The Boy Scouts of America told the Rainier Beach United Methodist Church it could no longer host a troop because the troop's leader is gay, a violation of Boy Scouts policy. The Boy Scouts of America has revoked the charter of a Seattle church because it allowed a gay adult to continue leading a troop. A Boy Scouts of America attorney told Rainier Beach United Methodist Church last week that it could no longer hosts troops under the Boy Scouts name....
If I were the church, or the troop, I'd basically tell the BSA "screw you" and just keep doing what I'm doing. If the BSA is stupid enough to take legal action, they're the ones that are going to end up on the losing end of a PR battle.
This is beyond disgusting. I thought that BSA had changed their policy already. I'm glad that I left the scouts a long time ago.
I thought the BSA learned they were on the losing end when Disney threatened to pull all support from them by 2015 if they don't revoke that rule. >_>
I just learned of this on Facebook. I don't see how they can think that an open scout leader will inject their sexuality into the agenda. Furthermore, I can't believe that people still equate gay men/women to pedophiles. To future readers who are confused on the policy that the BSA has on this issue: The BSA started to allow gay scouts into the program but they still bar gay scout leaders. Link: Boy Scouts Shut Down Troops for Supporting Gay Scoutmaster - TIME
BSA National needs to pull their effing heads out of their effing arses. They piss me off to no end (and this is coming from a Scout) with their anti-gay crap. I honestly cannot believe the crap that they throw out there as justification for the ban, but it's all bogus. They just want a "legitimate" reason so that people won't completely shut them down.
I hope this current situation will help lead to full equality in the Scouts. The last I heard, this church was 100% on the side of the Scoutmaster. As a Washington resident, I am really proud to see one of our churches take this stand. ---------- Post added 21st Apr 2014 at 11:29 PM ---------- I have already posted this link in recent days (in the "The gay 'lifestyle'" thread). But for those who missed it I post it again. This was written back when the Scouts were considering allowing gay boys to be members. It's written by Chris Crutcher, teenage novel writer, and also WA state resident. Excerpt quote: Boy Scout "Leadership" - Author & Loudmouth, Chris Crutcher
I taught equestrian for a few years at a huge scout camp...and was the medic there as well what an ugly thing this is....I loved my time there but I can't stand the ignorance
I just read a story on this. It's actually a lot better than it appears. The minister of the church is solidly behind the gay scout leader, as are the Scouts and their parents. The reason the BSA wrote the letter revoking the troop's status was because they'd already quietly asked the church to kick out the scoutmaster, and the church refused. The church has said it has no intention of getting rid of the scoutmaster, or stopping scouting. They've notified parents, and the plan is to basically continue doing what they're doing without using the Boy Scout name. My guess is this is going to blow up into a bigger shitstorm that's going to make BSA look even crappier than they already do.
Its breat that the church stands by the scout group amd it leader I think that if the parents of the scouts and the rest of the leaders are fine with him being a leader then he is doing absolutely no harm Its ridiculous that the bsa thinks that leaders will ' make the scouts gay' but other scouts in the troop wont
Being a former Girl Scout, which is very accepting of the LGBTQ+ Community as a whole, seeing its counterpart being so trashy irritates me. A lot.
I agree with this 100%. Ignore them and continue using the BSA label. See if they get a lawsuit tossed their way. Hopefully, they'll be able to raise any money needed to cover any losses they may sustain, as well as get free representation. Let the BSA continue down this path, and use any legal action to further highlight their bigotry. They'll probably lose the lawsuit, but they'll win the PR war.