Why Do the Boy Scouts Still Ban Gay Troop Leaders?

[D'Artagnon]

I was not aware of the Mormon church having such a large contingent of scouting organizations.  I wonder if that's more of a regional phenomenon.  Most of the BSA units in this area seem to be allied to Baptist, Catholic and Methodist churches, and the Church of God and other Pentecostal churches in this area seem to have their own version of scouting called the Royal Rangers.  Do take into consideration that I haven't been affiliated with scouting at any level in at least 20 years, so I am only reporting things as I see them, not as i have facts or information from such sponsoring organizations.

It sort of sucks that such policies are affecting Scouting.  As a former gay (still in the tent, so to speak) Scout, I don't see how my sexuality at that period in my life was a negative, or against any of Scouting's values.  Scouting as I remember it was about inclusion, learning from different cultures, religions, skills, languages, and personalities.  It was about figuring out how to be a better citizen and learn about the world by embracing its diversity.  We learn how to deal with each other through contact and respect, not exclusion.  And if you want to raise young men who don't have skewed mental views and deep seated prejudices, they need to have friends different from themselves.

Makes you wonder about those nicely dressed young men coming to your doorstep with their bicycles and Book of Mormon samples.  Sometimes you have to ask hard questions.  Better still is being able to answer hard questions, even if its an answer that not everyone may like.  I will say this for those young men, they live their convictions, even if they don't agree with everything the church fathers promote.  I guess when you get your feet wet in the wilderness, you find more than mud.