Who cares if someone is gay or not, as long as the person is there for the right reasons, does it really matter? Let me tell you a quick story. PLEASE READ!

I ( until recently ) was married to an Eagle Scout/ District Executive who I had admired and looked up to since I was fourteen years old. The boy scouts as we know have the highest morals and values! Turned out, my husband had been put in jail once in college for hitting a woman at a party. He was verbally and physically abusive toward me, drank all the time, and the marriage ended when I found out he was having an affair with a Scout voulunteer the entire time we were married. Did I mention we were trying to get pregnant? When I left him and the cat was out of the bag, he decided to manipulate me in the ultimate way, he waited until I was coming to our house to get some things, and he shot himself in the head so I would find him. He survived. A month later I suffered a stroke. The homewrecker/scout volunteer/pta parent is still out there working with our children in the BSA. Isn’t that nice?

The moral of the story? It doesn’t take a homosexual to corrupt our kids in the boy scouts. Why don’t we take a good hard look at the heterosexuals who are hanging out? Some of them might not be cream of the crop.

Feel free to email me. I would love to discuss! missmickeylou@yahoo.com

You gay people have to understand something here. You are your own worst enemies. When I meet someone, I don’t shake their hand and say “Hi! I’m Mario and I’m a hetrosexual,” so why do gays feel compelled to do this? “Hi, I’m Joe and I’m gay!” Joe! We don’t care that you are gay but when you tell us that you are, you may as well be waving your weenie in our faces and this is what we don’t like or appreciate.

The Dale vs BSA lawsuit that started all of this resulted from Mr Dale’s desire to TEACH THE HOMOSEXUAL LIFESTYLE to the scouts under his leadership. This is the “dirty little secret” that never seems to get out when this story is discussed. Regardless of what you may think, Scout Leaders aren’t teaching hetrosexual lifestyles to anyone nor should they be.

Before you criticize anyone else, look at yourselves in the mirror. Criticizing fundamentalist Christians won’t stop the problem. The Christian is interested in your eternal salvation and tells you what God says. You either accept it or reject it. Your choice and your business. You can argue with God in the afterlife, but don’t badmouth the people who are making an effort to keep you from going to hell. You should thank them for being concerned about your soul, but you never seem to look at it from that viewpoint, do you?

Another thing. Why is it such a problem that the BSA does not want to accept “OPENLY” gay leaders and youth? They accept everyone, but when you flaunt yourself, that benefits no one. I once heard an excellent interview. Something relating to GAYS happened and a woman who identified herself as a teacher was “worried about the gay kids in her class.”
The interviewer said that this was the problem. That the kids should not be flaunting their lifestyle, and the woman very angrily yelled “They’re not flaunting their lifestyle” to which the question was posed “Then how do you know that they’re gay?” This hit the issue right on the head. Keep your gayness to yourself, and I’ll keep my non-gayness to myself, and we can all get along just fine.

What I don’t remember about scouting:
Nobody asked me what church I went to. Nobody admonished me whether I went to church or not (I guess that was left up to my parents). Nobody asked me anything about sex or dating. Few people seemed to know, and nobody seemed to care, if other kids parents were married, single, or divorced. Teasing was not tolerated during troop events. Teasing of any sort was not part of being a good scout. Of course, outside the events all bets were off, but when we misbehaved, we knew our troop leaders wouldn’t approve. We didn’t actually know if anybody was gay either (early 80’s). We knew some parents liked and disliked other parents, but as long as nobody got in the way of planning the next outing, us kids sure didn’t care. Nobody read bibles, or prayed. The most religious thing was did was pledge (the flag pledge of allegiance and the little promise thing we had to memorize and recite. They were *so* not the big deal it is now, when we pledged God, we thought it didn’t matter which God, but now I can see it would be best to drop it for the non-believers.

Why I bring this up:
Yes, this is only one data point. And I don’t have any kids. But if I do, or when I’m talking to friends and relatives with kids about possible “extracurricular” activities, I would love if their kids could have a fun scouting experience like mine was. I’m sure “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” is one of the dumbest ideas for “adult” military troops, but when it comes to scouts, especially the younger groups, I’m not so sure that it’s nearly as stupid. Perhaps a better policy (gotta make it shorter and catchier, but here goes) would be…
1) Go ahead and ask… scouts should be curious
2) Go ahead and tell… scouts should always tell the truth
3) But that should be the end of the discussion… scouting is not family ed or sex ed.
I want kids to enjoy scouting. I don’t think scouting would have been any fun if it were hideously morphed into Sunday school, or some political rally. If there is a “gay” discussion in scouting, it should be…
Kid 1: Your “dads” dropped you off? Like, you have two?
Kid 2: Yep.
Kid 1: Huh. Cool. So, like, help me carry this project crap over to the table, ok?
Kid 2: Sure!
OR
Parent: I heard you’re gay.
Troop Leader: Yep.
Parent: So, what are your activities planned for this year?
Troop Leader: Campfire Safety, Selling Cookies, Swim Party, Selling More Cookies, Orienteering Lesson and Hike, Cookies…
Parent: Huh. Cool. Need help with that hike? I can do a compass reading lesson.
Troop Leader: Great!

If the officials in the scout hierarchy can’t get their heads out of (um… er… good scout wouldn’t finish that sentence)… well if they won’t let gay folks be the non-issue that they should be, I like the other poster’s idea to start another scouting organization. The whole idea behind banning the scouts from public spaces is to punish the hierarchy for being stupid. Unfortunately, it’s the kids who get hurt. Just like some peopel suggest “if you want to ban gay foster parenting, then you take on all the unadopted little kids”, I suppose the idea “if you want to ban the anti-gay scouts, then you create the everybody-welcome scouts” applies here. But obviously we shouldn’t have to, they should wise up. Breaks my heart to think of kids (and adults) missing out on innocent fun, and worse, to see kids learning that it’s OK to exclude people who are different from us. That’s not a very good scouting thing to do.

I didn’t say that the Boy Scouts are a religious organization. I said they pledge a duty to God, their own God(Christian, Allah, Buddah ). Even if you don’t believe in a higher power and you want to be a Scout you could lie and say you do, the Scouts don’t ask you to prove your belief , but then you have not lived up to the point of the scout law that tells you to be Trustworthy. I said that in MY opinion and Christian values a person can’t be morally straight and be gay, just like in MY opinion a thief or lawyer..;) can’t.
The Boy Scouts are not anti gay. They just don’t support or want to be identified with the lifestyle, as I don’t. I have gay co-workers that I am friendly with but I wouldn’t go with them to a gay function BUT I would stop and help them if they were hurt or in need.
As a matter of fact, after the Hurricanes last year , the Boy Scouts opened up all their camps for Hurrricane relief. They didn’t BAN homosexuals from using the facilities or obtaining any help they offered. Scout troops all over the country have helped raising funds for these people regardless of sexual or religious (or lack there of) preference.

Have a nice day, Ken

If the Boy Scouts want to discrimate based on their beliefs as a religious organization, then they shouldn’t have access to public facilities.

As far as your believing that homosexuality is a “chosen preference,” you can believe whatever you want to. The entirety of modern scientific and psychiatric thinking sees things differently, but, hey, I guess that’s why they call it “faith.”

My belief system tells me that the Boy Scout’s anti-gay policies are the OPPOSITE of being “morally straight,” because I believe discrmination is always IMMORAL. But you are certainly entitled to believe differently, Ken.

I just wanted to clarify a few things that I believe you don’t understand. The problem here is that the Boy Scout movement is based on duty to God, Country and Self: also the promise to keep yourself phisically strong, mentally awake and MORALLY STRAIGHT. In my opinion and according to my Christian beliefs, homosexuality does not fit into the Morally straight category. people who choose this lifestyle( and I do believe that it is a chosen not inherited preference) can’t be in line with the Scout Oath or Laws. Also, I would just like to add that there are homosexuals that would make great Scout leaders, just as there are many straight leaders right now that probably shouldn’t be in Boy Scouting.
The Boy Scouts would just as eagerly help a gay or lesbian old person across the street as a straight one……..;) There is a difference between associating with a lifestyle and being identified with and supporting it.

Thanks for listening, Ken

Description

The Gay Scouts of Peru Division Rover/Venture/Pioneer/Companion/Explorer Teams is for Rover Scouts, Venture Scouts, Pioneers, Companions, Explorers and other Boy Scouts and young people who want to become teamers between 13 and 20 years old. Young people with disabilities and tolerant straight young people are welcome. Legal authorization of parents and guardians to attend activities are required. Medical and psychological permissions are required for members with disabilities to attend activities.
Be Prepared in the Gay Pride !!!

But why don’t simply set up an alternative scout movement? In Europe, many countries have more than one scout organisation, and are recognised as members of the international association. In the Netherlands, the scout organisation even has a special working group on gay scouts!

Or, and that might even be your best option: leave the country, and find a more tolerable place to live!

If the Scouts banned African Americans or people with disabilities, would you still be so quick to defend them with your sharp wit?

Or is it just gay kids and adults we should teach our youth to shun and discriminate against?

Yours in Scouting,
Andrew Chalmers
Proud Scouter and father of an awesome Scout