The joy was short-lived in the Andresen home Tuesday as a scout official from the Mt. Diablo-Silverado Council denied a recommendation from the Eagle Board of Review to approve the Eagle Scout badge for Moraga teen Ryan Andresen, and refused to send the endorsement to national scout officials.
According to KTVU, John Fenoglio, staff executive at the Mt. Diablo-Silverado Council, said Tuesday that he would not approve the board's recommendation, or send it on to the national office.
A scout official said later that Andresen does not qualify for the badge because he rejects God, a charge Andresen's father disputes.
Andresen and his family thought they had moved one step closer to getting his Eagle Scout badge, despite the fact that it was denied in October because Andresen is gay.
That denial, first reported on Lamorinda Patch, sparked a national controversy, landing Andresen and his mother on talk shows and national news. He also received support from local and national politicians, including U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and 32 California state legislators. Nearly 500,000 people have signed a petition calling for the Boy Scouts of America to grant Andresen his Eagle Scout badge and overturn the policy prohibiting gays from belonging to the Boy Scouts.
On Dec. 31, local scout leaders agreed to submit Andresen’s request to an Eagle Board of Review. They had recommended approval of the badge to the Mt. Diablo-Silverado Council, which is headquartered in Pleasant Hill.
“I’m just so incredibly happy for Ryan,” said his mother Karen Andresen before the rejection. “He’s worked so hard for this honor, and as a mother, it means the world to me to know that our local Scouting community believes in him, too. Regardless of what the BSA’s National Advancement Team decides to do with his application, this victory makes it all worth it and gives me so much hope for the future of the organization.”
What isn't clear is whether the Council is denying him his Eagle because they believe people who are gay have renounced their faith in God by being gay. It sounds like it, and that's wrong.
And Emily, just want to say I think you are doing a great job moderating this and other threads, and engaging the Lamorinda community on a difficult and multifaceted topic. Personally, my ambivalence over whether to maintain my support for Scouting is fueled by the tens of thousands of boys in inner cities for whom scouting offers not only rare access to the outdoors, but an alternative to the gangs, drugs and other forces that too often destroy their neighborhoods. We're fortunate to live in a place such as this.
http://www.change.org/petitions/boy-scouts-don-t-let-your-anti-gay-policy-deny-my-son-his-eagle-award and join Scouts for Equality: www.scoutsforequality.org Seeking other Scouters and Councils to join the cause.
"To be a person of strong character, your relationships with others should be honest and open. You should respect and defend the rights of all people. Be clean in your speech and actions, and remain faithful in your religious beliefs. The values you practice as a Scout will help you shape a life of virtue and self-reliance." Hmmm. So morally straight has nothing to do with sexual orientation - it has to do with standing up of people, respecting people's rights, being honest and open. Well, he certainly wasn't that in this case! I'm being somewhat facetious. I know John is trying to keep his job, at the expense of Ryan and the Scouting movement.
The Boy Scouts certainly have a Constitutional right to be very wrong (though not with my tax dollars); they might take a look at the Girl Scouts, who are thriving, without worrying about what gender their members might find attractive, or what deities they might worship (or not).
You are losing you grip, my friend. The two have nothing what so ever to do with one another. Your 'higher plane, 'objectivism' is just so much malarkey and those that kling to it are on the wrong bus, or the right one, destination: Nowhere.
Just curious as to why you are so threatened by these kids? Think they are going to ruin the guv'ment too. Some think that such a strong aversion is, well, a sort of cry for help. Need a shoulder to lean on, Josh?
And, according to the CDC, the fastest growing contributing group to new HIV/AIDS cases is Heterosexual males. And new cases, in general, have been declining. The common profile of the 'pedophile' has little in common with homosexuality. Your lack of understanding in this regard is monumental and embarrassing.