NEW YORK – After a confidential
two-year review, the Boy Scouts of America on Tuesday emphatically
reaffirmed its policy of excluding gays, ruling out any changes despite
relentless protest campaigns by some critics.
An 11-member special committee, formed discreetly by
top Scout leaders in 2010, "came to the conclusion that this policy is
absolutely the best policy for the Boy Scouts," the organization'
national spokesman, Deron Smith, told The Associated Press.
Smith said the committee, comprised of professional
scout executives and adult volunteers, was unanimous in its conclusion —
preserving a long-standing policy that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme
Court in 2000 and has remained controversial ever since.
As a result of the committee's decision, the Scouts'
national executive board will take no further action on a recently
submitted resolution asking for reconsideration of the membership
policy.
The Scouts' chief executive, Bob Mazzuca, contended
that most Scout families support the policy, which applies to both
leaders and Scouts.
"The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve
value their right to address issues of same-sex orientation within their
family, with spiritual advisers and at the appropriate time and in the
right setting," Mazzuca said. "We fully understand that no single policy
will accommodate the many diverse views among our membership or
society."
The president of the largest U.S. gay-rights group,
Chad Griffin of the Human Rights Campaign, depicted the Scouts' decision
as "a missed opportunity of colossal proportions."
"With the country moving toward inclusion, the leaders
of the Boy Scouts of America have instead sent a message to young people
that only some of them are valued," he said. "They've chosen to teach
division and intolerance."
The Scouts did not identify the members of the special
committee that studied the issue, but said in a statement that they
represented "a diversity of perspectives and opinions."
"The review included forthright and candid conversation
and extensive research and evaluations — both from within Scouting
and from outside of the organization," the statement said.
The announcement suggests that hurdles may be high for a
couple of members of the national executive board — Ernst & Young
CEO James Turley and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson — who have
recently indicated they would try to work from within to change the
policy. Both of their companies have been commended by gay-rights groups
for gay-friendly employment policies.
Stephenson is on track to become president of the
Scouts' national board in 2014, and will likely face continued pressure
from gay-rights groups to try to end the exclusion policy. Asked for
comment on Tuesday about the Scouts' decision to keep the policy,
AT&T did not refer to Stephenson's situation specifically.
"We don't agree with every policy of every organization
we support, nor would we expect them to agree with us on everything,"
the company said. "Our belief is that change at any organization must
come from within to be successful and sustainable."
A statement from the executive committee of the Scouts' national executive board alluded to the Turley-Stephenson developments.
"Scouting believes that good people can personally
disagree on this topic and still work together to achieve the
life-changing benefits to youth through Scouting," the statement said.
"While not all board members may personally agree with this policy, and
may choose a different direction for their own organizations, BSA
leadership agrees this is the best policy for the organization."
Since 2000, the Boy Scouts have been targeted with
numerous protest campaigns and run afoul of some local nondiscrimination
laws because of the membership policy.
One ongoing protest campaign involves Jennifer Tyrrell,
the Ohio mother of a 7-year-old Cub Scout who was ousted as a Scout den
mother because she is lesbian.
Change.org, an online forum supporting activist causes,
says more than 300,000 people have signed its petition urging the
Scouts to reinstate Tyrrell and abandon the exclusion policy. The
petition is to be delivered to the Scouts' national headquarters in
Irving, Texas, on Wednesday.
1 comment:
And this is EXACTLY why our family is involved with/supports the Boy Scouts but doesn't give an ounce of time or resources to the Girl Scouts. (Yes, you can find the cookies from someone other than the corrupted organization called the Girl Scouts!)
Post a Comment