Boy Scouts of America: "straight" but not morally.
Boy Scouts of America ("BSA") is finally going to remove their homophobic policy against youngsters below 18. For the rest, it is still one of the only (if not the only, but I am not 100% sure about that) National Scout Organizations ("NSO") of the World Organization of the Scout Movement ("WOSM") in the Western hemisphere with an official membership restriction based solely on sexual orientation. And then, I'm still ashamed and embarrassed for not being able to deny that, as a Scout, I have some links with the issue (at least, formal ones, as BSA belongs to WOSM as the rest of NSO in the World do).
BSA has, indeed, lifted the ban that prevented openly gay scouts to acquire or keep their membership but, nonetheless, they have also announced that they still won't accept gay leaders. What will happen with young scouts who do not want to tolearte the unfair burden of having to permanently hide their sexual orientation when reaching 18 years old? We'll see. But I suspect that they won't be anymore welcomed as adults wishing to help and contribute in their communities as volunteers in Scouting.
Some say that sex and politics must remain away from Scouting; that you don't join Scouting for "moving agendas forward". And that BSA has the right to set, as a private organization, membership conditions. That is why the ban for gay adults in BSA daily life might be maintained. Against that:
i) This position assumes the premise that children won't be safe from harassment if adults whose loved ones are from the same sex are around. Defending that is tremendously homophobic and unacceptable as it suggests that gay people are more propense to engage in criminal offences; Let any person that uses this kind of arguments know that they are offensive.
ii) Politics away from BSA by mantaining the ban? At all. With the ban for adults in place, politics are at the center of BSA daily policies. More precisely, the politics of those who intend to make BSA the kid's integrist playground of the Tea Party or similar ideological groups.
iii) Scouting DOES move agendas. What do you think that are the effects of truly adhering to the Scout Law and Promise? MOVING AGENDAS. We are not a network of weekend kindergartens but a huge movement with a clear aim of promoting active citizenship among new generations, with strong values and a Vision: "Creating a better World". It is possible to push all that forward if we tolerate human rights abuses in our own communities? Without pointing them out and working to stop them? Of course not. Otherwise, we would fail to adhere to the Promise and the Law we are all bound to. Why don't we start with gay discrimination at home, BSA?
iv) BSA has indeed the right, under its national legislation, to set membership chriterium. But, as an NSO, they have also duties. Ethical duties. And as the sole umbrella organization of WOSM in the USA, BSA should make sure that every kid and any adult in the land can access Scouting. Even more in a great country whose Declaration of Independence once vested EVERY individual with the right to pursue Hapiness. No sexual orientation distinctions on that. The commitment of BSA with democratic and Scouting values should be enough to reject any membership chriteria which is discriminatory for US kids and US adults.
The conclusion of all the former is that the lift of the gay-ban at BSA comes very late and it is still far away of what it is requested to one of the countries that has both one of the largest Scouting memberships in the World and a strong record as a democratic society. With those ingredients, BSA could lead the Scout movement for good; their policies, bylaws and programs could set an example for other younger NSOs in less favoured landscapes. And, instead of that, BSA is still a place in which discrimination is officially enshrined.
The recent news on BSA gay-ban lift for under-18s are more "good news" than "bad news", but it is absolutely not enough. Because any discrimination based on sexual orientation in Scouting different than NONE will always be too much.