I submitted the following to the Camas Washougal Post Record. I think I missed the deadline for the Aug 4 edition and they did not print it this week, so the odds are they won't:
On July 27, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Executive Board lifted its ban on “openly” gay adult leaders.[1] This resolution allows the local “chartered organizations to select adult leaders without regard to sexual orientation.”[2]
Gay rights activists applauded the decision. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) stated this is a “welcome step toward erasing a stain on this important organization.” [3]
False. The Boy Scouts have always allowed homosexual scouts and leaders. This became clear in 2013 when the BSA allowed “openly” gay scouts.[4] In their resolution, the BSA stated their current policy:
“While the BSA does not proactively inquire about sexual orientation of employees, volunteers, or members, we do not grant membership to individuals who are open or avowed homosexuals or who engage in behavior that would become a distraction to the mission of the BSA.”[5]
That same day, reports appeared regarding Pascal Tessier, a 16-year old openly gay Life scout, working on his Eagle project.[6] To obtain Eagle rank, one must be an active scout for a minimum of 12 months although other requirements can expand this timeframe greatly.
How can an
OPENLY GAY scout be on track to earn his eagle if the scouts didn’t already allow gay scouts?
In fact, his older gay brother had already earned his Eagle.[7]
The issue here is “open or avowed homosexuals”. Scouting has never emphasized sexuality. “Openly” gay means to emphasize one’s sexual desires. Thus, Tessier can obtain his Life rank without concern for one’s sexuality in an organization that does not emphasize sexuality. BSA builds boys into true men focused on self-sacrifice, self-discipline, and doing what is right.
The same applied to adults. One’s sexual desires were private. With “openly” gay leaders men, who expressly emphasize their sexuality, guide the youth. Thus, an organization that does not emphasize sexuality MUST emphasize sexuality.
Further, claiming that a sexual desire for the same sex is normative violates the first point of the Scout Law: A Scout is trustworthy; i.e. honest and truthful.
The truth is that our bodies are made sexually for the opposite sex. Sexual desires for the opposite sex align with our biological bodies. Same sex desires are at odds with one’s biological body. The “openly” gay leader must deny the biological body to distract from the contradiction between his desires and his body thereby being dishonest with the way the world actually is.
Will the “openly” gay leader, tell the truth about the disease-ridden nature surrounding male homosexual sexual behavior? For example, gay men accounted for 75% of syphilis cases in 2012. According to the Centers for Disease Control gay men are “17 times more likely to develop anal cancer than heterosexual men"[8] and are “at increased risk for STD’s like Hepatitis A, B, and C”.[9] Expressing a sexuality as normative while ignoring its harm violates the sixth point of the Scout law: A scout is kind.
What of the Scout Law’s twelfth point – A scout is reverent? Reverence teaches that there is something greater than oneself; that it is not just about the scout; and to respect the beliefs of others. It focuses outward, not inward.
“Openly” sexual emphasis models, for the youth, an inward focus to “who I am” rather than outward to others.
HRC expressed dismay that “an exemption for troops sponsored by religious organizations undermines and diminishes the historic nature of today's decision. Discrimination should have no place in the Boy Scouts, period.”[10] This hardly respects others’ beliefs.
These violations of the Scout Law cannot be fixed, even in principle. They are tied intrinsically to the notion of “openly gay” thus fundamentally transforming “this important organization”.
For years, the Boy Scouts stood up to these bullies. In short order, the BSA will require religious charter organizations to allow “openly” gay leaders.
HRC will applaud. Discrimination in the Boy Scouts is fine as long as HRC approves.
Developing virtue and character in young men is no longer the goal. The scouts are being groomed for something else.
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ENDNOTES
[1] Todd Leopold, “Boy Scouts change policy on gay leaders”, CNN, July 28, 2015,
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/27/us/boy-scouts-gay-leaders-feat/
[2] Ibid.
[3] Liz Halloran, “As Boy Scouts of America Takes Historic Step, Local Exemptions Will Allow Discrimination To Continue”, Human Rights Campaign, July 27, 2015,
http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/as-boy-scouts-of-america-takes-historic-step-local-exemptions-will-allow-di
[4] Boy Scouts of America Statement, May 23, 2013.
http://www.scouting.org/MembershipStandards/Resolution/results.aspx
Membership Resolution, Boy Scouts of America, Jan. 1, 2014,
http://www.scouting.org/MembershipStandards/Resolution/Resolution.aspx
[5] AP News, “Boy Scouts approve plan to accept openly gay boys”, Townhall.com, May 23, 2013,
http://townhall.com/news/us/2013/05/23/vote-on-gay-scouts-comes-at-emotional-moment-n1604255
Staff Wire Reports, “Leaders out, members in: LDS still plan to celebrate 100 years, Idaho State Journal, May 24, 2013, A1.
[7] Robbie Brown, “Gay and Aiming for Eagle, New York Times, May 24, 2013, A16.
[8] Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Gay and Bisexual Men’s Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
http://www.cdc.gov/msmhealth/STD.htm
[9] Viral Hepatitis, Gay and Bisexual Men’s Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
http://www.cdc.gov/msmhealth/viral-hepatitis.htm
[10] Todd Leopold, “Boy Scouts change policy on gay leaders”, CNN, July 28, 2015,
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/27/us/boy-scouts-gay-leaders-feat/
