Boy Scout Troops Should Have Autonomy in Picking Members

To the Editor:

Congratulations on your excellent coverage of the Supreme Court decision in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (“A Matter of Opinion,” July 13) — as well as your past coverage of this issue.

As you report, many people involved in Scouting at the local level do not agree with the national leadership’s institutionalized homophobia. Like James Dale, I am an Eagle Scout and a former assistant scoutmaster. I have been involved in Scouting off and on since 1953. I am not gay, but I find the Scouting hierarchy’s position on homosexuality cruel, appalling, and stupid.

Beyond the stunning injustice towards gays and lesbians, one of the worst things may be that a good organization has marginalized itself into something of a youth movement for the religious right. Even the majority opinion of the Court states that “homosexuality has gained greater social acceptance.” That is an understatement even among 50-somethings such as myself. It is an understatement of epic proportions among people under age 30. They are the present and future parents who will reject Scouting because of its intolerance.

My 18-year-old son recently became a third-generation Eagle Scout. I now wonder if I was right in pushing him through that process. Largely because of the national B.S.A.’s intolerance, he is completely uninterested in continuing in Scouting as an adult.

I also find particularly bizarre and sad the Boy Scouts of America’s core position on the issue that homosexuality is not “morally straight.”

How odd. I have tried to teach my kids that morality includes tolerance, kindness, respect for differences, decency, justice, and help for the oppressed.

What Scouting should consider doing now is allowing local autonomy. Troops that want to admit gay boys and leaders should be able to do so. Those who wish to exclude can be intolerant, with the Supreme Court’s blessing.

The Court’s ruling points out that the First Amendment protects unpopular expression, citing cases that protected the free-speech rights of American-flag burners and the Ku Klux Klan. This is not good company for the Boy Scouts.

Joe Beldon
Bethesda, Md.