I understand how difficult the decision is. At the troop I used to be associated with there also is the appearance that, because no boy claiming to be homosexual has applied to join, nothing has changed. To me, however, the key thing is that the BSA's teaching has changed. The BSA has endorsed the homosexual lifestyle and declared that it is "morally straight." To me this is a major change, because as another poster pointed out, outdoor skills were seconday, the primary mission of the BSA was to build character.
I overheard a scoutmaster puzzling over what to do if a homosexual boys goes on a camping trip. Scout rules say that a boy cannot tent alone. The rules forbid boys and girls from tenting together. What to do? What to do? He said, "Maybe we'll just ask and see who won't mind and put him with him." (!)
Do you wonder if, due to the BSA's new teaching, the boys would be subject to subtle pressure to say they wouldn't object? I know in this scoutmaster's troop, the announcement of the new homosexual acceptance policy was couched in terms of "tolerance," and "non-discrimination." Would your boy be safe in those circumstances? Would he want to stand out as being "intolerant"? Would this scoutmaster tent a seventeen-year old homosexual boy with a tenderfoot who doesn't object because he doesn't even know what homosexuality is.
Our Scoutmasters know better than to even bring it up.
I can guarantee that if an out of the closet homosexual scout was to join, the parents would pull their kids out in a New York minute, and that would be the end of that Troop.
I asked District, Council and National the following question:
Why is it permissible for a homosexual Scout who is 17 yrs and 364 days old to tent with a heterosexual Scout who is 11 years old, but it's not ok for an 18 year old heterosexual Scout to tent with his 17 yrs and 364 days old heterosexual buddy who he came up the ranks with?
Crickets...