SCOUT'S POLICY ON GAYS RAISES IRE ON BOTH SIDES
Seattle Times (SE) - Sunday September 17, 1995
By: NEIL CHETHIK (Send responses to VoiceMale, P.O. Box 8071, Lexington, KY
40533-8071, or to e-mail address nchet@aol.com.)
Edition: FINAL Section: SCENE Page: L3

My recent column opposing the no-gays-allowed policy of the Boy Scouts
of America met with fierce resistance from Scouts, former Scouts and
even one gay Scout leader.  But an equal number of readers called on the
BSA to open its doors and, in the words of Dave G. of Albuquerque, N.M.,
"show your members what courage means."  Not surprisingly, the
religiously self-righteous used the column as an opportunity to
spew. Their letters regularly referred to gays as "queers" and "fags."
"Gays are the principal AIDS contaminators," wrote George T. of Colbert,
Wash. "They should not be allowed to continue their filthy practice in
the Boy Scouts."

Fortunately, the truly devout demonstrated that it is not Christianity,
but its distorted interpretation, that leads to such attitudes. "I hope
you'll remember there are millions of Christians out here who disagree
with the religious right," wrote Craig P. of Spokane.  Beyond the hate
mail and other distortions of homosexuality, many readers raised
legitimate concerns about the impact of permitting Scouts and Scout
leaders to openly acknowledge their homosexuality. Several expressed
fears that the Scouts would be decimated by mass resignations. And a
reader from Cleveland said he thought his own effectiveness would be
undermined.  "I am a gay Scoutmaster, and a darn good one," he
wrote. "Having said that, let me add that my sexual orientation is not
known to any member of my local unit or council. I believe the
impressionable young men with whom I work would feel uncomfortable and
unsure of themselves if they knew their favorite `regular guy' was gay."

It is undoubtedly true that there would be turmoil during the transition
- just as there was when all-white institutions throughout America were
forced to open their doors to blacks in the 1950s.  Some white members
quit their groups, but eventually most got over it.  It's even possible
that the Boy Scouts would grow in numbers if upcoming court decisions
force the BSA to drop the anti-gay ban. Parents like Beth and Fred T. of
Tallahassee, Fla., for example, might encourage their 10-year-old son to
rejoin the Scouts, which he quit in protest four years ago.  Young Paul
had been a Scout for just a short time when his parents received a
letter from the BSA requesting that they boycott several corporations
that had stopped supporting the Boy Scouts over the anti-gay policy.
"Fred and I were appalled," Beth T. said in a phone interview. Until
then, they had not known of the anti-gay policy. "Our first thought was
to support those businesses."  Instead, they sat down with their son and
explained that some people were not being allowed to participate in
Scouting "simply because Scout leaders don't like something about who
they are."  Without bringing up homosexuality - "He didn't even know
about sex," Beth T.  said - they equated discrimination against gays to
bias against blacks and women. They left the final decision to their
son, who decided to quit the Scouts and join an adventure group run by
the local YMCA.

Beth T. explains why she was so angry. "My niece and nephew are black,
so my hackles get up whenever I hear about discrimination. Besides, if
they can discriminate against one group today, how do I know it's not
going to be my group next?"  Mention - The Boy Scouts of America, which
includes Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, has 413 local councils
with more than 5.3 million members.