Scouts get pwned

[Lamplighter]

Boy Scouts president calls for end to ban on gay troop leaders (+video)
Christian Science Monitor Cristina Maza - May 21, 2015

The move could be a step toward ending a policy against gay leaders that has increasingly divided the Boy Scouts.

The days of the Boy Scouts long-standing ban on gay troop leaders may be numbered.

Boy Scouts of America president, Robert Gates, called for an end to the controversial ban
while addressing the organization's annual meeting.
The move could be a step toward ending a policy that has divided members
of one of the largest youth organizations in the country, advocates say.

In 2013 the organization revoked its ban on the membership of gay youth.
Nevertheless, openly gay adults are still prohibited from serving in the organization.

The 2014 selection of Mr. Gates, who as United States secretary of Defense
helped end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that barred openly gay individuals
from serving in the military, was seen by some as an opportunity to revisit the debate
over the organization’s policy.
<snip>

Isn't there some irony in this announcement being delivered by former Sec of Defense,
Robert Gates, who did almost everything he could to avoid/delay the end of DADT in the military.

Maybe he has changed his mind ... ya think ?

[Lamplighter]

So, today may yet be another day...

Boy Scouts Are Poised to End Ban on Gay Leaders
NY Times - ERIK ECKHOLMJULY 26, 2015

The Boy Scouts of America is expected on Monday to end its blanket ban on gay leaders
— a turning point for an organization that has been in turmoil over the issue.
But some scouting groups will still be able to limit leadership jobs to heterosexuals.

But...

To gain the acquiescence of conservative religious groups that sponsor many packs and troops,
like the Mormon and Roman Catholic Churches, the policy will allow church-run units to pick leaders
who agree with their moral precepts.

Here in Oregon, and I suspect elsewhere too, these exclusion policies of the BSA
resulted all local Scouting groups to be excluded from the United Way fund-raising network.

I had hoped that if the Scouts formally changed their ways, they would get back into United Way.
But this hanging on to "exceptions" may still be reason enough to keep them out.

Simply put, these religious groups need to get over their bad selves and
come out of the dark ages when it comes to public organizations like the BSA.

[xoxoxoBruce]

How do packs/troops choose leaders? Eons ago in small town New England, the Den Mother/Scoutmaster job was left to any sucker person who would take it.

[glatt]

In practice, that's my experience too. However, on paper, the charter organization approves all leadership. So theoretically, the church running the troop could require the leader to be straight. All the packs/troops I've been involved in have basically just rubber stamped what the troop parents came up with.