Ethics

Calling All Eagle Scouts. Um...Not You

By Ed Brayton

TerranceDC has a dilemma. The National Eagle Scout Association is putting together a database of information on every eagle scout in the country. Terrance is an eagle scout. They've asked Terrance to call them so they can get all his information for the Roll of Honor they want to publish. That information will undoubtedly include questions like 'are you married' and Terrance is, indeed, married. To his husband. And therein lies the problem.

He figures he has three options: ignore the request; call them, answer their questions honestly and see what happens; or call them and tell them to remove him from their list due to their discriminatory policies. I don't have the wisdom to tell him which to choose. But he's not the only gay eagle scout out there. Wouldn't it be interesting if they formed an organization and spoke out against the policy of discrimination? It would be difficult for the BSA to say that gays can't be good scouts because, after all, they were the ones who awarded them their highest honor. And it might shake things up a bit.

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on April 24, 2008 (boomark / email).