A hot topic is circulating concerning the Boy Scouts being pressured to change their ongoing policy of not allowing gays to be leaders.
The issue really received traction last year when 18-year old Ryan Andresen of Moraga forfeited his Eagle Scout ranking for failing to submit to the Boy Scouts’ “Duty to God” provision in the scout code.http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_22466354/boy-scouts-considering-retreat-from-no-gays-policy
If failure to agree to the “Duty to God” which is part of the Eagle Scout requirement took place, then it should be no surprise that Andresen failed to meet all the standards necessary to achieve the Eagle Scout ranking. This is a clear necessity to receive the Eagle Scout status.
The fact that Andresen is gay should be irrelevant and immaterial. His sexual orientation should not be an issue regarding achieving an Eagle Scout ranking. Being gay does not disqualify you making an oath to God. The standards are in place for anyone to do and once these requirements have been met, then the Eagle Scout ranking should be given.
Some are trying to sensationalize the issue that Andresen is gay and attempted to imply that is the sole reason his Eagle Scout ranking did not take place. Those aware of scouting are cognizant that achievement is the only reason that the high order of Eagle Scout is received or not.
One important point many fail to acknowledge is that the Boy Scouts were quite correct to restrict the leadership roles from those with a homosexual orientation. The Boy Scouts have a public relations nightmare in dealing with decades of sexual abuse in which the organization did poorly reporting the incidents and protecting the young boys that wanted to be scouts.
However what many fail to call into account is that many of these male leaders that managed to slip into the ranks of the Boy Scouts and became sexual predators on all of these kids were guilty of committing homosexual acts on the young boys. Classify these monsters with latent homosexual tendencies if you choose, but the record shows that many boys were assaulted by their male role models.
Typically the media and the culture is reluctant to classify homosexual or heterosexual behavior as deviant even if it involves acts of pedophilia where a sexual preference is obviously high on the agenda of the attacker. Rarely is the description of a homosexual sex crime given even if both the attacker and victim are the same sex. The same can be said whether discussing the Boy Scout situations or that of religious sexual predators where the victims and attacker are the same sex. Why is that anyway?http://ambler.patch.com/articles/jerry-sandusky-gets-for-sexual-abuse
Granted the Boy Scouts did a horrible job reporting these sexual predators to authorities and a worse job protecting the boys under their care. The horrendous news coming from the numerous files of sexual abuse points to the fact that the Boy Scouts were quite correct in disqualifying those with a homosexual orientation. Inspect the record and one can clearly see a pattern that was repeated. Opportunity by the predator and availability of victims became a devastating factor in the serial abuses that took place.
Not giving all the civil rights due to anyone is not acceptable, but granting special privileges is quite different. If Andresen refused to accept a standard that has been in place well before he was born in the “Duty to God” provision of the Boy Scouts, then he disqualified himself. If he was restricted from receiving the Eagle Scout ranking because he is gay, then that is highly unfair and the rank should be given to him.
One should not be able to pick or choose what standard is acceptable for the merit portion of the Eagle Scout ranking. Rejecting somebody for who they are or what they believe is another matter entirely.
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