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发帖数: 29846 | 1 By DAVID CRARY, Associated Press
July 18, 2012
NEW YORK (AP) - After a confidential two-year review, the Boy Scouts of
America on Tuesday emphatically reaffirmed its policy of excluding gays,
angering critics who hoped that relentless protest campaigns might lead to
change.
The Scouts cited support from parents as a key reason for keeping the policy
and expressed hope that the prolonged debate over it might now subside.
Bitter reactions from gay-rights activists suggested that result was
unlikely.
The Scouts' national spokesman, Deron Smith, told The Associated Press that
an 11-member special committee, formed discreetly by top Scout leaders in
2010, came to the conclusion that the exclusion policy "is absolutely the
best policy" for the 102-year-old organization.
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 resolution submitted at its recent
national conference 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 adult 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."
Darlene Nipper, deputy executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force, said the Scouts "have turned their backs on a chance to
demonstrate fairness, exercise sound judgment, and serve as a role model for
valuing others."
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 membership 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 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.
Eagle Scout Zach Wahls, an Iowa college student who was raised by lesbian
mothers, said Tuesday's announcement didn't change his view that eventually
the Scouts would relent under pressure from campaigns such as those that he
and his allies have mounted.
"I'm sure they'll keep saying this until the day they decide to change the
policy," said Wahls.
He contended that the committee review process should not have been kept
secret. "The very first value of the Scout Law is that a Scout is
trustworthy," Wahls said. "There is absolutely nothing trustworthy about
unelected and unnamed committee members who are unwilling to take
responsibility for their actions."
The Boy Scouts' policy stands in contrast to inclusive membership policies
adopted by several other major youth organizations, including the Girl
Scouts of the USA and Camp Fire.
Boy Scouts statement: http://www.scouting.org/Media/PressReleases/2012/20120717.aspx |
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