Boy Scouts of America affirms ban on gays

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Logo of the Boy Scouts of America
Image: Scouting.org.

Yesterday, officials for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) announced they would continue enforcing their policy that restricts members for openly gay members and leaders. The announcement comes following a 2-year review of the policy by an 11-person committee formed by the organization in 2010.

The decision was announced despite several protests of the policy, which has been categorized as institutional "discrimination" by gay rights organizations such as Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

The review process, consisting of a secret committee, has also been criticized. The AP quoted Eagle Scout Zach Wahls, raised by a lesbian couple: "The very first value of the Scout Law is that a Scout is trustworthy...There is absolutely nothing trustworthy about unelected and unnamed committee members who are unwilling to take responsibility for their actions."

Bob Mazzuca, Chief Scout Executive was quoted in the BSA press release: "The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve value their right to address issues of same-sex orientation within their family, with spiritual advisers, and at the appropriate time and in the right setting." The statement from the BSA indicated that while there was disagreement among the members of the executive board on the issue, after comprehensive review the policy would continue to be upheld.

The policy of the BSA to exclude gay members originally became the focus of national attention in 2000, when the US Supreme Court upheld the organization's right to exclude membership based on their status as a private organization in a 5–4 vote. The Huffington post noted this controversial policy has again been highlighted by the media in recent months, such as in the case of Jennifer Tyrrell who was forced out of her position as den mother when it was discovered she was homosexual. Huffington Post writer Michelangelo Signorile criticized the action saying "the Boy Scouts tells young Americans that no one should accept gay people. If gays shouldn't be allowed in the Boy Scouts, after all, why should they be allowed in your school or in your neighborhood?"

BSA board members Randall L. Stephenson, CEO of AT&T, and James S. Turley, CEO of Ernst & Young, have both stated they will work to end the policy from inside the organization according to the New York Times.The Associated Press notes Stephenson is due to become the president of the board in 2014 and will likely continue bring the policy in line with that of AT&T, which openly supports gay rights. A statement from AT&T read, in part, "Our belief is that change at any organization must come from within to be successful and sustainable."