Discrimination against gay and
lesbian people goes far beyond structured organizations like law enforcement
and the military. I was disturbed to see the story about seventeen year old Ryan
Anderson who worked his way through five ranks in the Boy Scouts and earned
twenty-one merit badges in anticipation of earning his Eagle Scout award, only
to be denied the award because of his sexual orientation.
Anderson had been part of the Boy
Scouts since he was six years old. He came out as being openly gay to family
and friends prior to earning his Eagle Scout when he was seventeen years old.
He received no indication that he would not be granted the award until his
scout master refused to sign the official paperwork. On an appeal, a volunteer Eagle
Scout Board of Review decided that Andersen completed all the necessary
requirements to earn the award and approved his application. However, a paid
Boy Scout executive ultimately rejected the board’s unanimous decision and
denied him the award. Andersen’s membership into the Boy Scouts was also
revoked.
According to the Boy Scouts of
America, the group believes that “homosexuals do not provide a desirable role model
for Scouts.” The organization also does
not accept volunteers or professional employees who are homosexual. The Boy Scouts are a wholly private
organization that does not receive federal or state funding, so they are free
to discriminate as they see fit against any group. Of course, they have lost many corporate
sponsors because of their archaic policy against homosexuals, but that still has
not affected their stance against accepting members who are openly gay.
This organization sends the wrong
message that no matter how good you are at the tasks assigned and how good how
a kid you may be in general, they will always be looked at as inferior just
because of who they like. The only way to force change in an organization such
as this is to have sponsors refuse to support the organization, and to have
individuals withdraw and/or refuse to be part of such an organization that
promotes discrimination and intolerance.
I personally don’t think that sexual
orientation should enter into whether a person is qualified to be a Scout. I was
happy to see that many outraged current and former Boy Scouts have surrendered
their merit badges. Andersen’s mother also started the attached online petition
to stand up against the Boy Scout’s discrimination policy, which I signed. There
are currently over 477,000 signatures. www.change.org.
I also attached an interview with Ryan
Andersen conducted by Anderson Cooper and would like to hear your opinion on
the subject.
References:
The Boy Scouts of America are subsidized by the Congress of the United States and have been since the 1920's. Therefore they should be subject to the Equal Opportunity Act as a political entity. They are a quasi military organization and since gays are now welcomed in our armed forces it only serves to reason they should be allowed in the faux forces too.
ReplyDeleteI tried to sign my son up for the Boy Scouts when he was six and was turned away since he has no father figure. I was told that he needed a father to come with him and to do the activities. I haven't cared for the Boy Scouts since and your post just affirmed that.
ReplyDeleteI never saw that clip of Ryan and I really hope that this decision can get overturned. He seems like a great kids who worked hard. Hard to understand how his scout master is ignoring him, I wonder if he is afraid of being sued and has been asked not to speak to him? Also amazing that another gay scout from the troop earned Eagle just because he was not out of the closet (don't ask don't tell.)
ReplyDeleteThis is a big Civil Rights issue right now. I looked around a little to try to read about gov't funding of the scouts which enables them to be a private club but could not find anything conclusive from a fast search. I did see that they get a lot of support from the department of defense as far as transportation, being lent needed items, being lent facilities for events. It really is a quazi-governmental organization.