Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Boy Scouts of America current president, announced this week that the Boy Scouts would lift its ban on allowing openly gay scout leaders. Amid rapidly changing societal attitudes about homosexuality, the Boy Scouts really had no choice but to change its decades old policy if the organization was to remain relevant. Just two years ago, it reversed its policy on allowing gay young people as scouts but kept the ban on adult gay scout leaders.
While 79 percent of the Boy Scout Board voted in favor of lifting the ban, Gates said the decision was made because the exclusion policy “was no longer legally defensible.” In other words the motivation was more about the fear of a legal challenge than it was about the sincere belief that gays should have the right to hold leadership roles in scouting. Additionally, the new policy allows local scouting units to retain the ability to reject gay applicants for leadership positions if hiring them would violate the unit’s religious beliefs. The board said it would defend any local scouting group’s “good faith refusal” to admit a scouting leader based upon the group’s religious principles. It seems to me that this gives members who oppose the decision, a fairly easy out. Just claim a religious objection.
While the decision may be imperfect, I admit that it is a big step in the right direction. The “religion defense” to justify discrimination against the LGBT community will not stand in the long run. According to my religion, we are all God’s children and we are taught to judge not. I guess though, some define the meaning of “all” as only those who share my beliefs.
