Local scouters respond to openly gay leadership decision

The Boy Scouts of America will now allow each local chapter to make its own decisions on gay scout leaders. In 2013, the BSA voted to allow gay youths into the organization, but Monday’s decision is once again stirring up controversy. It settles the issue for some, but opens up a whole list of issues for others.

In a statement after the vote, current BSA president and former defense secretary Robert Gates said “for far too long this issue has divided and distracted us. Now, it’s time to unite in our shared belief in the extraordinary power of scouting as a force for good in its community and in the lives of its youth members.”

Part of Gates’s statement after the decision pointed out that legal challenges to the exclusion of gay leaders was a serious threat to the future of The Boy Scouts of America. But that threat may have just been transferred to the local level now.

Lawyer Sam Snoddy is a long-time scoutmaster. He’s seen the organization evolve over the years, and his troop was one of the first to allow female auxiliary scouts. But he said the challenges now are very different and possibly very costly.

“If BSA is saying it’s now on a troop-by-troop basis, there’s no protection under the law,” Snoddy said. “Absolutely none. And a boy scout troop that would refuse to have a gay scout leader come in, they could get sued.”

For scouters of all ages, the decision hits close to home, with a difficult balance between different possible threats to the organization, within and without.

Some see it as a step forward that doesn’t go far enough. For others, it’s a betrayal of traditional values that has them threatening to leave the organization entirely. The official decision leaves the final decision up to the local troop leadership, and the chartering organizations.

“So practically for us, the announcement the BSA made makes no difference,” said Jon Moore, senior pastor at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church. “The BSA has previously and continues to do that even with it’s policy change, continues to guarantee that a local church or local faith-based organization that does the chartering selects the church leaders.”

St. Marks is the chartering organization of Troop 59. Moore said the announcement makes sense, and would be something for the congregation to decide on when a vacancy comes up, with nothing in United Methodist teachings prohibiting it directly.

“We’ll do what we always do at St. Mark’s, which is to listen to each other, prayerfully discern what we need to do, and then to proceed how we need to proceed.”

But not all religious organizations supporting scouting are the ones chartering them. Snoddy said his troop meets at a baptist church. If they were to have an openly gay adult petition for leadership, they could be faced with a difficult decision – face a lawsuit, or lose their location.

“If there was any adverse action taken,” Snoddy said, “concerning our troop, we would have to find another meeting place. And it will materially affect us – adversely affect us.”

While this issue may not be settled, at least one fear might be unfounded. All scouting adult leaders go through background checks and required youth protection training, learning to never let an adult and child be alone together or to share tents between adults and scouts.

While the El Paso area Yucca Council of the BSA declined to comment on the issue, they did send ABC-7 a statement that said “On July 27th, the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America passed the resolution to change the organization’s Leadership Standards. This resolution allows chartered organizations to select adult volunteer leaders without regard to sexual orientation, continuing Scouting’s longstanding policy of chartered organizations selecting their leaders.

This change allows Scouting’s members and parents to select local units, chartered to organizations with similar beliefs, that best meet the needs of their families. This change also respects the right of religious chartered organizations to choose adult volunteer leaders whose beliefs are consistent with their own. It remains the position of the Boy Scouts of America that the ideals and principles of “duty to God” and “a Scout is reverent” set forth in the Scout Oath and Law are central to teaching young people to make better choices over their lifetimes.

Scouting will continue to focus on reaching and serving youth to help them grow into good, strong citizens. By focusing on the goals that unite us, we are able to accomplish incredible things for young people and the communities we serve. “The Boy Scouts of America will now allow each local chapter to make its own decisions on gay scout leaders. In 2013, the BSA voted to allow gay youths into the organization, but Monday’s decision is once again stirring up controversy. It settles the issue for some, but opens up a whole list of issues for others.

In a statement after the vote, current BSA president and former defense secretary Robert Gates said “for far too long this issue has divided and distracted us. Now, it’s time to unite in our shared belief in the extraordinary power of scouting as a force for good in its community and in the lives of its youth members.”

Part of Gates’s statement after the decision pointed out that legal challenges to the exclusion of gay leaders was a serious threat to the future of The Boy Scouts of America. But that threat may have just been transferred to the local level now.

Lawyer Sam Snoddy is a long-time scoutmaster. He’s seen the organization evolve over the years, and his troop was one of the first to allow female auxiliary scouts. But he said the challenges now are very different and possibly very costly.

“If BSA is saying it’s now on a troop-by-troop basis, there’s no protection under the law,” Snoddy said. “Absolutely none. And a boy scout troop that would refuse to have a gay scout leader come in, they could get sued.”

For scouters of all ages, the decision hits close to home, with a difficult balance between different possible threats to the organization, within and without.

Some see it as a step forward that doesn’t go far enough. For others, it’s a betrayal of traditional values that has them threatening to leave the organization entirely. The official decision leaves the final decision up to the local troop leadership, and the chartering organizations.

“So practically for us, the announcement the BSA made makes no difference,” said Jon Moore, senior pastor at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church. “The BSA has previously and continues to do that even with it’s policy change, continues to guarantee that a local church or local faith-based organization that does the chartering selects the church leaders.”

St. Marks is the chartering organization of Troop 59. Moore said the announcement makes sense, and would be something for the congregation to decide on when a vacancy comes up, with nothing in United Methodist teachings prohibiting it directly.

“We’ll do what we always do at St. Mark’s, which is to listen to each other, prayerfully discern what we need to do, and then to proceed how we need to proceed.”

But not all religious organizations supporting scouting are the ones chartering them. Snoddy said his troop meets at a baptist church. If they were to have an openly gay adult petition for leadership, they could be faced with a difficult decision – face a lawsuit, or lose their location.

“If there was any adverse action taken,” Snoddy said, “concerning our troop, we would have to find another meeting place. And it will materially affect us – adversely affect us.”

While this issue may not be settled, at least one fear might be unfounded. All scouting adult leaders go through background checks and required youth protection training, learning to never let an adult and child be alone together or to share tents between adults and scouts.

While the El Paso area Yucca Council of the BSA declined to comment on the issue, they did send ABC-7 a statement that said “On July 27th, the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America passed the resolution to change the organization’s Leadership Standards. This resolution allows chartered organizations to select adult volunteer leaders without regard to sexual orientation, continuing Scouting’s longstanding policy of chartered organizations selecting their leaders.

This change allows Scouting’s members and parents to select local units, chartered to organizations with similar beliefs, that best meet the needs of their families. This change also respects the right of religious chartered organizations to choose adult volunteer leaders whose beliefs are consistent with their own. It remains the position of the Boy Scouts of America that the ideals and principles of “duty to God” and “a Scout is reverent” set forth in the Scout Oath and Law are central to teaching young people to make better choices over their lifetimes.

Scouting will continue to focus on reaching and serving youth to help them grow into good, strong citizens. By focusing on the goals that unite us, we are able to accomplish incredible things for young people and the communities we serve. “