Andy Towle reminds us of the homophobia still prevalent among the Boy Scouts of America, pointing to this report
about how the organization removed a lesbian mother, Denise Steele, as
a scout master of her son's troop after becoming aware of her sexual
orientation.
*****
The Boy Scouts prohibit atheists, agnostics, and "avowed" homosexual
people from leadership roles, and its right to discriminate has been
repeatedly upheld by state and federal courts. In 2004, the organization
adopted the following policy statement: "Boy Scouts of America believes
that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the obligations in the
Scout Oath and Scout Law to be morally straight and clean in thought,
word, and deed. The conduct of youth members must be in compliance with
the Scout Oath and Law, and membership in Boy Scouts of America is
contingent upon the willingness to accept Scouting's values and beliefs.
Most boys join Scouting when they are 10 or 11 years old. As they
continue in the program, all Scouts are expected to take leadership
positions. In the unlikely event that an older boy were to hold himself
out as homosexual, he would not be able to continue in a youth
leadership position."
May I be blunt? Fuck the Boy Scouts.
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