Boyscouts are Out of Step

“Truth, Justice, And The American Way” Does Not Just Belong to Superman”

The Position Statement of The Girl Scouts of America:

We recognize the basic human rights of all people, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendering individuals. All citizens, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, have the rights to housing, employment and to be free from violence and harassment.

The Girl Scout Policy with regard to sexual orientation of its members, volunteers and staff states there are no membership policies on sexual preferences which means that unlike the Boy Scouts and their policy regarding homosexual male adults, the Girl Scouts allow lesbians to serve as leaders.

Jennifer Tyrrell, Mother and Tiger Scout Den Leader, Ousted For Being a Lesbian:

This means that if this mother of four from Bridgeport, Ohio had been a Girl Scout leader, she would still have her position as Troop Leader. Jennifer wants her job back. So far, her petition for reinstatement has over 140,000 signatures, plus endorsements from celebrities such as Josh Hutcherson of “The Hunger Games” and Jesse Tyler Ferguson of “Modern Family.” She hopes to get 300,000 signatures and give the petition to Boy Scout Headquarters in Dallas, Texas.

This week, Boy Scouts Reaffirms Its Exclusion Policy And Kicks Out Eagle Scout

Echoing the Supreme Court decision in 2000, BSA reaffirmed its policy of excluding gays as both leaders and scouts. Nineteen year-old Eagle Scout Eric Jones, was fired from his job as counselor after working at a Missouri BSA camp for five years because he admitted he was gay. The reason? Bob Mazzuci, BSA Scout’s Executive, told Associate Press, “The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve value their right to address issues of same-sex orientation within the family, with spiritual advisers and at an appropriate time and in right setting.”

Protests About The BSA Decision.

Not only are gay activists calling on Boy Scouts to abandon their policy, but also Service members Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and Out Service, an association of actively serving LGBT members of the Armed Services. In a solidarity move, straight former Eagle Scout, Martin Cizmar, Arts and Cultural Editor of Portland Weekly’s Williamette Week, returned his Eagle Scout badge to Bob Mazzuca and Wayne Brock of the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America yesterday.

Out of Step with Society

“The Boy Scouts of America, with 2.7 million youth members, has missed a great opportunity of colossal proportions,” according to Human Rights Campaign Chad Griffin. “These adults could have taught the value of respect, yet they’ve chosen to teach division and intolerance.” Said GLAAD President Herndon Graddick, “until the ban is lifted, scouts are putting parents in a situation when they have to explain to their children why some scouts and hardworking scout leaders are being turned away simply because of who they are. It’s unfair policies like these that contribute to a climate of bullying in our schools and communities – since when is that a value worth teaching young adults?”
The Girl Scouts, The Boys and Girls Club, the 4-H Clubs, and now even the military forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation. The Boy Scouts, founded in 1910, should update their policy in keeping with a diverse modern society.