Stop The National Council of the Boy Scouts of America from changing long-standing Policy!!!

As Boy Scouts, Troop leaders, and committed parents, we were relieved that the National Executive Committee declined to change long-standing Boy Scout policy barring participation by open homosexual scouts and adult leaders. But we are likewise dismayed that the Executive Committee chose not to reaffirm the current policy, instead moving it to a vote of the National Council. The BSA policy against participation by homosexuals is not born of prejudice or ignorance. Rather, it is based on common sense, long experience, and the scientific reality that homosexual scout leaders and scouts pose a clear and present danger to Scouting. Therefore, we urge the National Council to reject any attempt to alter BSA policy to include participation by homosexuals. Instead, the Boy Scouts should reaffirm its current policy and continue to stand for the moral truths that Scouting was founded on.

The Boy Scout Law and Oath require all scouts and their leaders to lead lives that are “clean,” “reverent,” and “morally straight.” To accomplish these goals, scouts spend time bonding together as young men and with their adult leaders, including in such intimate settings as tents and restrooms, and on campouts, hikes, and other activities. Because a small number of male adult leaders and scouts have secretly rejected Scouting’s moral standards and sexually abused or attempted to sexually assault other scouts [1], the Boy Scouts instituted its two-deep leadership policy and scout protection rules. Nevertheless, individuals with homosexual interests continue to infiltrate Scouting in order to be close to unsuspecting boys and young men. A recent Google news search of media-reported child sexual abuse (CSA) cases from just the past year found 3 Boy Scout leaders caught or accused of homosexual molestation among 207 different perpetrators. [2]

The reality of child molestation is threefold:

(1)  A small fraction — probably no more than 3-4% — of the male populace is primarily homosexual or bisexual in orientation. A further 3-4% of adult males claim to have had any homosexual encounters in their lifetime. So homosexuality is currently only ever experienced by around 7% of the adult male population, with more active participation claimed by at most half that percentage. [3]

(2)  This tiny minority accounts for approximately 30-40% of all child sexual abuse (CSA). That is, while the raw majority of abuse cases involve female victims, a substantial minority of cases — probably more than a third — involve homosexual (male-on-male) abuse. [4] Since studies show that the vast majority of male-on-male child molesters identify themselves as homosexual or as having homosexual interests, the risk to boys and young men from a homosexual child abuser far outweighs the typical risk of CSA faced by girls and young women. [5]

(3)  Child sexual abuse can have long-lasting, perhaps permanent, negative impacts on boys and young men. A recent large-scale study found that almost 20% of self-identified homosexuals and bisexuals had experienced homosexual CSA in their own lives, compared to less than 5% of heterosexuals. The relative risks of having experienced homosexual molestation compared to male heterosexuals were 9.5 times higher for gays and 12.8 times higher for male bisexuals. [6]

These basic facts confirm the wisdom of the Boy Scouts in not letting open homosexuals — either scouts or adult leaders — into their ranks. In addition, all BSA policies that aim to prevent scouts from being sexually abused by either adult leaders or other scouts are rooted in scientific reality and common sense. It would be simply irresponsible, therefore, to change current Scouting policy barring open homosexuals for at least three reasons:

•   Unsuspecting boys and young men — entrusted to the Scouts by their families — would be forced to share close, intimate quarters (sometimes in remote areas) with individuals who may have sexual interests in them, thus subjecting these scouts to the vastly heightened risk of homosexual CSA. The impact of any sexual molestation can be traumatic and long-lasting, usually extending well beyond the victim to those they know, including their family.

•   BSA would be forced to change its long-standing moral code, thus alienating a large majority of families that have trusted Scouts to promote its stated values of “clean,” “reverent,” and “morally straight.” By allowing open homosexuals, all scouts, regardless of their personal or family’s beliefs, will be given the clear message that the Boy Scouts endorses homosexuality. Whether or not individual local councils choose to include homosexuals, great pressure will be brought to bear — both externally from the media and homosexual supporters, and internally from national Scouting executives and councils that do open their ranks — to make homosexual acceptance a mandatory part of Scouting.

•   BSA will be placed under significant legal scrutiny and risk of damaging lawsuits. It is one thing for individuals to secretly subvert Scout policy against child sexual abuse. It is another for the Boy Scouts to accept open homosexuals when there is clear scientific documentation of the vastly greater risk of male-on-male CSA by homosexuals and those with homosexual interests. Boy Scouts has already paid large sums of money to victims of CSA due to its past negligence in protecting scouts. Opening the door to avowed homosexuals would only exacerbate this legal peril, since it would be argued that the Scouts knowingly allowed high-risk individuals into its ranks.

For all these reasons, we strongly urge the BSA National Council to reject any attempt to allow open homosexuals into Boy Scouts, and we further urge the National Council to reaffirm its current and long-standing policies to help young men be “clean,” “reverent,” and “morally straight.” In addition, Boy Scout leaders and representatives who do not support these traditional Boy Scout values and policies should immediately be removed from National and District positions.

References:

1.      Boyle P (1994) Scouts Honor: Sexual Abuse in America’s Most Trusted Institution. Prima Publishing.

2.      Cameron P & Proctor K (2013) Unpublished research, personal correspondence, March 3, 2013.

3.      Purcell D, et al (2012) Estimating the population size of men who have sex with men in the United States to obtain HIV and syphilis rates. The Open AIDS Journal 6: 98-107.

4.      Human Rights Watch (2008) World Report (p. 52); Siegel JM, et al (1987) The prevalence of childhood sexual assault. American Journal of Epidemiology 126: 1141-1153; Cameron P & Cameron K (2003) Right or Wrong? Should the Boy Scouts Exclude Homosexuals? Colorado Springs: Family Research Institute.

5.      Freund K & Watson RJ (1992) The proportions of heterosexual and homosexual pedophiles among sex offenders against children: an exploratory study. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy 18: 34-43; Jay K & Young A (1979) The Gay Report. NY: Summit.

6.      Sweet TT & Welles SL (2013) Associations of sexual identity or same-sex behaviors with history of childhood sexual abuse and HIV/STI risk in the United States. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 59(4): 400-408.