Moraga Boy Scout Ryan Andresen is due to be honored in Sacramento at noon today (Monday) by Assembly Speaker John Perez.
Earlier this fall, Andresen, 18, was denied his Eagle Scout award after he came out publicly about his sexual orientation. In Sacramento he will attend meetings with public supporters of the campaign to pressure the Boy Scouts to grant his Eagle Scout award for the Tolerance Wall he created. The 288-tile wall is displayed at Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School in Moraga.
Those supporters include Assembly member Karen Skinner, Sen. Leland Yee and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to a press release by Change.org. The Andresen visit is part of the opening of a Legislature session.
Change.org is the site that hosts the petition started by his mother, Karen Andresen, urging the Boy Scouts to grant him his Eagle Scout badge. It has more than 425,000 signatures from around the nation and the world.
Note that I did not day that you or the BSA are dumb, just that you both did dumb things. It is dumb to fail to distinguish between name calling and opining.
Just as the United Negro College Fund, the World Jewish Congress, or the National Association of Women Business Owners have the ability to decide who is an appropriate member, so does the Boy Scouts of America. To insinuate that the BSA shouldn't be able to choose it's own members is analogous to telling the United Negro College Fund that they must give scholarships to non-African Americans because this selective policy is racially biased. Whether you approve of our legal system of not, each of the above organizations is empowered to make choices for itself, regardless of the social "appropriateness."
Also, why is everyone so quick to jump into the political correct camp of supporting a gay scout here. Please remember that the BSA has the responsibility of making sure the parents of the millions of boys that go on BSA camp outs feel comfortable that their son is in good keeping. Is anyone on here, in the name of political correctness, anxious to send their 11 year old son out into the wilderness with gay leaders and gay scouts? When considered in the larger context, the BSA's policy makes total sense to me.
From where did you gather the data which leads you to believe that a, "majority" of the membership feels the way in which you feel? I personally do not know a single Boy Scout, Eagle Scout, or Adult Leader who feels that modifying our 102 year old set of core tenants is prudent. Many societal changes have occurred since the inception of the BSA, and for over a century our rules have remained steadfast. They won't change now, and I'm sure as another century passes, more individuals will claim some flavor of discrimination or another.
And yes, all men are created equal, but that does not disallow distinctions. We practice age discrimination with the age to vote and drink. Discrimination does not have to be evil. We discriminate all the time for perfectly sound reasons. At Disneyland you have to be a certain height to ride certain rides. And so it goes in many areas of life. The gays are perfectly welcome to establish the GSA and disallow straight kids from joining.
However, your suggestion that boys are at a risk from gay scouts and gay troop leaders is scientifically inaccurate and vile. Additionally, by incorrectly casting the light of suspicion upon gay scouts and leaders for no reason other than their homosexuality, you perpetuate a stereotype that allows real predators to hide in the shadows and continue their abuse. If you really care about children, you certainly wouldn't want to partake in such an endeavor. Again, I whole heartedly support any private organization, such as the BSA, in their efforts to establish their own membership guidelines just as I support those companies and individuals who oppose the guidelines.
These are children, folks. ANY amount of sexuality is inappropriate here. It's just as wrong to flaunt heterosexuality as it is to flaunt homosexuality. The only reason Ryan's homosexuality became an issue is because he MADE it an issue; how else would anyone have known about his sexuality? I can't speak for Troop 212, but while I was a Boy Scout in another Lamorinda Troop (I started as a Cub Scout and worked my way up to Eagle), the topic of sex - gay or straight - sure wasn't ever welcome. Had it come up, there is no doubt in my mind that it would have been immediately and strictly dealt with. This is a zero-tolerance issue which no amount of liberal activist bullying is going to change. It's absolutely within the rights of the financial contributors to Boy Scouts of America to withhold further funds from the organization if they happen to disagree with this policy; it's also absolutely within the rights of the BSA to uphold the standards that they expect their members to meet. Ryan simply isn't Eagle Scout material, and he and his mother have a big chip on their shoulders about that, hence the media circus.
Since the BSA is not made up of a bunch of wackos, it seems to me it is for one two reasons, if not both. 1. As an organization it believes gay behavior is not being "morally straight" as is explicit in the Scout Oath. 2. It is a safety/perception issue. My guess is membership would drop a meaningful amount if parents new leaders and/or fellow scouts were actively gay and actively promoting gay behavior. I know I would be hesitant to send my 11 yr old son into the wilderness with openly professed gays. If there is any merit to #2, the BSA is in a tough spot. It can either stick with its prohibition on gay behavior and promotion, or it can accept it. Either way it risks losing members. It appears it is betting that over time a solid core will remain with it for taking a stand. Frank, your accusations against the BSA are 30+ years old. And the reasons you state are the very reasons the BSA is holding its ground on gay professing members and leaders. (You can be gay and a boy scout or a leader, you just have to keep it to yourself. Come to think of it, I kept my heterosexual nature to myself all through scouts, so what's the big deal?). Electradaddy, I don't cast a light on gay leaders, they do it by promoting their gay-ness. They can be in scouts but just mum about their sexuality.
Your continued efforts to paint an inaccurate picture of the typical child molester profile is certainly curious.
By mum, I mean the BSA has looked the other way with regard to leaders or scouts being gay. In fact, being gay, as I understand it does NOT disqualify you from participation; promoting homosexuality does. And yes, being open about one's homosexuality can be interpreted as promoting homosexuality, so I admit there is a fine line there. But BSA does not conduct witch hunts. They just don't want homosexuality to be promoted, taught, flaunted etc. Ryan did NOT fail to get his Eagle due to his being gay. He didnt' get his Eagle b/c he didn't participate in the troop for two years and then refused to profess belief in God. Once that was out and his receiving his Eagle was unlikely, he and his mom threw in the gay issue...despite what the media claims.