Posted on 06/06/2012 4:13:18 PM PDT by Hunton Peck
The Boy Scouts of America is considering a newly-proposed resolution that calls for ending a 102-year-old policy theyve grappled with in recent years: banning gay scouts and scout leaders, gay advocates told msnbc.com on Wednesday. Though the organization said it would review the proposal, a spokesman insisted there were no plans to change the policy.
The new policy would throw out the national ban and allow local chartering organizations to decide whether or not they would accept gay youth and leaders, said Zach Wahls, an Eagle Scout who has advocated for the change, citing unidentified people he spoke to within the organization.
Boy Scouts of America spokesman Deron Smith said a resolution to amend the national policy to allow each of the Scoutings chartered groups to set its own standards regarding gay members was turned in by a voting member before April 30, the deadline for submitting resolutions.
While well carefully consider this resolution, there are no plans to change this policy, he said noting that resolutions and petitions on the matter were not unique and dated back to 2000, when the Supreme Court heard a challenge over their stance (the justices sided with the Boy Scouts in the lawsuit involving a former Assistant Scoutmaster who was gay, citing the protections of the First Amendment).
Wahls, the son of a lesbian couple, last Wednesday delivered a petition bearing 275,000 signatures calling for an end to the 102-year-old policy and the reinstatement of Jennifer Tyrrell to her post as den mother after she was ousted in April because she is gay.
Wahls said he was absolutely ecstatic when he heard about the proposal to change the policy, saying it would be akin to the repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a...
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.msnbc.msn.com ...
My, aren’t we a bit offensive then defensive? Good for your sons that they weren’t in an LDS troop.
Your “friendly” tone notwithstanding, at a minimum, it was STAKE policy in our areas to register EVERY youth member in the appropriate program for their age group.
I was a SM for 2 different mormon troops (SC and CA) and also a Committee Member, responsible for helping submit the re-charter paperwork each year.
I challenged their policy each year, and each year was rebuffed.
Why don’t you call your local YM president or better yet, SLC and check it out before you call “BS” on my post?
Thanks for “anecdotal” proof of your position as our son is also “anecdotal” proof as well, since I removed him from the farce that is LDS scouting and placed him in a conventional troop.
They still registered him the first year after he had left “just in case” he changed his mind.
Not very “Scout like”, if your a Scouter.
Thank Friend.
I agree.
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A ward may have a troop, but there is no requirement to join it. The YM activities go beyond the scouting activities. Having experience with a troop of 50 to 100 scouts, I didn’t see the necessary depth in the tiny LDS troop in the ward. You need a range of age and experience to make it work as designed. Unfortunately, the huge troop sponsored by the Catholic church went too far the other direction. The parents were too involved and constantly pressing for activities beyond our financial means to support. My PTA sponsored troop raised funds collecting newspapers and putting on movies at the achool cafeteria. Our activities were scoped within our financial means. Scouts morphed in odd ways in 1973. I opted to stay oit after that point in time.
Join is a lot different than registered or even participating. I wrote that the Scouting age boys in the wards are registered, regardless of activity in the ward.
Essentially, they are “ghost” registrations that the LDS pay for when the boys aren’t active in their church, let alone Scouting.
It’s a dumb policy that costs the church a lot of money. I have some opinions about why, but they’re not germane to the registration discussion.
From the above link...
“Where Scouting is authorized by the Church, young men ages 12 to 15 should be registered. Young men ages 16 and 17 should be registered if they are pursuing rank advancements or if the stake president or bishop chooses to sponsor Scouting programs for young men of this age.”
Note, it does not say active, inactive, etc. It just says that ym in specific age categories should be registered.
Stakes should register all young men ages 815 in Scouting. They should register young men ages 16-17 in Scouting when they are pursuing rank advancements or when stake presidents and bishops choose to sponsor Venturing posts (Rovers in Canada) for young men of this age. Stakes should also register adult leaders. (June 1998 LDS Budget Allowance Guidelines, pg2)
I stand by my post.
The LDS “segregate” their Scouts based on age and ph quorom (to maintain “quorom identity”, whatever that means), even if you had a 40 boys active in Scouting in an LDS ward, you wouldn’t be permitted to have those boys integrate.
Parental interference, the fastest way to end up as a babysitting troop and doing the heavy lifting. Cheating the Scouts of their opportunities to grow.
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