Boy Scouts to Allow Gay Troop Leaders
Another victory for the LGBTQ community in its battle for equal rights: the Boy Scouts of America announced it will allow gay troop leaders.
The decision is a victory for supporters but it leaves some in the community outraged.
It’s now official: the Boy Scouts of America will now allow openly gay adults to serve as troop leaders with 79 percent of executive board members who voted supporting the move.
Co-President of the Gulf Coast Rainbow Center Molly Kester said, “I’m kind of happy and it’s about time that people start recognizing that the LGBT people are just like everyone else and we just want to be part of the community.”
Despite the win, LGBT leaders continue to fight negative stereotypes of gay Boy Scout leaders.
One of the main concerns of the Boy Scout leaders is churches ending their sponsorships and support for their troops.
Velma Ward, a Biloxi resident, said, “From a religious stand point, I’m totally against it and I’m sure all the church people out there in the country will agree with me. This is just an outrage, just an outrage.” Velma Ward is against this new rule. She says her son was sexually assaulted by his male scout leader back in the 80s when he was about 11-years-old. She vows her 12-year-old grandson will never be a part of the Boy Scouts. “For two years, he was molested and raped and everything, even though I didn’t know the warning signs. And he also stalked us for two years after wards. He was terrified, of course.”
News 25 was not able to verify Ward’s claims of sexual misconduct, but the Boy Scouts organization says there are rules in place to protect the children.
“Each individual Boy Scout troop gets to still select whether or not they want to allow gay members to be leaders or not, but I think it’s a very big, positive step. I mean, I think the ban has been going on for a decade now, so I think it’s definitely a step in the right direction,” said Kester.
The new policy also bans discrimination on sexual orientation in all Boy Scout offices for all paid jobs.
The decision is a victory for supporters but it leaves some in the community outraged.
It’s now official: the Boy Scouts of America will now allow openly gay adults to serve as troop leaders with 79 percent of executive board members who voted supporting the move.
Co-President of the Gulf Coast Rainbow Center Molly Kester said, “I’m kind of happy and it’s about time that people start recognizing that the LGBT people are just like everyone else and we just want to be part of the community.”
Despite the win, LGBT leaders continue to fight negative stereotypes of gay Boy Scout leaders.
One of the main concerns of the Boy Scout leaders is churches ending their sponsorships and support for their troops.
Velma Ward, a Biloxi resident, said, “From a religious stand point, I’m totally against it and I’m sure all the church people out there in the country will agree with me. This is just an outrage, just an outrage.” Velma Ward is against this new rule. She says her son was sexually assaulted by his male scout leader back in the 80s when he was about 11-years-old. She vows her 12-year-old grandson will never be a part of the Boy Scouts. “For two years, he was molested and raped and everything, even though I didn’t know the warning signs. And he also stalked us for two years after wards. He was terrified, of course.”
News 25 was not able to verify Ward’s claims of sexual misconduct, but the Boy Scouts organization says there are rules in place to protect the children.
“Each individual Boy Scout troop gets to still select whether or not they want to allow gay members to be leaders or not, but I think it’s a very big, positive step. I mean, I think the ban has been going on for a decade now, so I think it’s definitely a step in the right direction,” said Kester.
The new policy also bans discrimination on sexual orientation in all Boy Scout offices for all paid jobs.
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