BSA Membership & Inclusion on ScoutmasterCG Archive

Girls in the BSA?

Sun, 25 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Yes, girls in the BSA.

I want the BSA to be a fully co-ed organization with no limitations on how girls participate.

Before you lose it understand I don’t think girls in the BSA should be forced on anyone.

More about that later.

I think we can and must make this happen for one simple reason: it is the right thing to do.

I can’t say I always thought this way.

BSA Separate But Equal Plan for Girls

Thu, 15 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I did not start out as a believer in co-ed Scouting. For most of the last 35 years I’ve been a volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America the status quo worked fine for me, co-ed Scouting was a big unknown, and being unknown it was something to resist.

Three Things That Changed My Mind.

First – during a week-long international Scouting trip several years ago (and two more since) I watched co-ed Scouting at work.

Scouting Checkpoint

Wed, 16 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Let’s build a “membership standards” Scouting checkpoint at the gate of our scout camp.

Adult leaders can gain entrance only after they pass inspection on their adherence to the scout oath and law to enter. This way we can be sure to exclude atheists, the divorced, smokers, drug users, alcoholics, tax cheats, people who are overweight, adulterers, fornicators, the envious, homosexuals,the lustful, the prideful, the gluttonous, the dishonest, and the slothful. We can get finally weed out the cheerless, the unclean, the unfriendly, the cowardly, the discourteous, the irreverent, and everyone who does not meet a focused determination of appropriate standards.

BSA ends the ban on gay leaders

Sat, 01 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000

“For far too long, this issue has divided and distracted us. Now it’s time to unite behind our shared belief in the extraordinary power of Scouting to be a force for good.”

Robert Gates, BSA president. In a vote of the executive committee yesterday the BSA ends the ban on gay leaders. From a BSA press release – “On Monday, July 27, the National Executive Board ratified a resolution that removes the national restriction on openly gay adult leaders and employees. Of those present and voting, 79 percent voted in favor of the resolution. The resolution was recommended for ratification by the Executive Committee earlier this month. The resolution is effective immediately.” For some years the question of sexual orientation has opened a rift in our families, our communities, our nation, and the BSA. It’s not my intention to argue, we all must search our hearts and decide this issue for ourselves. It’s difficult to separate this issue from politics.

Inclusive or Exclusive?

Sat, 31 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000

A good friend in scouting who served as a scoutmaster and camp director for almost thirty years once pointed out to me that Scouting was inclusive, not exclusive. His point was that if 100 boys showed up on your doorstep wanting to join scouts one welcomes them and then figures out how to work with them, period.

Their membership is not based on their finances, on their parent’s participation or anything other than showing up. They get to do everything that any other scout does regardless. If we have set a maximum enrollment, if we require parents to be involved, if we expect every scout to pay every dollar due; we are “preaching to the choir”. We need the boys who can’t afford to be scouts, whose parents just don’t get it because they are the ones who most need us.

Freedom of and from Religion

Fri, 22 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Our constitution prohibits government from establishing a religion.

Legal precedent has long been that government enacting laws affecting conduct that are based solely on a religious determination of right and wrong violate the establishment clause. On the other hand the Constitution specifies that government cannot restrict the free expression of religion. When one religious point of view is the basis of any government action it necessarily restricts the expression of contradictory religious points of view. The motivation behind the desire that Christian morals become the laws of governments is an altruistic one; proponents seek this because they believe that it is the highest and best way to live and wish to extend the benefits of grace to the nation.

Thoughts on the B.S.A. Membership Standards Resolution

Sat, 12 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

On April 19 the B.S.A. released the Membership Standards Study Initiative Executive Summary and the Membership Standards Resolution to be voted on in our May national meeting. Like many people on both sides of the question my first impression of the membership standards resolution was disappointment and frustration. ( My opinion of the question of inclusion is explained here ). As someone who supports inclusiveness I was disappointed that the resolution did not end the policy of excluding adults based on sexual orientation but I was heartened to see that the resolution removed the ban for youth members.

Membership Resolution Approved

Sun, 11 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The Boy Scouts of America Statement: “For 103 years, the Boy Scouts of America has been a part of the fabric of this nation, with a focus on working together to deliver the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. “Based on growing input from within the Scouting family, the BSA leadership chose to conduct an additional review of the organization’s long-standing membership policy and its impact on Scouting’s mission. This review created an outpouring of feedback from the Scouting family and the American public, from both those who agree with the current policy and those who support a change. “Today, following this review, the most comprehensive listening exercise in Scouting’s history the approximate 1,400 voting members of the Boy Scouts of America’s National Council approved a resolution to remove the restriction denying membership to youth on the basis of sexual orientation alone. The resolution also reinforces that Scouting is a youth program, and any sexual conduct, whether heterosexual or homosexual, by youth of Scouting age is contrary to the virtues of Scouting. A change to the current membership policy for adult leaders was not under consideration; thus, the policy for adults remains in place. The BSA thanks all the national voting members who participated in this process and vote. “This policy change is effective Jan. 1, 2014, allowing the Boy Scouts of America the transition time needed to communicate and implement this policy to its approximately 116,000 Scouting units. “The Boy Scouts of America will not sacrifice its mission, or the youth served by the movement, by allowing the organization to be consumed by a single, divisive, and unresolved societal issue. As the National Executive Committee just completed a lengthy review process, there are no plans for further review on this matter. “While people have different opinions about this policy, we can all agree that kids are better off when they are in Scouting.

BSA Membership Policy Resources

Sat, 10 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Let the Scoutmaster remember that in addition to his duty to his boys he has a duty also to the Movement as a whole.

Scoutmasters must necessarily be above petty personal feeling, and must be large-minded enough to subject their own personal views to the higher policy of the whole. … it is only by looking to the higher aims of the Movement, or to the effects of measures ten years hence that one can see details of to-day in their proper proportion.

Confessions of a Straight as an Order of the Arrow Boy Scout

Sat, 10 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0000

I was a Boy Scout.

Despite what my grandmother seemed to think, that was no merit badge of masculine heterosexuality in the circles in which I moved, despite those magnificent khaki green knee socks held up with red garters that made up the lower half of the summer uniform. If it were the babe magnet she claimed, the young women that I knew showed great restraint, never letting me see their weak knees or anything else for that matter, a failure that would not have been shared around a campfire.

Boy Scouts of America Review Announced

Tue, 25 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Yesterday a Boy Scouts of America review of ‘Values and Membership Polices’ was announced on the Scouting Magazine Blog where a link to this B.S.A. website with comprehensive information about the review is available. I’d suggest reading the information available there for a pretty thorough understanding of how the membership policy of excluding people based on sexual orientation is being addressed. Here’s my summary of the information on the site: In 2010 a committee was convened to study the membership policy question (specifically excluding people based on sexual orientation). Last summer the finding of that committee was announced. This announcement “began an even deeper dialogue within Scouting” and “created an outpouring of feedback from the American public”. This conversation led to the announcement in January 2012 that the National Executive Board would be discussing the policy at their annual meeting in February. At the annual meeting of the National Executive Board it was determined that a broader discussion was in order and that a proposed membership standards change would be presented at the 2013 B.S.A.

BSA Membership Standards Review Information

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

After reviewing this BSA Membership Standards Review Information on Thursday, May 23, approximately 1400 voting members representing 265 local councils will vote on a resolution that, in short, removes the stipulation that boys can be excluded from membership in the BSA based on sexual orientation alone. The BSA has prepared a Voting Member Information Packet (PDF file) that describes the voting process and includes the findings of the membership standards review. In addition National President Wayne Perry, National Executive Committee Member Nathan Rosenberg, and Chief Scout Executive Wayne Brock hosted an in-depth discussion of the BSA’s Membership Standards Resolution on April 29, 2013. As we are all aware this membership standards review is a historic effort on the part the BSA and the thousands of volunteer hours and staff time that went into the process deserve our thanks. It’s a long presentation, but worth your time.

Jay's Story

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

I asked Jay to write about his experiences in Scouting because I think it’s important to get to know and understand each other, that young men like Jay are not new to Scouting, that they have always been there – Clarke To all my fellow Scouters – We are all engaged in a conversation about whether or not to keep a policy in place at the national level that keeps gay people from active service in Scouting, as either adults or Scouts.

BSA Membership Policy Decision Slated for May.

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

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.

BSA Membership Policies to Change?

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Are BSA membership policies about to change? No doubt you’ve heard about or read the following statement from the Boy Scouts of America : Monday, Jan. 28, 2013 Attributable to: Deron Smith, Director of Public Relations “For more than 100 years, Scouting’s focus has been on working together to deliver the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training.

Scouting has always been in an ongoing dialogue with the Scouting family to determine what is in the best interest of the organization and the young people we serve. “Currently, the BSA is discussing potentially removing the national membership restriction regarding sexual orientation. This would mean there would no longer be any national policy regarding sexual orientation, and the chartered organizations that oversee and deliver Scouting would accept membership and select leaders consistent with each organization’s mission, principles, or religious beliefs. BSA members and parents would be able to choose a local unit that best meets the needs of their families. “The policy change under discussion would allow the religious, civic, or educational organizations that oversee and deliver Scouting to determine how to address this issue. The Boy Scouts would not, under any circumstances, dictate a position to units, members, or parents.

Transcendent Values

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

To stay afloat organizations , like ships on the ocean, are designed to be reasonably impenetrable and inflexible.

Safety and stability is important to ships and organizations but that same safety and stability create drag when it comes to evolution and change. This drag is commensurate with the size and scope of the organization. The bigger the ship the longer it takes to turn. The ocean of culture in is wider, deeper, more fluid and changeable than the organizational ships that travel over them.

Ineligible Volunteer Files Released

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:00:00 +0000

As the contents of the ineligible volunteer files released recently come to light Scouting volunteers and the families that they serve will be justifiably upset and unsettled. They will ask questions. They will want to know that their children are safe. The files record reports of incidents of abuse and served as a database of people deemed ineligible for volunteer positions. They plainly and horrifically reveal that a number of cases were handled internally and some officials at the time seemed more interested in protecting the reputations of abusers and of the organization than the children they served. As demoralizing and infuriating the revelation of these past practices may be they are not indicative of how the B.S.A. handles reporting abuse today. Most of you reading this have become volunteers within the past decade ( I know many of you have served longer) you may not be familiar with the history and development of youth protection in the B.S.A. (here’s a timeline ). The ‘two deep leadership’ policy mandating that two adult volunteers must be involved in every activity first appeared in the early 1980′s.

Boy, the Scout Handbook Keeps Changing

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

A succinct and thoughtful evaluation of what Scouting means to a Scout and his family: from an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal;

Boy, the Scout Handbook Keeps Changing by Tony Woodleif,

I suppose a handbook won’t determine whether my sons have an enriching Scout experience.

Their troop’s leaders will. And I will.

”Troops,” says an Eagle Scout friend, “are like churches.” You get some good and some bad; it depends on who’s doing the work. This reliance on local community is, more than stances on gays or the environment, what makes the Boy Scouts of America conservative in the most wise and American sense of that term.

Answering Bob Barr

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Congressman Barr spoke of the larger culture wars that are ravaging Western civilization and asked why people were criticizing the Boy Scouts of America. The answer is simple enough; we are being criticized because we are allowing a narrow interpretation of our Scout and Law to go unchallenged from within our membership. (By the way, Bob, Western Civilization, for all its advantages, needs regular ravaging. Without this ‘ravaging’ African Americans would still be second class citizens, women wouldn’t have the vote, there would be no organized labor, no child labor laws; all things that were decried as an attack on civilization at the time.)1

Join Scouting Anyway

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 +0000

A brief discussion with a reader leads me to encourage parents who differ with the policies of the BSA to consider joining scouting anyway.

Most comment and discussion surrounding the issue of the BSA excluding atheists and gays from scouting assumes that all of us endorse these policies, we don’t.

During my 2 years as a Scoutmaster I have put up with a great deal of biased, prejudiced, improper words and conduct from my fellow leaders. I have also benefited from their tolerance, understanding and inclusiveness. Scout leaders are as much of a mixed bag as teachers, coaches, professors, clergy, police, politicians and other authority figures. Scouting remains decentralized enough that local groups reflect local values.

Unite or Divide

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 +0000

When the BSA was challenged to expand its universality, to open the tent wider and give more people the benefits of membership we refused. We saw it as a diminution of our standards to say that they could be interpreted locally and ceded the local control of our movement to a central entity that decides what is moral for the rest of us. We traded the opportunity for our membership to learn reverence for diversity for claustrophobic exclusivity. We do not serve our youth well by promulgating fear and disdain for others who do not think as they do. We would serve them better by demonstrating how we can find common ground with those whom we disagree. The Scout Oath and Law are a declaration of rights as well as ideals for conduct, an expansive set of principals. They are drawn not to exclude but to include, not to punish but inspire, not to divide but to join together. In a nation that is in a deep cycle of divisiveness Scouting could exert a powerful influence for unity.

ACLU v. BSA

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 00:00:00 +0000

It is unfortunate that the American Civil Liberties Union and the Boys Scouts of America are not on friendly terms, they would make great allies. Here is a comparison of the ideologies expressed by both organizations: ACLU — " The mission of the ACLU is to preserve all of these (constitutional) protections and guarantees: freedom of speech, association and assembly.

Freedom of the press, and freedom of religion …equal treatment regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin. We work to extend rights to segments of our population that have traditionally been denied their rights… If the rights of society’s most vulnerable members are denied, everybody’s rights are imperiled.

The Best Kind of Citizen

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 00:00:00 +0000

“The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing his obligation to God.” A visit to Arlington National Cemetery just outside of Washington D.C. reminds us that our freedom comes at a cost. Here the ‘best kind of citizen’ lays beneath a spare white headstone marked with a symbol signifying their religious affiliation. The symbol pictured here signifies that the person beneath it was an atheist. That they have been laid to rest in Arlington signifies that they are undoubtedly ‘the best kind of citizen’; ones that dedicated their service to our country; many having given their lives in the bargain.

Access and Discrimination

Tue, 01 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Over the years the BSA has gained access, cooperation and goodwill from many governmental entities: schools, municipalities and the military. The cooperation has benefited both.

Scouts and Scouters are energetic community minded volunteers that have tremendous potential for good. But in order to exclude those that the BSA considers unacceptable we assumed the mantle of religion.

Instead of allowing members to settle these questions in their own minds and hearts we have told them what they must think.

Checkpoint

Tue, 01 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Let’s build a “membership standards” checkpoint at the gate of our scout camp. Adult leaders can gain entrance only after they pass inspection on their adherence to the scout oath and law to enter.

This way we can be sure to exclude atheists, the divorced, smokers, drug users, alcoholics, tax cheats, people who are overweight, adulterers, fornicators, the envious, homosexuals,the lustful, the prideful, the gluttonous, the dishonest, and the slothful. We can get finally weed out the cheerless, the unclean, the unfriendly, the cowardly, the discourteous, the irreverent, and everyone who does not meet a focused determination of appropriate standards.

Duty to God

Tue, 01 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Scouting can change without abandoning the central intention of its existence. Our own core values compel us to extend the hand of friendship consistent with our tradition of brotherhood. The movement must, as America itself, grow more tolerant and more inclusive; more willing to accept that diversity can be enriching and not diluting. Our continuing strength is in the realization that change, like growth is inevitable. The Oath and Law where composed upon the founding of the movement in 1910 reflecting Judeo-Christian beliefs; a perfectly natural and acceptable practice for the time.

Why don't you just quit?

Tue, 01 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0000

I have been accused of being unfaithful to the BSA because I disagree with its discriminatory practices. I have been told that I should leave the movement, that I don’t belong, that I am a traitor.

In totalitarian states like Iraq under Saddam Hussein the first and last dedication was to the party in power. To survive one subverted all personal opinions, all beliefs and adopted those of the government. Dissent was cruelly punished.