Boy Scouts vs. Gays

It's been a while since I've posed to the blog, and there has been one issue in the news of recent which has really sparked some anger and engaged some quite passionate discussion.

This is, of course, the recent announcement that the Boy Scouts of America is going to keep it's policy banning gays from being members of the program.

Now, before I go further, I do have to say that I am an Eagle Scout, which I earned in 2004, and I do not have any plan on returning my rank of Eagle back to National Office.

In thinking of my time with the Boy Scouts of America which started in 1992, only one time did the topic of homosexuality come up, and that was when I was 23 and we were discussing our council's non-discriminatory policy which was setup in discrimination on race, color, creed, or sexual orientation. Wait, sexual orientation? Like, gays and lesbians? Yes, sexual orientation. Several councils across the United States actually have non-discriminatory policies for either employment or it's members, which in many cases override the national policy.

But it's interesting, that people are calling the Boy Scouts of America a hate group, since it doesn't accept gay members, and it's teaching young boys that there's something not right about gay people. If this was true, why is it in my twenty years of being active with the Scouting program had I not heard a single thing about hating others? If anything, the program teaches boys to accept others regardless of who they are.

Now, I know the idiots are going to come back with "Well, if they don't teach hate, why don't they accept all members?" Well, why does the NAACP only give scholarships to black people? Why are there hundreds of organizations which promote based on race, gender or ethnicity? The Boy Scouts, the NAACP and the other organizations don't do it to be discriminates, but it's the values they decided to hold.

Recently, many Eagle Scouts have returned their badges and medals to National Office as a form of protest. As I said before, I will not be sending mine back. I am not protesting the program. While I do feel the Boy Scouts of America needs to review their program, they shouldn't fold to political pressure as the only people who would be hurt are the boys themselves. Again, this is the BOY Scouts of America.

Which brings me to another thought. If you have a child in the Scouting program, and you seriously have a problem with this policy, when was the last time you acted like a parent and sat with your child and had a discussion? If your child was to follow everything that happened at their school, they wouldn't celebrate any holiday in December, and not understand why certain holidays are celebrated. That's your job as a parent to explain why they don't hate someone because of what they look like or how they act.

Of recent, President Barack Obama has announced he does not support the policy set forth by the Boy Scouts of America, yet he is retaining his position as Honorary President. While I don't necessarily support the president with his decisions, and it will be a manner of time whether or not President Obama maintains the title of Honorary President, I honestly hopes he realize the number of young men who will be effected by this.

Unlike most of the people upset over the policy the Boy Scouts of America has, I have experienced the program and realize that the program is not about hating someone who is gay, but for developing values which are used throughout a lifetime. As I had previously said, I would support the Boy Scouts of America reviewing this policy in the near future, but at this point in time I see no effect to the quality of the program that this policy would enact.