Resign, Robert Gates. You Are Unfit To Lead.
2015-05-22 00:17:25 UTC
The president of the Boy Scouts of America on Thursday called
for an end to the groups blanket ban on gay adult leaders,
warning Scout executives that we must deal with the world as it
is, not as we might wish it to be, and that any other
alternative will be the end of us as a national movement.
At the same time, religious organizations that sponsor a
majority of local Scout troops, including the Mormons and Roman
Catholics, should remain free to set their own policies for
leaders, said the president, Robert M. Gates, the former
director of the C.I.A. and the former secretary of defense.
Mr. Gates called for the changes at an annual national meeting
of the group, in Atlanta. He said that he was not yet making a
formal proposal but that the Scouts governing body should take
up the issue formally at a future meeting.
The treatment of gay men and boys has been a source of wrenching
debate over the last decade. Conservative religious groups that
sponsor many Scout troops, including the Mormon Church and the
Roman Catholic Church, have opposed the participation of openly
gay members while local leaders in more liberal areas have
called for an end to the ban.
In 2013, Boy Scout leaders from across the country voted, with
more than 60 percent approval, to say that no youth may be
denied membership on the basis of sexual orientation or
preference alone. But it left intact the policy that no openly
gay adults could serve in the organization.
Since then, a Scout group in New York has defied that policy by
employing an openly gay leader, and several other groups around
the country have expressed opposition to the ban.
Mr. Gates said in his prepared remarks Thursday, released by the
Boy Scouts, that the national leadership would take no action
against defiant local councils.
At the same time, he said that in the name of religious freedom,
the Scouts should allow local sponsoring organizations to
determine the standards for their Scout leaders.
Such an approach would allow all churches, which sponsor some
70 percent of our Scout units, to establish leadership standards
consistent with their faith, he said.
We must, at all costs, preserve the religious freedom of our
church partners to do this.
Zach Wahls, the executive director of Scouts for Equality, a
group that has campaigned for change, praised Mr. Gates for the
speech.
Dr. Gates has built his reputation on straight talk and tough
decisions, and Im glad hes fully endorsing a re-evaluation of
the Boy Scouts ban on gay adults, Mr. Wahls said in a
statement. It seems like the Boy Scouts will continue an
internal dialogue about the subject and that a change within the
next year or two is imminent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/22/us/boy-scouts-president-calls-
for-end-to-ban-on-gay-leaders.html
for an end to the groups blanket ban on gay adult leaders,
warning Scout executives that we must deal with the world as it
is, not as we might wish it to be, and that any other
alternative will be the end of us as a national movement.
At the same time, religious organizations that sponsor a
majority of local Scout troops, including the Mormons and Roman
Catholics, should remain free to set their own policies for
leaders, said the president, Robert M. Gates, the former
director of the C.I.A. and the former secretary of defense.
Mr. Gates called for the changes at an annual national meeting
of the group, in Atlanta. He said that he was not yet making a
formal proposal but that the Scouts governing body should take
up the issue formally at a future meeting.
The treatment of gay men and boys has been a source of wrenching
debate over the last decade. Conservative religious groups that
sponsor many Scout troops, including the Mormon Church and the
Roman Catholic Church, have opposed the participation of openly
gay members while local leaders in more liberal areas have
called for an end to the ban.
In 2013, Boy Scout leaders from across the country voted, with
more than 60 percent approval, to say that no youth may be
denied membership on the basis of sexual orientation or
preference alone. But it left intact the policy that no openly
gay adults could serve in the organization.
Since then, a Scout group in New York has defied that policy by
employing an openly gay leader, and several other groups around
the country have expressed opposition to the ban.
Mr. Gates said in his prepared remarks Thursday, released by the
Boy Scouts, that the national leadership would take no action
against defiant local councils.
At the same time, he said that in the name of religious freedom,
the Scouts should allow local sponsoring organizations to
determine the standards for their Scout leaders.
Such an approach would allow all churches, which sponsor some
70 percent of our Scout units, to establish leadership standards
consistent with their faith, he said.
We must, at all costs, preserve the religious freedom of our
church partners to do this.
Zach Wahls, the executive director of Scouts for Equality, a
group that has campaigned for change, praised Mr. Gates for the
speech.
Dr. Gates has built his reputation on straight talk and tough
decisions, and Im glad hes fully endorsing a re-evaluation of
the Boy Scouts ban on gay adults, Mr. Wahls said in a
statement. It seems like the Boy Scouts will continue an
internal dialogue about the subject and that a change within the
next year or two is imminent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/22/us/boy-scouts-president-calls-
for-end-to-ban-on-gay-leaders.html