DISCRIMINATION: The Boy Scouts of America have shown their true colors by banning homosexuals from their organization.
By Emilie Bean, Opinions Editor
On July 17, the Boy Scouts of America fallaciously reaffirmed its policy of excluding gays. BSA lost a lot of faith from the public when the committee said it would continue to ban “open or avowed” gays.
In light of the repeal of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, this was shocking to many. Homosexual Marines, Rangers and SEALs, some of whom were Boy Scouts, can fight and die for this country, but they cannot be scout leaders or remain scouts after coming out. There is something very wrong with this picture.
Many young boys are missing out on opportunities just because of who they are. And it is BSA’s reasoning behind the ban that is baffling to most people.
“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. We fully understand that no single policy will accommodate the many diverse views among our membership or society,” the Scouts’ chief executive, Bob Mazzuca said.
It seems Mazzuca just threw a random fact out in the open in an attempt to cover up the unjust and malicious ruling. Of course parents have the right to address same-sex orientation within their families, but what does that have to do with homosexuals joining the Boy Scouts? Scout meetings do not revolve around talking about sexual orientation. As a boy scout you receive badges and awards for many different fields, but American Sexuality is not one of the options.
Sure, the decision was legal, but that does not mean it was right. BSA claims that they “prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices.” Driving out homosexual members and leaders is not the right step to teaching young people “to make ethical and moral choices.” Instead, it is teaching discriminatory values.
One of BSA’s main arguments is that the majority of its members believe in such a decision, therefore it must continue to discriminate against homosexuals. How is that teaching young people all across America to make ethical and moral choices? It is not ethical to push someone away and exclude them because they are not exactly the same as you.
This was a reckless decision on BSA’s part. Children as young as seven, who were perceived to be gay have committed suicide because they were often victimized and brutalized by their peers. What then will a major organization, that young boys look up to and aspire to join, do to the minds of young homosexuals when it says that gays are not welcome?
The Scouts’ decision was “a missed opportunity of colossal proportions,” Chad Griffin, the president of the largest U.S. gay-rights group said. “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 future is surely a frightening thing when there are still people shunning those because they were born different. Gays cannot help who they are attracted to. It does not mean that they are any less as people than heterosexuals are. Everyone is different whether it is the color of their skin, their weight, their height, their physical abilities or their sexual orientation, and it is time that narrow-minded people open their eyes to it.