Tag Archives: BSA

Equal Scouting Summit to take place next week when BSA discusses gay ban

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Scouts for Equality and the Inclusive Scouting Network are holding a national Equal Scouting Summit next week while the Boy Scouts’ National Council debates whether or not to allow gay youth.

The event will bring together national leaders and discuss how to make the BSA more inclusive moving forward. Jennifer Tyrrell, Zach Wahls, Greg Bourke, Will Oliver and Eagle Scout Dave McGrath, who is biking 1,800 miles with his son for equality, are among the speakers.

The Voice of the Gay Scout project will also be a part of the summit. Gay Scouts are encouraged to send letters about what they would say to members of the BSA’s National Council. Scouts and allies will bring the letters to the National Council and read them aloud. Letters can be sent to voice@inclusivescouting.net.

The summit is May 22-24 at the Great Wolf Lodge, 100 Great Wolf Drive in Grapevine.

For more information or to RSVP, go here.

—  Anna Waugh

Ernst & Young CEO on why he ‘needed to speak out’ against BSA gay ban

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Jim Turley

Jim Turley

Sharing his story with Businessweek, Ernst & Young’ CEO Jim Turley talks about why he finally decided to speak out against the Boy Scouts’ ban against gay Scouts and leaders.

Although he didn’t want to be a spokesman for the BSA, when former Ohio den mother Jen Tyrrell was ousted from her position last year, Turley said he joined forces with AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson to oppose the ban.

“I don’t think it will lead the Scouts to be as robust and successful for the youth of the country as it can be,” he said. “It’s not a policy I subscribe to. It’s something we know we need to wrestle with.”

Both companies have a 100 percent rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, and Turley said he worried the association with the BSA would harm his company, which values diversity.

News of Randall and Turley’s urge for the National Executive Board to change the policy in February led to a media firestorm and a delay until the National Council could vote in May.

Turley said the compromise that will be voted on May 22 to allow only gay youth was a “substantial and significant change,” even though he wished “we’d gone further this time.”

“I’m hopeful and optimistic that some change will take place,” he said. “I do not think that this should or will be the end of the debate.”

—  Anna Waugh

New poll shows majority of Americans oppose Boy Scouts’ ban on gays

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In a new Washington Post and ABC News poll, a majority of respondents favor the Boy Scouts’ proposed resolution to admit gay Scouts but not leaders.

Meanwhile, of the 1,008 adults surveyed from May 1 to 5, 63 percent support admitting gay Scouts while 56 percent of respondents oppose continuing to ban gay Scout leaders.

The results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Zach Wahls, Eagle Scout and Scouts for Equality founder, said the results are encouraging and the group will work with supporters over the next two weeks before 1,400 members of the BSA’s national council vote on the compromise.

“Today’s Washington Post/ABC News poll demonstrates that there is overwhelming support in this country for the Boy Scouts of America’s effort to end discrimination within its organization. 63 percent of adults agree with Scouts for Equality that it is time that all scouts be treated as equal,” Wahls said in a statement. “This is why over the next two weeks leading up to the historic vote on May 23rd, we will work with our partners and over 11,000 members to do everything we can to make this a reality. The poll also demonstrates that the majority of Americans agree that while is this is a critical step, this fight cannot and will not end until every scout, scout leader and parent are welcome making BSA the strongest it has ever been.”

The poll also found 68 percent of people support NBA star Jason Collins’ decision to come out. And 55 percent support allowing gays and lesbians to marry.

—  Anna Waugh

A letter showing why we still have a long way to go in fighting bigotry

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BSAI received a strange email this week, and I’m not sure why.

It was written by one Sebastian Wolfgang, apparently in response to a piece in the Dallas Morning News (paywall) by Tom Melsheimer saying that the Boy Scouts of America had “failed their leadership challenge” in opposing gay leaders in the Scouts.

Sebastian Wolfgang took issue with this approach, and sent an email to Melsheimer in which he laid out in clear arguments how destructive gay people are. Just why the author chose to cc me on this email, I’m not sure, but the thing is, he seems more happy with making up facts than reporting them. The amount of misinformation (“sodomy has been against the law for over 200 years in our country” — he never heard of Lawrence v. Texas, apparently) and outright dangerous libels (“Almost 100% of AIDS come from homosexuals”). It just goes to show how far we still have to go in order to overcome the homophobia that continues.

After the break, then, is the email:

Continue reading “A letter showing why we still have a long way to go in fighting bigotry” »

—  Arnold Wayne Jones

New group defending Scouts’ gay ban, On My Honor, lies on its website

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Greg Bourke

Greg Bourke

In advance of a meeting of 1,400 Boy Scout leaders in May, hundreds of leaders met in Orlando to oppose any change to the organization’s ban on gays. They’ve formed a new group called On My Honor.

The website’s three main sections are Impact on Scouts, Email the BSA and Local Efforts. The “impact” section begins with the inaccurate statement, “Current BSA policy is time-tested and fair, allowing anyone to participate regardless of sexual orientation.”

Any Scout or Scout leader that is found to be gay is dismissed from the organization. An example is Ryan Andresen, a California teen who was denied his Eagle Scout award after Scout leaders learned his sexual orientation last year. Jen  Tyrell is a den mother who was dismissed when her sexual orientation became known.

On My Honor makes clear elsewhere on its site that its goal is to continue opposition to any gay participation in the organization.

“OnMyHonor.net is the official coalition of concerned parents, Scout Leaders, Scouting Donors, Eagle Scouts and others affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America who are united in their support of Scouting’s timeless values and their opposition to open homosexuality in the Scouts,” it says.

The “Local Efforts” section is looking for volunteers.

“Volunteer to become a local leader or state spokesperson in your area and help protect 103 years of tradition,” it says.

The 103-year tradition of discrimination? Or the 103-year tradition of being honest, which they violate in the previous statement about allowing anyone to participate regardless of sexual orientation?

The Scouts meet in Grapevine in May to discuss and vote on changing the policy to local option. And the policy the organization describes as “historic” dates to 1991. Interesting that a new group had to form because the Scouts aren’t doing enough to preserve their exclusionary policies.

—  David Taffet

EXCLUSIVE: Boy Scouts of America surveys members, parents on gay ban

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This morning we obtained access to a Boy Scouts of America survey that was emailed to members and their parents on Sunday, seeking their opinions about the group’s gay ban.

“The Boy Scouts of America is in the process of a careful and deliberate review of our membership policy, as it relates to the national membership restriction regarding sexual orientation,” the BSA wrote in an email announcing the survey. “We are dedicated to the integrity of this process. In an effort to listen to our members’ perspectives and concerns, we ask you to answer some questions about this topic and about your overall Scouting experiences.”

The BSA’s national council is expected to vote during its annual meeting in Grapevine in May on whether to lift the organization’s ban on gay Scouts and leaders.

View more questions from the survey below. (Click to enlarge.)

Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE: Boy Scouts of America surveys members, parents on gay ban” »

—  John Wright

WATCH: Ellen DeGeneres, former Girl Scout, voices opinion on BSA

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Ellen DeGeneres and her younger self as a Girl Scout.

Ellen DeGeneres and her younger self as a Girl Scout.

Lesbian comedian and talk show host Elle DeGeneres has chimed in on the Boy Scouts’ opting to delay a decision to allow gays until May.

A Girl Scout once herself who had a brother in Boy Scouts, DeGeneres said on her talk show that she believes in the organization and encourages people to worry about more important things on campouts than sexual orientation, such as bears and staying alive.

“I think what the Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts are trying to teach is important,” she said. “They’re trying to teach kids to be leaders, and the more that we teach people how to accept people for who they are, the more self confident they’ll be and the better leaders they’ll become.”

Watch it below.

Continue reading “WATCH: Ellen DeGeneres, former Girl Scout, voices opinion on BSA” »

—  Anna Waugh

Not all gays want BSA to lift ban

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scoutsLocal gay man Eli Hernandez is against the Boy Scouts of America ending its national gay ban.

Hernandez sent a statement to Dallas Voice today that states he is against including gays and lesbians in the organization because the “Scouts is not a place where a child should learn about sex or sexuality – whether gay or straight.”

“My position on this issue is simple – the Scouts is a place for children to learn leadership, character, physical fitness and citizenship,” Hernandez writes. “It’s a place where kids can be themselves, and learn from other kids and responsible adults.”

Luckily for Hernandez, the BSA National Executive Board postponed its decision on the policy change until May so its members have more time to hear feedback from councils, citizens and sponsors.

“While the Boy Scouts of America debates this issue, I do hope that they consider the needs of children first and not cave into liberals and the narrow gay agenda,” Hernandez said.

Read Hernandez’s full statement below.

Continue reading “Not all gays want BSA to lift ban” »

—  Anna Waugh

Poll finds majority of nation’s voters support ending BSA’s gay ban

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A national poll released today by Quinnipiac University in Connecticut found that American voters favored the Boy Scouts ending its national no-gays policy 55 to 33 percent.

The poll’s results came out the same day that the BSA’s National Executive Board postponed a vote that would place the decision to include gays with local troops. The discussion will continue at the national meeting in May.

The university surveyed 1,772 voters between Jan. 30 and Feb. 4. The margin of error is 2.3 percentage points.

The support was higher among women, who support the inclusion of gay Scouts by 61 percent, compared to 49 percent of men who were polled.

Support was highest among white Catholics, who favored ending the ban by 63 percent. Evangelical Protestants followed with 56 percent backing the policy’s end. Overall Protestants favor opening up Scouting by 44 percent.

Only 33 percent of voters polled disagreed with changing the policy.

“Now that the Armed Forces ban on openly gay service members has been lifted, and polls show increasing acceptance of same-sex marriage, most American voters think it’s time to open up the Boy Scouts, too,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

—  Anna Waugh

BREAKING: Boy Scouts delay vote on gay ban

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Gay Scouts and leaders deliver boxes with 1.4 million signatures from combined Change.org petitions requesting the Boy Scouts end its national no-gays ban on Monday. (Anna Waugh/Dallas Voice)

IRVING — The Boy Scouts of America National Executive Board has delayed a vote on removing the national gay ban.

The decision came early in the third day of the board’s three-day meeting at the DFW Airport Marriott. A possible vote was expected today, but the board has decided to discuss the issue more at its national board meeting in May where 1,400 members will vote on a resolution. That meeting will take place May 22 at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine.

“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,” BSA spokesman Deron Smith said in a statement. “To that end, the National Executive Board directed its committees to further engage representatives of Scouting’s membership and listen to their perspectives and concerns. This will assist the officers’ work on a resolution on membership standards.”

Cece Cox, CEO of Resource Center Dallas, said she doesn’t believe this is the end of the issue and urged people working with the Scouts to redouble their efforts.

“The Center is disappointed that the Boy Scouts of America and its board of directors are deferring a decision until May on whether or not to repeal a ban that continues to force gay Scouts and LGBT Scout leaders to lie about who they are,” Cox said. “The ban is a relic of discrimination and disinformation; it should be on the ash heap of history.  We urge the Boy Scout board to stand for equality and fairness and join the ranks of both corporate American and the American people who value their lesbian and gay employees, friends and neighbors.”

The Human Rights Campaign said the delay meant that more action is needed to sway the BSA toward an inclusive policy. HRC originally supported the proposed policy to allow local troops to decide whether to admit gay Scouts and leaders, but later called for a national nondiscrimination policy to protect gay members and leaders in every troop.

Continue reading “BREAKING: Boy Scouts delay vote on gay ban” »

—  Anna Waugh