BSA opens door halfway

It's hard to cheer. The Boy Scouts of America has decided to allow gay kids to be Scouts...but will maintain a ban on gay adult leaders. A story at the NYT tells how one gay Scout sees this change:

Tessier is on track to receive his Eagle Scout award — he only needs to complete his final project — but said he is troubled that on his 18th birthday he could transform from someone holding Scouting's highest rank to someone unfit to be a part of the organization. 

"That one couple hours (between 17 and 18) will make me not a good person," he said. 

It's that twisted. But hey, gay Scouts are in. Let's see how long the ban on gay adult leaders lasts. Not long, I would think. 

I do have another concern, one I don't see echoed in any of the stories about this change at BSA. As matters stand, I think there's good reason to worry about handing your gay kid over to a straight male Scout leader who could easily be a homophobe. I'll bet there are lots of anti-gay nutjobs leading troops right now. Remember, the BSA has been a safe haven for such men for a very long time. For this reason, the BSA needs to arrange for a competent gay organization to provide sensitivity training sessions for all current and future leaders. And that's just the start. We'll also need to monitor how gay Scouts are treated by adult staff (and by straight Scouts who have been brain-damaged by all the crazy talk that preceded this decision).

But for today, let's just sit back and wait for wingnut heads to explode. This should be fun.

Upsetting day for gay Scouts

So the Boy Scouts are going to decide today whether to "allow" openly gay scouts to, you know, exist. No matter how things pan out, whether they're included or excluded, it's a really shitty day for gay people.

Who else has to suffer through moments when bigots get to decide if it's okay for them to exist? I really can't think of any other groups that go through this in the United States. Do we question whether Latinos, African-Americans, men or old people can join organizations? Never comes up (except in bigoted country clubs, of course). No full-fledged organization can deny the rights of any group in this country -- except gays.

That heavy weight is resting on the shoulders of every gay Scout today. Even if the vote goes the right way, they'll know they just inched inside the boundaries of this organization -- and they'll be aware that many don't agree that they should be "allowed" there.

Allowed? What kind of a screwed up world is this, that a child has to wonder if he's "acceptable" to others, simply because of who he is?

Being gay is great. Ask any adult gay or lesbian person. But getting to this point is like walking through a minefield -- with hate, rather than bombs, exploding all around you. And why is this the case? Because of Christianity, of course. It hates gay people with a passion unknown in its other endeavors. Only hating the gays gives Christians that special, holy thrill. Jesus would be so proud.

Let's hope the Scouts do the right thing today. These gay kids already know that their right to marry is on the chopping block. Let's at least let them enjoy their childhoods.