BSA Membership Policy Decision Slated for May.

Several people have raised the same concerns and I am doing my best to address them.

I do not think expressing them makes you a bigot or narrow minded, and I think they can be answered with a little thought and consideration. .. most teenage boys and girls are filled with raging hormones.

There is a reason that male and female Venture Scouts may not tent together.

I think that the concern over sexual activity is one reason for them not sharing a tent, but there are also issues of modesty and privacy involved.

There’s a difference between gender and sexual orientation. What happens when an openly gay teen is on a backpack; whom does he tent with? Two gays in a tent is similar to a male and a female in a tent because there is a similar attraction. Not all males and females would engage in sexual activity if sharing sleeping quarters, and neither would two gay youth, but we separate the male/females. So should we separate the two gay youth?

Should we allow males and females to tent together? What about the parent that does not want their straight son tenting with a gay scout?

Naturally we’d maintain that Scouting is not a place for sexual activity, no matter what a person’s sexual orientation. You may find it helpful to look at the question without considering sexual orientation.

Theoretically Scouts could engage in sexual activity, yet it does not seem to be a major concern.

There are a number of things that can theoretically happen when heterosexual boys are in a tent with other boys or heterosexual girls are in a tent with other girls, but it is theoretical, not an actual concern. If there was an actual concern it would be widely discussed and probably a part of our training.

These are Scouts, after all, and they have agreed to a standard of behavior, we trust them in many situations to do the right thing. We can also look at other Scouting organizations who have no ban based on sexual orientation.

I have Scouting friends in the UK and Canada and I asked them if what you describe is a concern in their organizations or if their youth protection measures were modified when their policies changed. They knew of no such problems, and there were no changes to the way they did things. We can also look at what the Department of Defense has done since the don’t ask, don’t tell policy was rescinded. They have specifically prohibited the establishment of separate facilities or sleeping quarters based on sexual orientation – so it’s apparent that they don’t see this as a major concern. We can also look at other situations where people of the same sex but different orientations are in close quarters; the National Outdoor Leadership School, Outward Bound, high schools, middle schools, indeed any public bathing or bathroom facility – have they experienced problems that caused them to change their facility arrangements?

I haven’t found anyone who has established any kind of extraordinary measures in this respect. What about the conservative charter organization that bans gays but wants there scouts to go to the National Jamboree that is being lead by a gay Scoutmaster? Will YPT change? As a former camp director I have seen hundreds of different Troops with differing standards of conduct, differing methods and styles of leadership.

There are some adults who I’d just as soon not have my Scouts or my son involved with because I don’t agree with the way they work with Scouts or I don’t think they are a suitable role model. It’s always been a parent’s prerogative to make choices like this and will continue to be.

Those who feel strongly about sexual orientation will make the choices that best reflect their values, and I’d note that many parents want nothing to do with an organization that practices discrimination according to sexual orientation.

There are so many questions that keep racing in my head and I don’t have answers for and I don’t thing I’m a bigot or narrow minded for thinking them.

I certainly don’t think of you as a bigot or narrow minded – once you think these things through, though, you may see your concerns are more theoretical than actual.

I feel that BSA needs to take a stand one way or another. To say it’s up to the charter organization is not brave, and yet a scout is brave. When units have logistical questions about protecting youth, by not clearly defining its policy, the BSA is asking charter organizations to decide how to conduct affairs that deal with YPT. It’s early days yet, there were a lot of similar concerns when women were permitted to become leaders in Scout troops and girls were admitted to Explorer posts and Venture Crews (possible sexual activity between men and women being a chief theoretical concern that has never become an actual concern).

I think we’ll be fine if we listen to each other and don’t get too jumpy, thanks for being in touch – I hope I have answered your questions.