Boy Scouts: End gay Scout ban, keep it for leaders

The governing board of the Boy Scouts of America on Friday recommended ending the organization’s ban on openly gay Scouts but keeping its prohibition on gay troop leaders. The proposal displeased advocates on both sides and ensured a new flurry of lobbying before the larger national body votes on the matter at its annual meeting next month.

The the executive committee’s resolution follows a year of shifting signals from the massive youth organization as it tries to finds its place in a nation where views on homosexuality are changing fast but remain polarized. Last summer, the group reaffirmed its ban on openly gay Scouts and leaders; then, in February, it said it was were revisiting the subject amid pressure from some board members, corporate sponsors and families. Polling from the organization released Friday showed deep division remains in the Scouting community.

“While perspectives and opinions vary significantly, parents, adults in the Scouting community, and teens alike tend to agree that youth should not be denied the benefits of Scouting,” said the committee, headquartered in Texas. The resolution states that sexual activity by any youth “of Scouting age is contrary to the virtues of Scouting.”

It’s unclear whether the full 1,400-member National Council will approve the executive committee’s recommendation when it gathers the week of May 20. The council consists of local and regional Scouting representatives, including both youths and adults, as well as at-large members and the roughly 75-member, all-volunteer executive committee that is charged with governing the national organization.

Scout officials had said in recent weeks that they were considering letting local Scout groups adopt their own position, so Friday’s proposal surprised even those who had been closely watching the issue. Across the board, people voiced varying degrees of disappointment and said they would keep pushing for their point of view.

“All along, I knew they’d tried to split the baby on this. They have the risk of alienating everyone,” said Cathy Stocker, a den leader of Cub Scout Pack 56 in Bethesda, Md.

Still, she said: “I’m encouraged because this is in the right direction. My husband is a war veteran, and we understand it’s difficult for very large organizations to change, in any way. If the U.S. military can do it, the Boy Scouts can do it.”

A national group of parents and Scouts who want to keep the ban put out a statement saying the Boy Scouts had caved in to “outside pressure.”

“When it comes to young boys, parents should still have the final say on the issues of sexuality and politics,” said John Stemberger, an Eagle Scout and founder of OnMyHonor.Net, which he said had received donations from thousands of people. “The cleverly-worded resolution tries to dodge criticism from gay activists but still creates a myriad of problems for how to manage and ensure the safety of the boys in the program.”

Chad Griffin, president of Human Rights Campaign, a large gay rights advocacy group, said the resolution, while promising in its flexibility, “must go further” to allow gay Scout leaders.

“Parents and adults of good moral character, regardless of sexual orientation, should be able to volunteer their time to mentor the next generation of Americans,” Griffin said. “What message does this resolution send to the gay Eagle Scout who, as an adult, wants to continue a lifetime of Scouting by becoming a troop leader?”

Some religious groups were cautious in their response. More than 70 percent of troops are chartered by faith-based groups. The Scouts said in February that their shift to reconsider the ban was led in part by people who said the ban violated their religious beliefs.

The Mormon Church, the largest single organization that charters Scout troops, was not included in the polling data the Scouts released about how religious groups feel about the ban.

Michael Purdy, a spokesman for the church, said in a statement that Mormon “leaders will take the time needed to fully review the language and study the implications of this new proposal.” He noted a final decision won’t be made until next month.

Nearly two-thirds of Mormons – 65 percent – said homosexuality should be discouraged by society in a 2011 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion &Public Life. By contrast, just 33 percent of the public said it should.

The National Catholic Committee on Scouting did not respond immediately to a request for comment, nor did a spokesman for the Washington region’s largest mosque, the All Dulles Area Muslim Society in Sterling, Va., which has a large Scouting program.

On Friday, the Scouts released polling showing how divided the massive Scouting community is on the topic — though numbers are shifting.

In 2010, according to Scout polling, 57 percent percent of Scout parents supported the ban. Today, 48 percent do.

Research on religious organizations that charter troops showed that “their concern is with homosexual adult leaders and not with youth,” the Boy Scouts said. The group said its research showed a lifting of the ban on men and boys would cause membership losses “in a range from 100,000 to 350,000.” It also would gain the organization 10,000 to 20,000 new youth, the Scout research said.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.