I love watching my boy, Max, grow and have fun as he works on projects like building a tool box, carving his initials into a leather wallet, and of course, designing his Pinewood Derby car. I'm especially proud that my son belongs to an association that instills values in young boys.
Here is the Scout Law, quoted from Max's Cub Scout/Webelo handbook: "A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent."
I try to impress upon Max that those aren't just empty words. They mean something. For me, they especially ring true in light of the resolution recently voted in by Boy Scouts of America:
No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone.
I expected the BSA would lift its ban on gay youth someday. I didn't expect it to come this soon, however. But with the Supreme Court deliberating over gay marriage, gay couples increasingly adopting children and news reports of gay teens being bullied and commiting suicide, the issue's time has come.
For the most part, I was confident that the council in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas) would do the right thing in its voting. Still, I had some trepidation. How much sway did the conservative element have over BSA? I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard on my car radio that the BSA voted to end this antiquated 103-year-old ban. http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/23/us/boy-scouts-sexual-orientation http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/23/18447459-boy-scouts-vote-to-lift-ban-on-gay-youth?lite
It gives me better peace of mind, knowing that my son's personal enrichment and character are being shaped by an organization that's come out against discrimination and lives up to the values it espouses.
A friend from work is gay. I asked this man if he would buy some popcorn my son was selling for a cub scout fundraiser. This guy could've went on some bitter diatribe about how scouts are a prejudiced organization and all. Instead, he ordered popcorn and said, "Oh yeah, you get to go hiking, learn to tie knots and do a lot of neat things in scouts."
For years, this guy has been ordering boy scout stuff and girl scout cookies from people in the office. How could I ever look this guy in the face again and ask him to support an organization if it discriminates against people like him?
To some degree it still does. The BSA only voted on whether to admit gay youth, not on lifting its ban on gay scout leaders. But that's coming. Jennifer Tyrrell, an Ohio mother who was dismissed as a den leader in 2012 because she's lesbian, has expressed confidence that the ban on LGBT adults in leadership positions will be discontinued.
Of course what people like Tyrrell and myself consider to be a good thing, others view with sadness and great disappointment. They act like a funeral's taking place. Opposition groups have formed from within individual scout troops and disgruntled scout leaders and their children are talking about taking their money and support somewhere else and starting their own groups.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he is "very disappointed" with the BSA's vote. Naturally, he is. Perry would like for Texas to seccede from the United States, wave confederate flags and live under Christian sharia.
Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, has bemoaned this decision as the end of the scouts' "legacy of producing great leaders." You may have seen Perkins on Sunday morning news-talk shows, feigning some guise of legitimacy, but that ignores the charges that he launched his right-wing organization with help from former KKK grand wizard David Duke. Oh, and he's also spoken before the Louisiana Council of Concerned Citizens -- an organization that expresses in its mission statement, opposition to "all efforts to mix the races of mankind." http://cofcc.org/introduction/statement-of-principles/ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/picture-worth-thousand-memories http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/03/reminder-tony-perkins-is-racist.html
That's their mindset. When the Supreme Court ruled segregation based on race to be unacceptable and the federal government enforced the Constitution, many public schools in the South suffered from white flight. Several private "christian schools" opened up as a way of circumventing racial integration laws. I'm sure they felt their values were under attack. There were public schools in the South that actually closed their doors and denied an education to all children so they wouldn't have to offer equal rights to African-Americans.
Remember a few years ago when a Mississippi high school chose to cancel prom and deny a fun time for all its students, rather than admit a young woman and her girlfriend to the dance? http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-03-10-noprom_N.htm?csp=34
The prejudice of these people outweighs any concern they purport to have for children. By contrast, the BSA council's winning vote was cast with the best interest of children in mind. Wayne Perry, BSA president, said as much in an op-ed piece for USA Today, urging the council to adopt the resolution allowing gay youth in the organization.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/05/22/boy-scouts-president-let-in-gay-boys/2351907/
"Our vision is to serve every kid and give them a place where they grow up and feel protected," Perry told a news conference. No matter what one may think of homosexuality "our view is that kids are better off in scouting.
"It was never our intent to prevent young people from being part of this organization."
I'm proud of my boy and all he's accomplished and has yet to accomplish in scouting. I'm proud to be a scout parent, and I'm happy that the enriching, eddifying opportunities offered through the Boy Scouts will be open to all boys.
This decision is neither an endorsement nor a condemnation of homosexuality. It's about keeping the window of opportunity open for our youth. As for people who say they're worried about the next step, accepting gay scout leaders, I want to allay your fears.
First, being gay does not make one a pedophile. Second, Boy Scouts take great proactive steps to prevent even the appearance of impropriety. Take it from someone who has gone on scouting trips. No other child but my son is allowed to sleep in my tent, and I cannot allow another child inside my car unless the scout leaders have permission, written or verbal, from that child's parent.
Yes, scouting, like all other youth activities, has been hit by predators. Unfortunately, that's the world we live in. But the inclusion of gay scout leaders is no more a safety risk than having straight adults look after children. Gay is not synonymous with pedophile. But if you're a parent with concerns, I say volunteer and go with your child to scouting events.
I don't think the organization will suffer at all from this decision. It may even attract more recruits. No, it's not caving in to "pop culture" as the right-wingers claim. Parents and youth within scouting largely promoted reform. The decision at the top level, favoring inclusion came from within the grassroots of the organization.
A world that respects people and diversity -- that's what I want for my kids. Some thirty years from now when they're around the age I am now, a person's sexuality will be a non-issue. I applaud the Boy Scouts of America for staying true to its values and preserving the ideal of equality that's been in the American bloodstream from the beginning.
