GREENCASTLE, PA - Parents, sponsors, and Boy Scout members spoke from all angles on Monday night. A majority of them support the program's current policy that doesn't allow gay men to openly participate.
"If they change this great organization they'll destroy it," says Kevin Swope, Assistant Scout Master. "The Canadian Scouts changed their organization. They allowed homosexuals into the organization and they've lost two-thirds of their membership in 10 years."
However, the Mason-Dixon Council says they reviewed written comments from the audience in their previous meeting, and opinions were split 50-50.
"The scouting program has been strong for 103 years with our membership standards but there's been discussion lately of possibly changing those standards to have some flexibility," says Mark Barbernitz, Scout Executive of the Mason-Dixon Council.
Bob Hockenburi is an Assistant Scout Master and a Boy Scouts member for almost 20 years. He says, "It reflects the American society has changed and the tolerance. Personally, I am homosexual, so this is very hits very close to home for me."
While opinions were very strong from both sides, depending on the outcome both sides agree they'd leave the organization for good.
"At this point I would have to step back from the organization and let it do its own thing and remove myself," says Hockenburi.
"If this policy changes I will pull my son out of Boy Scouts," says Swope. "I will no longer serve in Boy Scouts and be a part of an organization that does not teach morality."
Many churches sponsor the Boy Scouts and say they're waiting to see how the national organization votes in May. Some believe this discussion started because big corporations pulled funding as a result of the ban.
To share your stance on the issue, you can call the Mason-Dixon Council at (301) 739-1211.
"If they change this great organization they'll destroy it," says Kevin Swope, Assistant Scout Master. "The Canadian Scouts changed their organization. They allowed homosexuals into the organization and they've lost two-thirds of their membership in 10 years."
However, the Mason-Dixon Council says they reviewed written comments from the audience in their previous meeting, and opinions were split 50-50.
"The scouting program has been strong for 103 years with our membership standards but there's been discussion lately of possibly changing those standards to have some flexibility," says Mark Barbernitz, Scout Executive of the Mason-Dixon Council.
Bob Hockenburi is an Assistant Scout Master and a Boy Scouts member for almost 20 years. He says, "It reflects the American society has changed and the tolerance. Personally, I am homosexual, so this is very hits very close to home for me."
While opinions were very strong from both sides, depending on the outcome both sides agree they'd leave the organization for good.
"At this point I would have to step back from the organization and let it do its own thing and remove myself," says Hockenburi.
"If this policy changes I will pull my son out of Boy Scouts," says Swope. "I will no longer serve in Boy Scouts and be a part of an organization that does not teach morality."
Many churches sponsor the Boy Scouts and say they're waiting to see how the national organization votes in May. Some believe this discussion started because big corporations pulled funding as a result of the ban.
To share your stance on the issue, you can call the Mason-Dixon Council at (301) 739-1211.
Comments
As a Christian one of the first things that we are taught is that Jesus loves his little children. And if our teachings hold true we are all God's children. Jesus loves us all no matter what our faults or sins are. We are also taught to use Jesus as our guide on how we treat people. We are to love our neighbors, just like Jesus did. It is shameful that some people will pass judgement on others for how they are created. I am not entirely sure, but I would say that there is not a gay person out there that would say they made a conscious decision to make their lives difficult and deal with the persecution they receive from society. I can't see any of them would saying they sat there and thought about who they were going to prefer for a mate. I not sure where the miscommunication is, but Jesus was a great example of tolerance. Do you really want to teach your children that there are people not worthy of their love? Was there ever evidence to suggest there was a person not worthy of Jesus's love? Why are you better than Jesus? A person's preference for a partner has nothing to do with their capabilities as a scout or a scout leader for that matter!! Heaven help you and your child should they determine that they prefer a same [censored] partner, would you abandon your child? Whom, you helped create! People wake up! Want our world to be better, then you need to take the first step!
Jodi W.
March 20, 2013 at 8:13 pm
The first organizers of the Boy Scouts of America after it was incorporated in 1910 were leaders from the YMCA, a strongly christian organization at the time. The protestant climate of the organization in the first couple of years was enough to keep the Catholic Church from embracing it even though some catholic troops had already formed. In 1913, the LDS church became one of the first if not the first Chartered organization of the BSA and has been so since. The Catholic church also became more involved in the BSA in the same year. Juts for clarity, there are many in conservative Christianity that would not consider the Mormon church as part of conservative Christianity so I would lump the supporters of the current membership standards under one title.
As for quoting Baden Powell, here is another quote, "....We aim for the practice of Christianity in their everyday life and dealings, and not mearly the profession of theology on Sundays.... The co-operation of tiny sea insects has brought about the formation of coral islands. No enterprise is too big where there is goodwill and co-operation carrying it out. Every day we are turning away boys anxious to join the Movement, because we have no men or women to take them in hand. There is a vast reserve of loyal patriotism and Christian spirit lying dormant in our nation today, mainly because it sees no direct opportunity for expressing itself. Here in this joyous brotherhood there is a vast opportunity open to all in a happy work that shows the results under your hands and a work that is worth while because it gives every man his chance of service for his fellow-men and for God." - (Scouting For Boys, 1908) .
Samuel C.
March 20, 2013 at 8:26 am
i was a scout your right we had a handicap boy a black one and they were some of the coolest scouts i met
dave h.
March 20, 2013 at 6:53 am
The BSA is making the mistake of a company that only polls its own customers, not its market. It should also poll those who have left or never joined the Scouts because of their policies.
The ban does not reflect 103 year-old membership policies: It was put in place only in 1992. The ban is a direct result of the takeover of US Scouts, originally a non-denominational group, by Christian conservatives.
I was a Scout in NYC in the 60s and 70s and tolerance ruled. We were Jews, Chinese, Protestants, Blacks and we didn't meet at a church. The focus was on nature and the outdoors.
The BSA abandoned its non-denominational roots in the 1980s and has been dominated by Christian conservatives since. The troops of our youth, often sponsored by firehouses and Elks, are a thing of the past. Membership has plummeted but not among conservatives. Today churches, mostly conservative, sponsor over 70% of troops.
The ban was implemented in 1992 under Mormon pressure. Mormons are less than 2% of the US population but now control more than a third of troops. Mormon and Baptist Scouts rarely form mixed groups and often meet in churches and hold religious services. They seem to have confused the troops with their churches.
Other leading Scouting nations, including the UK where Scouting was founded, remain non-denominational and have no such bans.
I quote Scouting%u2019s English founder, Lord Baden Powell:
"Buddha has said: 'There is only one way of driving out Hate in the world and that is by bringing in %u2028Love.' Scouting's aim is to produce healthy, happy, helpful citizens, of both sexes, to eradicate the prevailing narrow self interest, personal, political, sectarian and national, and to substitute for it a broader spirit of self-sacrifice and service in the cause of humanity."
I am proud that national polls show that 55% of Americans want the ban removed, versus 33% who want to keep it. If the BSA keeps the ban, they have lost America. They might as well rename themselves the Boy Scouts of Conservative Christians and be done with it.
Bike G.
March 19, 2013 at 9:45 am
