Unofficially of course, the scoutmaster can do a lot to protect the members of their troop (both adults and scouts) from the more idiotic national policies. I don’t care if a boy believes in God, Allah, Yahweh, TFSM, is Buddhist, Wiccan or atheist and long as he lives a morally upright life as specified by the Scout Law.* Likewise any homosexual issues with either Scouts or their parents. I’m not going to get into my reasons of why homosexuality should not be a religious issue for Christians or a disqualifying criterium for BSA (if you want I can rant about it) and I support any homosexual participating in BSA.
What I have found in BSA is at the local level, a lot of Boy Scout leaders are like me in that they just want to have a good program that helps develop young boys (let’s not get into how the Brits do it right by having both boys and girls in Scouts). Those that oppose homosexuals in BSA are just ignorant and it always come down to their belief that homosexual men = child rapists.
My son is in Scouts and the Mrs and I struggled with the same decision you need to make. Ultimatly we decided that as long as he was insulated at the Troop level from the bigotry and ignorance of National, that he could enjoy the benefits of scouting and it would not be promoting (you could argue we condone it I guess) their views.
*If you follow the link, think reverent to teachers, parents, community leaders, etc. I love the irony that the official BSA interpretation is “He respects the beliefs of others.”
The Northern Star Council, which covers the Twin Cities metro area, officially has a non-discrimination policy which runs counter to this national organization decision. Would the national organization kick out the entire council?
If he were my kid, I’d take this opportunity to teach him to stand up for his values, even if it means dropping out of the Scouts. And I’d also work damn hard to find another activity for him that he’d love just as much. But I wouldn’t force this on him; he’d have to decide for himself.
Theoretically yes if the Mormons in charge (historically BSA started as and to a large part currently is a LDS youth group) wanted to make an issue over it and revoke the council’s charter. It has been done at the troop level before. It will be interesting to see if a rival Boy Scout Organization can gain traction. I suspect there will be a lot of change at the local level and none at National after their hand-picked committee decided on the status quo.
Better to identify what it is that was good about the Boy Scouts of America, and find another organization that offers similar benefits and opportunities.
Is there any reason why a troop in the USA could not join the Boy Scouts of another country, for example, the Boy Scouts of Canada (which is gay friendly and has a gay Rover crew)?
That sort of thing has happend in Canada in the Anglican Church. Some Anglican churches in Canada left the Anglican Church of Canada (which while not gay friendly is making steps toward being less bigotted) and joined South America’s anti-gay Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.
Obviously I don’t see this happening with the Boy Scouts – I’m just curious if it is possible.
Tell your kid to cause trouble. Bring up the unfairness of bigotry against gays with scout leaders, talk to other scouts about it, publicly and loudly disagree with scout leadership about it.
If not (and it appears not) then the door is open for other councils and individual troops to sign up together with them endorsing that position that they will, at the council and troop level, ignore any national level command to discriminate.
Yes. A Big +1 to both johnpost and Disheavel, and if the “atmosphere” or “culture” within the troop is good locally, ignore HQ and stick with it. There’s plenty of other good values young Asa can take from BSA besides “No Gays Allowed.”
If not, then others have pointed out good alternatives as well.
Continuing with your own participation is, especially in light of the recent confirmation of the policy, giving your tacit approval to BSA’s evil stance. There’s really no other way to slice it. Drop your participation and, if comfortable doing so, be vocal about why.
For your son, I agree with the idea of letting him decide what he wants to do. I would, however, make him aware of the BSA’s policies of discrimination (and not just against gays) and let him decide what’s important to him. This is a chance for a great life lesson – that sometimes doing the right thing requires sacrificing something you enjoy.
Did you read the OP? She’s talking about her own involvement, and whether or not she should continue to volunteer for an organization that would, itself, consider her involvement a corruptive influence. What do you think the OP should do herself? Leave her kid out of it: she already did.
How are they publicly funded? I thought that was the whole point of the SCOTUS decision a few years ago - that the BSA were a private organization and therefore not subject to anti-discrimination laws because of the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of association.
Do the Boy Scouts of Australia have the same policies as the Boy Scouts of America? As Muffin mentioned, that’s not the case with the Boy Scouts of Canada.
I’m a former Troop Committee Chair, and current Committee member. My son has gotten great stuff out of Scouting. He’s not gay, but he’s autistic. The support from our Troop, District and Council have been great.
As I recall BSA’s standard re: atheism is a Scout needs to have a belief in some higher power. Scouting is trying to be as inclusive as possible as far a religion goes - within the huge goose-honking restriction that the Scout has to believe in something deity-ish. So FSM works. So does “my higher power is What Mom Says Goes!”
I am torn in the advice I’d like to give you. Scouting has done great things for my son, and I’d hate to have denied him that. But BSA is not going after me or my kind. You may be able to get support at the Troop level, but if anyone blabs, or if you need support on any issue at the District of Council level, you may be tossed out. This could be crucial if your son wants to be an Eagle Scout. There is much paperwork that has to be approved at the District, Council, National levels. It’s a very bureaucratic process that would probably give Baden-Powell a heart attack. Your son could be moving a long fine and them zap - he’s out, no Eagle, nothing, don’t let the door hit you etc.
As much as I’d like to advise your family to stay with Scouting, as much as I’d love to have a Scout like your son in the program, and as much as I’d hate to lose another fine Scout and family to this outdated, thoughtless and ultimately bigoted policy (that does not support any point of the Scout Law), I’m afraid my advice for you is to look for another program. IMO it’s too risky to stay when all your good work can be tossed aside in a moment by some random person with an agenda.
The political standpoint in question is whether the mothers are allowed to participate.
Could you, really, support your child’s involvement in an organization specifically excluded those who “lust for life”?
Or who follow your religion or absence of religion, or who are of your ethnicity?
This is not about whether taxes go to roads or schools. This is about whether this family can offer anything to an organization they have supported for years.
Yeah, “publicly funded” might be too strong – they get the bulk of their actual money from dues and fees. They get a lot of perks from the government: free (and exclusive, in some places where they do jamborees) use of public lands, a congressional charter and government sponsorships, presidental speeches, use of schools, etc. Looks like they’re backing off on some of them; the wiki page has a lot more information.