Boy Scouts: We need more time for decision on gay membership

[brooklynite]

Source: NBC News

Published at 10:48 a.m. ET: The Boy Scouts of America said Wednesday it needed "more time for a deliberate review" of its policy banning gay Scouts and leaders, delaying a final decision on the controversial membership guidelines that have dogged the private youth organization in recent years.

"In the past two weeks, Scouting has received an outpouring of feedback from the American public. It reinforces how deeply people care about Scouting and how passionate they are about the organization," the organization said in a statement. "After careful consideration and extensive dialogue within the Scouting family, along with comments from those outside the organization, the volunteer officers of the Boy Scouts of America’s National Executive Board concluded that due to the complexity of this issue, the organization needs time for a more deliberate review of its membership policy."

The executive board has directed its committees to further engage representatives of Scouting’s membership and take in their perspectives and concerns as officers work toward a resolution on membership standards. The roughly 1,400 voting members of the national council will take action on the resolution at the national meeting in May 2013, the organization said.

The BSA said last week it was considering changing the policy, leaving local sponsoring organizations free to decide for themselves whether to admit gay scouts.

Read more: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/06/16869379-boy-scouts-we-need-more-time-for-decision-on-gay-membership?lite

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The Mormons must be raising the pressure...

[hrmjustin]

1. What cowards!

[DonViejo]

12. Here's more...

Boy Scouts Delay Decision On No-Gay Policy

PEMA LEVY 10:38 AM EST, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2013


The Boy Scouts of America will delay a decision on whether to admit gay scouts and scout leaders, the Associated Press reports. The group's board was expected to make a decision Wednesday, but the group's leaders say they need more time for deliberation and won't vote on the policy change until their annual meeting in May.

The policy change under consideration would lift the national ban and allow local troops to decide whether to admit gay members.

A solid majority of Americans support repealing the no-gay policy. According to a Quinnipiac University poll Wednesday, 55 percent of voters want the Boy Scouts to repeal the ban while only 33 percent want it to remain in place.

President Obama had expressed support for the change. “I think that my attitude is that gays and lesbians should have access and opportunity the same way everybody else does in every institution and walk of life," he said in a CBS News' interview Sunday.

Read more: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/boy-scouts-delay-decision-on-no-gay-policy


Here's the FULL Associated Press (AP) article:

BOY SCOUTS DELAY DECISION ON ADMISSION OF GAY SCOUTS, LEADERS SAYING MORE DELIBERATION NEEDED
Feb. 6 10:30 AM EST


DALLAS (AP) — Boy Scouts delay decision on admission of gay scouts, leaders saying more deliberation needed.

-30-

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/boy-scouts-delay-decision-admission-gay-scouts-leaders-saying-more-deliberation-needed

[OKNancy]

2. Hi, could you add the cnn link... it didn't "take"

thanks

[bluedigger]

3. I don't blame them on delaying a few months.

That will get them to the end of the school year. There are practical considerations for a large organization dealing with school age youth that will make it easier to implement any necessary changes and deal with the inevitable disruption that will immediately result. It's sensible.

[brooklynite]

4. Explain what the "disruption" will be...

People join and leave the Scout all year round. Additionally, they could always vote to lift the ban effecitve June 30 or any future date they wanted to. Don't think that's driving their decision.

[bluedigger]

11. It depends how they end up acting, of course.

I think that some sponsoring groups will withdraw their support, leaving troops looking for new sponsors, and in some cases leaders. Summer is a less active time for troop activities, Scout camp notwithstanding. It will be easier for them to continue their planned activities and cope with the change organizationally, with less impact on the kids. Or maybe you are right and they are just scared, if that is your point.

[CreekDog]

13. but that's not the reason --the reason is that the Boy Scouts = Mormon Church

in many states.

that's the hold up.

which is lame.

[tavalon]

5. Gee, I thought the boy scouts motto is

Be Prepared.

[Bay Boy]

6. There is no reason to not let a gay boy into the Scouts...

...do they actually have a screening process for that right now?

I don't know how to respond to someone who says they don't want a gay scoutleader supervising their kids. I know that being a gay adult doesn't mean you are attracted to little boys but the add on response I get is "Would you want a straight male camping out with your daughter if she were a Girl Scout?"

[Iggo]

8. And my add on reply would be "Not a problem."

[Bay Boy]

9. Maybe Scouts of either gender

don't even go camping anymore.

[Iggo]

10. Maybe not.

Either way, it doesn't bother me when the girls' adult supervision happens to be male.

I teach them to watch out for bad people, men and women. But I don't teach them that the male gender is inherently bad, because that's bullshit.

[d_r]

16. in cub scouts

That is grade 1-5, they can only go camping on cub-and-partner (when I was a boy, that was father-son, but now it can be a mother, grandparent etc.) camping trips. No one but a parent may be in the tent with a child. You can't be in a tent with any one but your own child. At the scout camp, they have separate shower areas for boys, men, girls (because girls can come with the family to cub and partner camp outs) and women. When our pack goes, it is a family thing with lots of moms and dads and some siblings and sisters. Scouts also requires what is called "two deep leadership" which basically means that there is never just one adult with kids, always two. That's one of the first most basic rules they teach you. I am a cub scout den leader for my son's den and a daisy scout troop leader for my daughter also, so that kind of goes to that question about men and girl scouts.

[riqster]

7. Back in the 70's, we had a gay scoutmaster

Nobody really gave a shit.

[markpkessinger]

14. Translation...

"Let's delay this until it's out of the headlines -- then maybe we can get away with not changing anything."

[d_r]

15. it makes me sick

literally, feeling sick. But it means that we decent folks have got to keep up the pressure because hates are going to hate, we all know that, we have to keep making noise and not let them win.