Fwd: BSA Reaction to UK Policy
Rob Hummel (Sabres22@AOL.COM)
Sun, 30 Mar 1997 22:22:00 -0500
---------------------
Forwarded message:
From: davidpv@pvrentals.com (David Peavy)
Sender: owner-eagles@langevin.usc.edu
To: eagles@langevin.usc.edu
Date: 97-03-28 22:01:22 EST
The following article is from the 3/28 issue of the Washington Blade. Gets
BSA's reaction.
==============================
British Boy Scouts adopt non-discrimination policy
by Christopher Jones
LONDON -- The London headquarters of the Scout Association recently adopted
a non-discrimination policy
which lifts its ban on Gays, according to a report in the March 24 edition
of the London Times.
The British Consulate in New York City said that the policy went into effect
at the end of February.
The Scout Association passed the new policy after completing a three-year
review of whether or not Gays should
be allowed to serve in the Scouts. The policy states that Gay adults will be
allowed to serve as leaders of Scout
troops and Gay children will be allowed to join as Scouts.
Betty Clay, daughter of deceased Scout founder Robert Baden-Powell,
disagreed with the policy and said her
father would have, too.
"He was very much against any exceptionally unnatural ways of living and
would not have liked people with odd
tendencies to be leaders and the example for boys and young men to follow,"
Clay told the Times.
Some biographies of Baden-Powell have contended that he was a "repressed"
Gay man.
A United Press International report said the association was flooded with
calls from people opposed to the policy.
"These callers are saying that if you're a homosexual, you must be a
pedophile, which is blatantly homophobic and untrue," said Scout
spokesperson David Barker in an interview with UPI. The association's policy
prohibits pedophiles and atheists from serving in the Scouts.
A spokesperson for the Boy Scouts of America said the decision of the London
Scout Association will not affect the policies of America's Boy
Scout clubs.
"Their decision to introduce a new policy will not affect the standards of
membership or leadership of the Boy Scouts of America," said Greg
Shields, national spokesperson for the Boy Scouts of America.
"The Boy Scouts of America has always taught the traditional values of
Scouting families. We believe that homosexual conduct is inconsistent
with the values of the Scout oath and law. Accordingly, we do not allow for
the registration of avowed homosexuals as members or leaders of the
[Boy Scouts of America]," Shields said.
The Girl Scouts of America does not prohibit Lesbians from serving in its
membership or leadership.
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
