The Boy Scouts of America will vote on Thursday on a proposal to remove its ban on openly gay scouts that has been in place throughout the organization’s 103-year history.
The vote by more than 1,400 delegates comes amid intense lobbying by gay-rights activists and members of conservative organizations. The proposal would not remove the organization’s ban on gay adult leaders.
Representatives from both sides have rallied in Grapevine, Texas, near Dallas, where the scouting organization is hosting its national annual meeting.
While much of the BSA leadership apparently supports the rule change, recent polls show that many of the people directly associated with the Boy Scouts of America aren’t as supportive. According to Reuters, an online survey of roughly 200,000 BSA members, parents, and leaders showed that the majority opposed the changes at a nearly 2-1 ratio.
Boy Scouts announces proposal to lift gay ban for youth members: Adult members wouldn’t be covered by the proposed vote, however. They certainly picked a pretty quiet news day to announce this news.
Today in WTF: A Gawker tipster has revealed that the Boy Scouts of America aren’t sure if those scary Gays™ can keep their eyes/hands to themselves. The BSA is apparently polling members about the appropriateness of homosexual leaders attending overnight camping trips, and other rules/activities which could/would be impacted by a proposed change to the BSA’s policy barring gay members. While some argue that certain questions have merit — like questions about the appropriateness of gay teens sharing a tent — the overall tone and apparent need for such a poll doesn’t seem very inclusive to us. Thoughts?
After careful consideration and extensive dialogue within the scouting family, along with comments from those outside the organization, the volunteer officers of the Boy Scouts of America’s National Executive Board concluded that due to the complexity of this issue, the organization needs time for a more deliberate review of its membership policy.Boy Scouts of America - In a new statement, announcing the organization’s decision to postpone a vote to determine whether or not to repeal a three-decade old policy barring gay members and leaders from joining the BSA. The vote was apparently delayed due to a request from a coalition of leaders representing roughly one-fifth of the Boy Scouts’ currently registered members. source
According to new reports, the Boy Scouts of America are currently asking for public opinions on their potential plan to abandon a long-standing policy which barred gay members/leaders from joining the organization. If you’d like to share your thoughts, call the Boy Scouts of America national headquarters (972-580-2330) or send an email to nationalsupportcenter@scouting.org (h/t to OutsideTheArk) source
The Boy Scouts of America, one of the nation’s largest private youth organizations, is actively considering an end to its decades-long policy of banning gay scouts or scout leaders, according to scouting officials and outsiders familiar with internal discussions.
If adopted by the organization’s board of directors, it would represent a profound change on an issue that has been highly controversial — one that even went to the US Supreme Court. The new policy, now under discussion, would eliminate the ban from the national organization’s rules, leaving local sponsoring organizations free to decide for themselves whether to admit gay scouts.
The policy has been officially recognized since 1980, though we suspect it was quietly enforced for a much longer period in some areas. Thoughts?
The Scouts have got to expose, list and severely punish every former employee or volunteer who ignored or concealed child sex crimes. Nothing will have a quicker and more long-lasting impact of changing the culture of recklessness and secrecy.David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests • Making his recommendation to the Boy Scouts of America as to what they should do next following the release of thousands of pages of confidential documents detailing abuse within the Boy Scouts. The release of the files created a firestorm of controversy regarding the organization and crashed the Web site of attorney Kelly Clark, who posted the files on his site Thursday, drawing 200,000 hits in a short amount of time. (The site’s back up now.) Could the Boy Scouts put this controversy behind them for good with the right response?
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