first step, but want the BSA to lift the ban on gay adults as well.

Sad that this is still an issue.

[guzzy]

They're gonna have to fire a lot of their leaders.......or maybe pedophiles aren't considered gay. I think a lot of those 1400 forget why they started

[troutman]

They don't allow atheists either. #evolve

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendl...-and-atheists/

[evman150]

This is like the Catholic Church debating whether to allow gay priests.

Repression is such a horrible thing.

[To Be Quite Honest]

Start a new organization that allows any race, colour, and personal beliefs. If it takes off then it's for the better. If it doesn't garner any interest then it really wasn't that big of a deal at all IMO. Kind of like the WNBA... With that being said, I would like to believe that an organization which accepts all and teaches peace, accountability, responsibility, and equality equally would storm over the scouts which is segregated society for children and teens.

[Rubicant]

Nonetheless, some conservatives within and outside the BSA community oppose the proposal. There have been warnings of mass defections if the ban is even partially lifted.

So they can join the 21st century in terms of equal rights and get rid of all the bigots at the same time? Two birds as far as I'm concerned.

[gargamel]

I think people are over-simplifying the issue of whether or not gay children should be allowed to participate. You wouldn't put young teen boys and girls into a tent together out of fear that they'd engage in consensual sexual activities, and I think there would be the same concern about putting young teen homosexual boys in a tent together. Concerns about sexual predators and opposition to the "sin" of homosexuality are not legitimate, but concerns about young teens fooling around in a tent could be. I'm not saying that gays shouldn't be allowed in the Boy Scouts, but the issue isn't as simple as people are making it out to be.

Having said that, there's no excuse for them to not allow gays to serve in adult leadership positions, and that leads me to believe that their reasons for not allowing gay boys to be members may be similarly rooted in bigotry.

[FlamingLonghorn]

Originally Posted by guzzy

.......or maybe pedophiles aren't considered gay.

Maybe? Let me clear that up for you. They aren't.

[Nage Waza]

^ They could be gay, can't they? I think sexuality is super complex. You can be straight and have a fetish for something else, can't you? Or gay? Can a hetero male also be a pedophile and go after little boys? Or would they only go after girls?

Gay people should be allowed in any capacity in the boy scouts, period.

If they are worried about pedophiles etc, than welcome to the real world, so is everyone else. I don't know what security levels they incorporate, but sounds like they might want security levels for their scouts that include multiple parental supervisors to reduce pedophile access to kids.

Have the scouts had lax safety for their scouts?

[troutman]

http://www.scouts.ca/ca/child-and-youth-safety

[Nage Waza]

I read some of their policies. For example, to prevent child abuse, they will report it to authorities. Not sure if that is a policy that prevents anything...

[Devils'Advocate]

Well, maybe if the Catholic Church had reported the things it knew early on, it would have prevented later abuses.

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by gargamel

I'm not saying that gays shouldn't be allowed in the Boy Scouts, but the issue isn't as simple as people are making it out to be.

So what are you saying? That openly gay boys should not be allowed to join groups that have camping trips? Or that they should join Girl Rangers (14 to 17). Or that if they want to participate in Scouts they should stay in the closet?

What is the solution that doesn't discriminate against them?

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Nage Waza

I read some of their policies. For example, to prevent child abuse, they will report it to authorities. Not sure if that is a policy that prevents anything...

I've read that this is only a recent policy.

[gargamel]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

So what are you saying? That openly gay boys should not be allowed to join groups that have camping trips? Or that they should join Girl Rangers (14 to 17). Or that if they want to participate in Scouts they should stay in the closet?

What is the solution that doesn't discriminate against them?

Maybe have an adult in every tent? Maybe don't allow more than one openly gay camper per tent? I honestly don't know enough about Boys Scouts camping trips to say what the best solution is, but I'm just saying that it's a concern that we* would be better off addressing than simply calling people bigots while ignoring what is a legitimate, non-discriminatory concern.



*By "we," I mean people like myself who think that gays should be allowed to join the Boy Scouts.

[T@T]

A far as I know boy scouts are aged 11-13 years old, tell me again why a kid that age has to proclaim his sexuality, most aren't even threw puberty yet...do they even know their gay?

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by T@T

A far as I know boy scouts are aged 11-13 years old, tell me again why a kid that age has to proclaim his sexuality, most aren't even threw puberty yet...do they even know their gay?

So they should keep it hidden if they know?

[T@T]

Originally Posted by flameswin

So they should keep it hidden if they know?

How many would know before puberty kicks in?

[gargamel]

Originally Posted by T@T

A far as I know boy scouts are aged 11-13 years old

Boy Scouts go up to age 17.

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by T@T

A far as I know boy scouts are aged 11-13 years old, tell me again why a kid that age has to proclaim his sexuality, most aren't even threw puberty yet...do they even know their gay?

I just....oh wow.