This isn’t about scout leaders (for now). It’s about letting openly homosexual scouts join. Now I wonder what kind of young man would be open about his homosexuality in the first place. That sounds more like an advocate for a sexual perversion than someone who wants to scout. Even if said scout isn’t interested in pushing an agenda, who would want them camping with their children? Keep in mind we’re not talking about someone who is quietly dealing with homosexual tendencies. We’re talking about a young male who is openly homosexual.
DEC 2000 – Matt Comer, aged 14, had his membership in a Winston-Salem, NC, Boy Scout troop revoked because he came out publically as a homosexual in high school. Comer said he 1st cautiously came out in middle school, telling his friends and family that he was gay. The following year, as a 14-year-old freshman at R.J. Reynolds High School, he experienced bullying and harassment in the halls, on school buses and in classrooms. In response he created a gay-straight alliance, SPEAK (Students Promoting Equality Awareness & Knowledge), a student club where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight ally students could come together to discuss their experiences and work on projects to make school a safer place for all students. Comer said that at the same time he was months away from completing the requirements for the Eagle rank. It was then that he began to encounter resistance from his troop. “One of my Scout leaders talked to me and said that the (Old Hickory) council would be voting on my membership status. It scared me and I didn’t go back to any Scout meetings until December. The scoutmaster then told me that, ‘If you choose to live that lifestyle, then you are choosing not to be a Boy Scout.’” According to Comer, Troop 715 did not follow the policy for dismissing a Scout, which called for discussions with a Scout’s parents or family minister. He said those discussions never took place. Comer said that he was unable to determine exactly who decided on his dismissal from the Boy Scouts. Later he was told by former council scout executive Hal Murray that it must have been a troop decision.
Two years later on 10/12/2002, Comer helped organize and participated in a Scouting For All Rally at the Old Hickory Council’s service center in Winston-Salem. The rally was held in conjunction with the National Rally Week of Scouting For All, a national effort to try to get the BSA to change its exclusive membership policy. The rally was sponsored by Replacements, Ltd. of Greensboro, NC, and the Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem. It took the form of a silent protest from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A closing reception was held at the Unitarian-Universalist church from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Wayne Brown, field director of the Old Hickory Council, declined to comment about the protest.
Due to family concerns, Matt Comer changed his last name to Hill during his college years. Now at age 26, he is an LGBTQ activist and the editor of QNotes, a Charlotte-based LGBTQ community newspaper. He is also the contributing author of “Youth in Crisis: What Everyone Should Know About Growing Up Gay.”
10/04/2012 – It was reported in the news today that 17 year-old Life Scout Ryan Andresen (who was close to his 18th birthday) was recently denied the opportunity to apply for his Eagle Board of Review by the BSA National office and kicked out of Scouting. Ryan was a member of Troop 212 which is chartered to Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Moraga, CA. The local council is the Mount Diablo Silverado Council (~15 miles east of San Francisco). BSA National spokesman Deron Smith read a statement that Andresen recently "notified his unit leadership and Eagle Scout Counselor that he does not agree to Scouting’s principle of 'Duty to God' and does not meet Scouting’s membership standard on sexual orientation. While the BSA did not proactively ask for this information, based on his statements and after discussion with his family he is being informed that he is no longer eligible for membership in Scouting.” Ryan came out in July. His 52 year-old father, Eric Andresen, said the scoutmaster (SM) knew about Ryan's sexual orientation and the family had no idea he wouldn't sign off on the paperwork. Eric Andresen resigned as the troop committee chairman after it was confirmed that Ryan wouldn't receive the award. The district advancement chairman wrote on an internet scouting forum that (1) after meeting Ryan to approve his Eagle Service Project (ESP) he suspected Ryan was homosexual but did not inquire, (2) the ESP proposal was unusual but was approved, (3) the SM was young and inexperienced with a young family whose boys were not yet Scouting age, (4) the entire local volunteer scouting community was in an uproar that Ryan was treated unjustly, (5) the SM moved out of his home to a undisclosed temporary location because of threats, (6) Ryan’s troop had a reputation for hazing, and (7) he thought someone either on the troop committee or from within the church reported Ryan to the local council office. Ryan's ESP, a "tolerance wall," was inspired by the years of hazing he endured in middle school and later at Boy Scout summer camp, where his nicknames were "Tinkerbell" and "faggot." Ryan worked at the local middle school to organize an art project for “Respect All Differences Day”, which has an anti-bullying theme. Students created 288 tiles expressing "kindnesses," which he used to create a mural that was mounted on a wall by the school library. His mother, Karen Andresen, a 49 year-old stay-at-home mother of 3, said Ryan entered the Cub Scouts when he was 6 years old and in no way knew what he was. Karen Andresen was so upset by BSA’s decision that she posted a petition on Change.org. "It was not his idea, it was mine," she said. In the petition, Andresen cited the merit badge -- "Citizenship in the Community … [It] means standing up for what is right, and I am proud of Ryan for doing just that," she wrote. "Will you stand with him, too?" Many scouts and scouters across the land voiced their support of Ryan. Six days after the story broke, Ryan appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” to tell his story. She presented him a U.S.$20,000 check for a college scholarship.
It’s about letting openly homosexual scouts join.
The scouts include boys ages six to nineteen.