Remarkably, the Boy Scouts of America is still debating whether or not to continue its ban against gays and lesbian scouts and scout leaders. They are currently surveying the scout community. This is an issue that should not require a poll to figure out what's right.
Here's what I shared with BSA's national office and with the National Capitol Area Council:
I am a scout leader in Patriot District and a Wood Badge candidate. These are my comments about BSA's current discrimination against gays and lesbians.
BSA must enter the 21st Century and embrace diversity and accept gays and lesbians, as our armed services and all other significant institutions have.
BSA has a very public mission. The fact that it is a "private organization" is meaningless in the context of its key, influential role in America. Bringing diversity to your unit is required for all Wood Badge candidates. Why is that message getting buried by BSA's policies?
Consider this irony: Through its current discrimination, BSA is telling gay or lesbian leaders in our armed services that they do not have the moral fitness to serve as an assistant den leader in their own son's Cub Scout pack. Does that make sense?
BSA's discrimination against gays violates my Christian faith and my sense of honor, morality, and history as an American.
Clinging to the current policy will hurt Boy Scouts future as an enduring, significant institution in the U.S.
My father was a Boy Scout, I was a Boy Scout, my son is a Boy Scout. On behalf of all of us, please end the discrimination, which is no different than barring Jewish or African Americans from scouting.
