Already diaried while I was at a Scout meeting, but more background here.
As widely expected, the Boy Scouts of America National Executive Board removed the national ban on gay Scout leaders. The Executive Committee had unanimously recommended this change in policy to National President Robert Gates two weeks ago, and President Gates had advocated this change in a speech to the National Meeting several months ago. As part of this policy, local districts, councils and Scout camps may not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, and those individuals who had been kicked out of Scouting in the past solely on the basis of orientation can apply to be reinstated. Individual chartering organizations, generally churches, can continue to discriminate based on their own internal policies and practices.
More below the orange fleur de lis.
Some here on Daily Kos will be happy with this change, while others will say it only goes halfway. Both reactions are perfectly reasonable. However, the Boy Scouts of America, as currently structured, can’t go any farther than they are going now. Note, I am a Boy Scout leader, working with a troop whose sponsoring organization (a local church) will not have an issue with gay leaders. I’m also a district and council volunteer, so I have multiple membership cards. I was also awarded the District Award of Merit, the Silber beaver, the Vigil Honor in the Order of the Arrow, and the OA Founder’s Award. If you know what these awards mean, you know that I’m a veteran leader, well-versed in at least council politics.
The big difference between the Girl Scouts of America and the Boy Scouts of America is the way they are organized. The Girl Scouts (who do prohibit ANY discrimination based on sexual orientation) “own” all of their individual units, each of which is registered solely with the local council. The Boy Scouts operates more like a franchise, where individual chartering organizations “own” their Boy Scout troop (including its bank account and equipment), and operate “their” unit according to the program designed by the Boy Scouts of America National Council. Troop Girl Scout leaders are approved by the Girl Scouts of America only, while Boy Scout leaders have to be approved by BOTH the local chartering organization and the Boy Scouts of America. Many community organizations and some religious institutions that charter troops will have no problems with homosexual leaders. Some religions, notably Roman Catholics and the LDS church may well ban homosexual leaders in “their” units. Right now, the Boy Scouts can’t go farther than it did without a fundamental change in their operating model. They’d have to take away the troops from EVERY chartering organization, accepting or not, in order to ban homosexual discrimination completely.
In some ways, today’s decision just returns the Boy Scouts to the franchise model they claim to have followed. Right now, there are individual chartering organizations who have already accepted gay leaders, but then had these leaders banned from Scouting. These units may now accept gay leaders without interference from the National BSA. In addition, while a gay leader might get banned from a troop run by a particular church, another unit can accept him or her as a unit leader. Once they are registered as a unit leader, they are perfectly free to register to work on the district or council committees, or as a commissioner, and they cannot be banned solely on the basis of their sexual orientation.
I’ve worn my “Scouts for Equality” square knot award for the past several years. I don’t see the need to take it off of my uniform yet, because even though the stated goal of that organization is met, the knot will serve to remind people that I support them, and that I’m a “safe” person to talk to about this change in policy.