Boy Scouts of America Still Reject Gays // That's Okay Because There are Other Youth Groups for Our Kids!

Lots of Boy Scouts of America news today. First I learned of a 19-year-old Eagle Scout who got fired on the spot by the Boy Scout summer camp he worked for after his supervisor learned he is gay. Then I learned that a top secret committee of BSA people have been studying this issue and decided to reaffirm their ban on LGBT Boy Scout members and leaders. This is no huge surprise. I predict that the Boy Scouts will not let go of their gay ban for many more years and more power to them, I guess.

I never quite understood the gay ban. If you listen to the BSA, they are trying to keep the group "morally straight". If you listen to their Religious Right supporters, they are trying to protect children from male sexual predators. But I don't see how expelling gay Scouts protects them from sexual predators and I don't see how it is "morally straight" to prevent gay and lesbian parents from being involved in their sons' programming.

I have written before about my son's brief involvement with the Cub Scouts. It's wasn't a bad group and the people were nice, but Mark and I were conspicuously aware that our family could run into problems at any time. So we weren't terribly upset when our son got bored and moved on. Meanwhile, we have been involved with other groups like 4-H and the Special Olympics and my son's Tae Kwon Do club and none of them have batted an eye or expressed any concerns about accepting help or guidance from either our of boys' dads.

I guess that's where I am with this issue. I will not protest or boycott the Boy Scouts of America. Instead, I will be all about buying a couple extra boxes of Girl Scout cookies -- or going to the County Fair and cheering on the 4-Hers -- or helping the instructors get ready before TKD tournaments. I support the youth groups who support all of this community's families, whether they have LGBT or heterosexual parents. Those who would reject us really aren't worth the worry.