Latest Breaking News
In reply to the discussion: Boy Scouts: We're keeping policy banning gays [View all]dmallind
(10,437 posts)Bullshit? Obvious really; what the hell can the mission of scouting have to do with the sexuality of the scouts or leaders? What difference does sexuality possibly make to the activities of scouting, or indeed any other activity outside sexual relationships?
Predictable? Well this is a group dominated by tradition and religion after all. Hope springs eternal, but open-sexuality scouting is a spring too far right now it appears.
Explicable? I'll eat my hat if liability wasn't a major issue here. Rules or not it's absurd to imagine that there are no gay scouts or scout leaders, and absurd to imagine that all of them will refrain from sexual activity during scouting events (just as, for example, rules against heterosexual intimate fraternization in large groups are routinely broken). All it needs is either one vindictive ex or even worse a parent to issue a law suit, especially if one partner was legally underage and the other not, and the "well you allowed in gay scouts/leaders!" charge becomes legal grounds for damages. Again no different from heterosexual complications in workplace dating etc, but right now the BSA at least has the legal defense of a blanket prohibition. Remember defensible and explicable are not synonyms, and I didn't get a vote anyway.
Minor gain? Hey at least there was a review, even with a kangaroo court, and at least there is publicity about the process. It's a stepping stone to build on for another future try with hopefully a more enlightened result. Atheist scouts got kicked out and told to fuck off with barely a peep when they asked for the same consideration.