Opinion

Boy scouts’ moral code: should sexuality matter?

The Issue: Whether the Boy Scouts of America should lift a ban on homosexuals as scouts or leaders.

***

Edward Whelan hits the nail right on the head (“Scouting’s Suicide,” PostOpinion, Feb. 1).

Why would anyone want young boys in constant close companionship with leaders who have same-sex attraction?

Proponents will tell you this can be controlled, but common sense will tell you this is risky business. Following this line of thinking, there should be no reason not to have male leaders camping with Girl Scouts.

This is not about civil rights. It is a straight-out attack on an organization that is of great use to society. The businesses that are pressuring the Scouts are gutless. Is there anyone who puts the welfare of children first?

Catherine Adago

Washington Heights

Let me pierce Whelan’s smug moral bubble.

First, the Boy Scouts are not reacting to outward pressure as much as to internal pressure, brought about by its own members, with virtuous, responsible and industrious Eagle Scouts leading the cause.

Whelan implies that homosexuals could potentially act on a sinister impulse. Given that gay teachers, pediatricians and family members interact on an everyday basis with prepubescent boys — and that this interaction has led to openness and comfort, not pedophilia and damaged lives — his implication is a nasty distortion.

The world is rapidly changing, something the BSA has now recognized and tentatively embraced. I suggest that Whelan join 21st-century America.Pietro Allar

Manhattan

The BSA is the last of the world’s scouting organizations to make this policy change. The World Jamboree of Scouting will be attended by tens of thousands of scouts of various sexual orientations.

This proposed change is not a reversal but an exemption that leaves the right to discriminate up to each local unit. There is no legal ground on which to retry the issue, were there to be a desire to sue on the grounds of discrimination. The units retain the same protection as does the national organization.

As an Eagle Scout myself and a 20-year veteran of the program, I can say that the recent sharp decline of youth and adult members nationally, as well as the loss of community partners, has done significant damage to our organization. Making the juvenile mistake of confusing sexuality with sex and claiming that the BSA is the last holdout from the “gay agenda” is as silly as it is untrue.Brian Erskine

Culpeper, Va.

The BSA is one of the best organizations for promoting morality, decent character and good citizenship in young men for the last 100 years. It was an important part of my life growing up.

It seems gay organizations don’t really want to join it; they just want to shut it down. If they are victorious in this wrongheaded attempt, it portends serious problems for our nation ahead.

Jim Green

Heber City, Utah

I am a third-generation Scout, and my sons are fourth-generation Scouts.

This push to force scouting to accept homosexuality is a complete violation of the organization’s right to free association. This opens scouting up to issues of sexual behavior, identity and attraction that are wholly unnecessary and inappropriate to the organization’s mission.

As Whelan points out, this change in policy will leave local chapters and individual councils open to further legal harassment and intimidation without the resources to defend themselves.

Ultimately, it will mean the end of an edifying, nonpoliticized organization in which boys can learn about the outdoors and enjoy fun and fellowship with their friends and fathers. That would be a tragedy for my boys.

Steven Schwalm

Waldorf, Md.