After review, Boy Scouts reaffirm ban on gays
Published July 17, 2012
Associated Press
·
June 14, 2010- City-owned Boy Scouts headquarters in
Philadelphia. (AP/Matt Rourke)
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.
Online:
Boy Scouts of America: http://www.scouting.org/
___
David Crary can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CraryAP
