Local reaction: Boy Scouts might lift ban on gays

The Boys Scouts of America is considering a dramatic change in its controversial policy of excluding gays as leaders and youth members.

Under the change being considered, the different religious and civic groups that sponsor scout units would be able to decide for themselves how to address the issue; either maintaining an exclusion of gays or opening up their membership.

Scout executive and CEO Ronald M. Gardner of the local New Birth of Freedom Council issued a statement Monday on the news.

"This is an internal policy discussion and no decision has been made. I can say that local councils agree to support the decision made by the volunteer national executive board. Our unified focus is on working together to deliver the nation's foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training," the statement read.

Louie Marven is the Executive Director of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans-gender Center of Central Pa. He said the policy the scouts currently have is basically the equivalent of "Don't ask, Don't tell."

"I think it's about time," he said. "I think it's maybe a sign of the times that we're getting to a place that we recognize that there's nothing wrong with being gay."

"There are gay scouts and there are gay leaders already involved and they're already doing great work and they're an organization that can benefit greatly from that participation," he continued.

Marven conceded that some people in the gay community may have taken the attitude that "if you don't want us, we don't want you." But, he said, others just want to be a part of the group.

"The Boy Scouts offer a great community service and LGBT folks and allies aren't just attacking Boy Scouts for fun. They want to participate in the great community service," Marven said.

Some Christian groups are enraged by the move, calling it a "serious mistake."

The BSA rule on this has always been rediculous. The only reason they are making a consideration is because there little secret was discovered. The thousands of pages ("perversion files") discredits there whole organization

Hey obama-for-brains, don't you think the "perversion files" might be evidence of why they didn't want homosexual troop leaders?

"Being homosexual does not mean someone is a child molester" It don't mean they aren't either.I went tru the Cub Scouts,joined the Boy Scouts, the one leader was rumored to be Gay ,although we didn't call it gay back then. The first over nite camping trip I saw how he tried to mess with the some of more backward new kids. When i got home I told my Mom I'm quitting the scouts, she asked why .I told so and so is a queer, trying to mess with some of the kids. When the Scout Master called to ask why I quit she told him . YUP "Being homosexual does not mean someone is a child molester" I'll give you that .but putting such a person in charge of young children in tempting to them. that fellow was ratted out a few weeks later by on kid he did get to . i have no problem with gays , other than thier pride prades aren't doing their cause anygood with the in your face attitude. One of my best friends was gay . He never really came out and said so .but we all knew. After college he moved to Kali and last I heard from our other buddies was he died from AIDs about 20 yrs back.

And I love the effed up logic that says when a man molests young boys by committing what is clearly a homosexual act, he's not homosexual because he's a pedophile. Pedophiles exclusively molest either girls or boys, never both. We had an assistant scoutmaster in my troop too who turned out to be a molester.

The homosexual lifestyle is more about sex than anything else, which goes far to the explain the high incidence of homosexual pedophiles.

Don't know how he brought it into the political arena the whole thing about them allowing the gays was political,if it wasn't no one would have heard squat about it. mitts' allowed his feeling on it just don't try and make it a law. Why are you so obsessed by the loser, your long legged Daddy Mac Won isn't that enough to cheer ya up .

Seems like their whole purpose is to defile everything they come in contact with because that's usually the result.