Update On Adult Leadership Standards

[robert12]

From http://scoutingnewsroom.org/blog/update-on-adult-leadership-standards/

 

 

 

During the 2015 Boy Scouts of America National Annual Meeting in May, Dr. Gates encouraged the Scouting family to reflect on the challenges, primarily regarding adult leadership standards, facing the BSA and potential alternatives for addressing them.

As a result of the rapid changes in society and increasing legal challenges at the federal, state, and local levels, on Friday, July 10, the Boy Scouts of America Executive Committee adopted a resolution amending the adult leadership standards policy. The resolution was unanimously adopted by those present and voting.
 

This resolution will allow chartered organizations to select adult leaders without regard to sexual orientation, continuing Scouting’s longstanding policy of chartered organizations selecting their leaders. The National Executive Board will meet to ratify this resolution on Monday, July 27.

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 would also respect the right of religious chartered organizations to continue to choose adult leaders whose beliefs are consistent with their own. The 2013 youth membership policy will not be affected and remains unchanged.
 

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.

Edited July 13, 2015 by robert12

[sierracharliescouter]

Long overdue. This is and has been the only route to resolution that made any sense, while maintaining the scouting ideal of respect for other faiths.

Edited July 13, 2015 by sierracharliescouter

[Daped01]

cool

[NJCubScouter]

I didn't realize it was October already.

 

But seriously, this is what the BSA needs to do, and when the final vote is taken (July 27), then I'll believe it's a done deal. I remember the last time the BSA appeared to be going down this road.

[walk in the woods]

Interesting that the linked document includes this language:

 

The change under consideration would eliminate the BSA’s prohibition on gay

leaders, but it would be consistent with the BSA’s current policy of allowing each religious

chartered organization to select unit leaders. The change in the BSA policy would still

allow units chartered by religious organizations that as a matter of religious belief

consider homosexual conduct inconsistent with their religion to limit adult leadership in

accordance with that belief. Units not chartered by religious organizations could not

exclude homosexuals who otherwise meet the BSA’s high adult leader standards and the

chartered organization’s standards.

[Miami_Chief]

A long overdue change, IMO.

 

What does upset me is terrible outpouring of hateful comments left on some of these news articles.  While sometimes these are from both sides of the issue, the most unScoutlike things are being said against the BSA and those who support this change.  

 

Many are quick to cry "morally straight" and "A Scout is Reverent" when making these vicious comments, completely forgetting that these are part of the reason the change is occurring.  Not every religious organization shares the same beliefs.  For the BSA to remain reverent towards the many different religious organizations that sponsor Scouting, it can't pick sides.  By leaving leader selection up to the Chartered Organization, they are free to exercise their faith and uphold their own principles.  In my area a number of churches are very open and welcoming, and took issue with the BSA's adult standards as it imposed another religious organization's beliefs on them.  

 

The way some folks are reacting, you would think they received a notice that all uniforms must have a rainbow flag, Units must have at least 1 gay leader, and Pride in the Gay Community has been announced as the newest Eagle-required merit badge.  Come on, people.  The only agenda a gay leader has is to spend time with his or her son and to help other adult volunteers provide a great program for all of the boys- the same as the rest of us!

 

Bottom line- find a Unit chartered to an organization in line with your beliefs.  Can't find such a Unit?  Start a new one!   

[eagle77]

A long overdue change, IMO.

 

What does upset me is terrible outpouring of hateful comments left on some of these news articles.  While sometimes these are from both sides of the issue, the most unScoutlike things are being said against the BSA and those who support this change.  

 

Many are quick to cry "morally straight" and "A Scout is Reverent" when making these vicious comments, completely forgetting that these are part of the reason the change is occurring.  Not every religious organization shares the same beliefs.  For the BSA to remain reverent towards the many different religious organizations that sponsor Scouting, it can't pick sides.  By leaving leader selection up to the Chartered Organization, they are free to exercise their faith and uphold their own principles.  In my area a number of churches are very open and welcoming, and took issue with the BSA's adult standards as it imposed another religious organization's beliefs on them.  

 

The way some folks are reacting, you would think they received a notice that all uniforms must have a rainbow flag, Units must have at least 1 gay leader, and Pride in the Gay Community has been announced as the newest Eagle-required merit badge.  Come on, people.  The only agenda a gay leader has is to spend time with his or her son and to help other adult volunteers provide a great program for all of the boys- the same as the rest of us!

 

Bottom line- find a Unit chartered to an organization in line with your beliefs.  Can't find such a Unit?  Start a new one!   

 

  Yeah problem with many of them is that "their" religion and "their" beliefs are the only ones that count or mean anything.

[qwazse]

Trail Life, huzzah!

[Scouter99]

Local option is best, it ensures that the boys who get seduced are the sons of the people who wanted gay leaders there.

[eagle77]

Local option is best, it ensures that the boys who get seduced are the sons of the people who wanted gay leaders there.

 

  Check out this HBO series called "Vice" I think you could really relate to what is happening there on episode 10 season 3. They are definately your kind of people.

[packsaddle]

Be advised:

I know this is an emotionally-charged subject. Try not to make this a 'personal' thing, however. The last two posts cross the line of decorum and I will let them stand as an example of what crosses the line. However, any future responses like those will find the circular file in short order.

Edited July 14, 2015 by packsaddle

[Stosh]

Trail Life, huzzah!

 

I kinda checked them out a bit, they seem to be purely Christian in their approach, not leaving any room for other faiths regardless of the homosexual stance.

[Oldscout448]

I talked this over with the wife last night, then stayed up till past midnight pondering,  right now I just don't see how I can remain a part of Scouting past July 27.   Not and look myself in the mirror every morning. If I think something is wrong how can I be part of a group that says it's right and still call my self an honest man? 

  I suppose this means I will not be wearing a uniform at my youngest sons Eagle court in 4 weeks.

 

Hell of a way to finish nearly a half century of scouting

[walk in the woods]

It will be interesting to watch.  Gates and Co. are pretty naïve if they think the social justice warriors will leave the BSA alone after the 27th.  In the text from Zach Wahl's response on Scouts for Equality (below) you'll notice the explicit invocation of the local option as still imperfect:

 

“Today’s announcement hopefully marks the beginning of the end of the Boy Scouts of America’s decades-old ban on gay leaders and parents like my two moms. In two weeks, the BSA’s national executive board will vote to ratify a resolution that has already been unanimously adopted by their executive committee.

“For decades, the Boy Scouts of America’s ban on gay adults has stood as a towering example of explicit, institutional homophobia in one of America’s most important and recognizable civic organizations. While this policy change is not perfect—BSA’s religious chartering partners will be allowed to continue to discriminate against gay adults—it is difficult to overstate the importance of today’s announcement

 

Here's another quote from Wahl's in WaPo:

 

“This is a step in the right direction, but we’re still really concerned that there are still going to be groups that are going to be hostile to adult leaders,†Wahls said.

 

The headline on slate.com "Boy Scouts Moves to Lift Ban on Gay Leaders, Will Continue to Allow Troops to Discriminate."  The article also contains this quote:

 

"Half measures are unacceptable and discriminatory exemptions have no place in the Boy Scouts," Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the national LGBT-rights group, said in a statement. "It's long overdue that BSA leaders demonstrate true leadership and embrace a full national policy of inclusion."

 

The headline on CBS (cbsnews.com), "Boy Scouts move closer to ending ban on gay adult leaders."  (Italics are mine)

 

This resolution may resolve the hiring issue and it will make liberal groups feel good, but it won't ease any pressure on money flow or anything else.

 

 

.

Edited July 14, 2015 by walk in the woods

[Cambridgeskip]

It will be interesting to watch.  Gates and Co. are pretty naïve if they think the social justice warriors will leave the BSA alone after the 27th.  In the text from Zach Wahl's response on Scouts for Equality (below) you'll notice the explicit invocation of the local option as still imperfect:

 

“Today’s announcement hopefully marks the beginning of the end of the Boy Scouts of America’s decades-old ban on gay leaders and parents like my two moms. In two weeks, the BSA’s national executive board will vote to ratify a resolution that has already been unanimously adopted by their executive committee.

“For decades, the Boy Scouts of America’s ban on gay adults has stood as a towering example of explicit, institutional homophobia in one of America’s most important and recognizable civic organizations. While this policy change is not perfect—BSA’s religious chartering partners will be allowed to continue to discriminate against gay adults—it is difficult to overstate the importance of today’s announcement

 

Here's another quote from Wahl's in WaPo:

 

“This is a step in the right direction, but we’re still really concerned that there are still going to be groups that are going to be hostile to adult leaders,†Wahls said.

 

The headline on slate.com "Boy Scouts Moves to Lift Ban on Gay Leaders, Will Continue to Allow Troops to Discriminate."  The article also contains this quote:

 

"Half measures are unacceptable and discriminatory exemptions have no place in the Boy Scouts," Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the national LGBT-rights group, said in a statement. "It's long overdue that BSA leaders demonstrate true leadership and embrace a full national policy of inclusion."

 

The headline on CBS (cbsnews.com), "Boy Scouts move closer to ending ban on gay adult leaders."  (Italics are mine)

 

This resolution may resolve the hiring issue and it will make liberal groups feel good, but it won't ease any pressure on money flow or anything else.

 

 

.

You are probably right (although naturally I see it more positively than I'm guessing you do) but looking in from outside it seems to me that the BSA heirarchy will have learned, or at least should have learned, a few things in all of this.

 

The big thing is that they were way behind the curve on gay equality. The big damage was done not by the change itself (although there will be some who will walk away, that is clear) but by waiting until the pressure on it became intollerable. And that delay was caused by the chartering model of BSA's structure.

 

BSA will need to be far more agile on its feet going forward. The world is changing and it's changing at an ever quickening pace. Organisations that don't keep up are going to find themselves in a lot of trouble. As I've said before the Uk Scout Association had just that problem in the 1990s. It stagnated, didn't keep up, and went through a crisis as a result that we are still recovering from.

 

If I were Mr Gates right now I would be instigating a root and branch restructuring of BSA. Nothing to do with the programme, simply change how it is run and move away from the chartering model, make sure that the decisions on how BSA is run sits in the hands of BSA, not outside bodies.