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Boy Scouts of America (BSA)
News items in the media, year 2002
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 | 2002-FEB-06: USA: BSA adopts a resolution rejecting gays and
atheists: The BSA adopted a resolution deeming both gays and
Atheists unfit and unacceptable role models for scout youth. The BSA has
had an unwritten policy against sexual and religious minorities for
decades; this is the first time that it was backed up by an actual
resolution. 1 |
| 2002-FEB-11: USA: Boy Scouts to continue discrimination against
sexual and religious minorities: The National Scout Council
considered and rejected three resolutions which would have allowed
homosexuals to become Boy Scout leaders. They will continue their 92 year-old
policy of refusing to offer leadership positions to gays, Atheists, and
Agnostics. 2 |
| 2002-OCT-13: Steven Spielberg criticizes
BSA: In his acceptance speech for the National Equality Award
from the Human Rights Campaign Spielberg said, in part: "Once
upon a time I was a Jewish kid growing up, alive and alone, in an all
Gentile neighborhood. And mostly in school I experienced "exclusion" from
many other kids my age who only knew what a Jew was from what their
parents told them, what their friends said or popular negative
stereotypes. ...So when I joined the Boy Scouts of America I felt that I
had found a safe haven, away from all the teasing and all the
taunting....And maybe most importantly, it was through the Boy Scouts of
America - as I was trying out for a merit badge in photography - that I
actually discovered my passion for filmmaking. That's exactly how I got
started....For most of my life, I have been a passionate advocate of
Scouting and I served on the National Board for years until the Supreme
Court Case of Dave versus the Boy Scouts of America, where I realized
something that I had not been very aware of: that you could be black and
white, Hispanic and Asian, Native American, Jewish, Catholic, Islamic -
but you couldn't get in to the scouts if you were gay. So I quit the Boy
Scouts. I resigned my commission, which I know is one of the reasons
you're that honoring me tonight..... quitting the Boy Scouts was probably
one of the most painful experiences I've ever had to endure. But they are
wrong and you are right. We are right and we have never been more right
than we are right now, in this country and at this time....But I am not
totally naïve. The unthinkable shadows our lives everyday. You know,
hatred has us in its crosshairs....A few people - and you know, it only
takes a few - who are viciously proactive in their hatred. Their fears -
irrational fears - and their ignorance compound themselves into sudden
violence. That is why the Holocaust occurred, and that is why Matthew
Shepard was murdered...." 3 |
| 2002-NOV-5: WA: Eagle Scout to be ejected from BSA:
Darrell Lambert, an assistant scoutmaster and
an Eagle Scout with a decade of exemplary service, will be ejected from
the BSA because he refuses to profess a belief in God.
The Chief Seattle Council has decided that Lambert's religious beliefs
violate the 92-year-old Scout Oath, which reads: "On my honor I will do
my best to do my duty to God and my country..." The Council describes
the BSA as "broadly ecumenical," whose membership is open to
children who follow all theistic religions, "from Methodists and
Catholics to Hindus." But it is not open to boys who follow
non-theistic religions, like Atheism,
Agnosticism, Humanism, etc. Darrell
Lambert has stated that: "I think the only
power higher than myself is the power of all of us combined. The
interactions we do affect each others' lives. We're all in symbiosis
with each other. But other than that, there's no higher power governing
what I do." The council stated
that: "We regret that Mr. Lambert feels his beliefs must be
compromised. We certainly respect the opinions of others and their right
to choose to believe as they believe. We only ask those who disagree with
the Boy Scouts to show scouting the same respect." 4 |
- BSA Adopts First-Ever Resolution Condemning Gays and Atheists
Scouting for All Responds," Scouting For All, 2002-FEB-12, at:
http://www.scoutingforall.org/
- Charles R. MiVille, "Boy Scouts Resist Policy Change," Focus on the
Family, at:
http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/A0019616.html
- "Spielberg Likens Matthew Shepard
Killing to Nazi Persecution," The Gay Financial Network, at:
http://www.gfn.com/news/story.phtml?sid=12377
- "Boy Scouts Oust Teen Atheist for Refusing Oath,"
Reuters, 2002-NOV-5, at:
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/ (This may be a
temporary posting).
Copyright © 2002 & 2004 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance.
Latest updated: 2004-JUL-12
Author: B.A. Robinson
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