In late January, the Boy Scouts of America indicated that it was "actively considering" lifting its ban on gay scouts and troop leaders. Then, Scout executives said that no immediate action would be taken. Now comes word via reports in the gay press and elsewhere that BSA is conducting surveys of members, parents, and alumni. While there's nothing wrong with surveying people to elicit information, the questions asked in the scout poll are biased toward keeping the ban and instilling stereotypical fears of predatory gay men that opponents have often used to discredit gays.
Example: "Bob is 15 years old, and the only openly gay scout in a Boy Scout troop. Is it acceptable or unacceptable for the troop leader to allow Bob to tent with a heterosexual boy on an overnight camping trip?" The options are "totally acceptable," "somewhat acceptable," "neither acceptable nor unacceptable," "somewhat unacceptable," or "totally unacceptable."
Another question is equally troublesome: "A gay male troop leader, along with another leader, is taking a group of boys on a camping trip following the youth protection guidelines of two-deep leadership. Is it acceptable or unacceptable for the gay scout leader to take adolescent boys on an overnight camping trip?"
We see where this is going. This is akin to asking members of a segregated country club whether they want to integrate. It's like the irrational fear people express when the issue of public accommodations is discussed in order to provide equal access to restrooms for transgender people: "real" women are afraid they will be sexually assaulted by transgender women using the same facilities.
Most of these scout leaders and parents will resoundingly object to the scenarios in BSA's survey because of the unfounded fear that a gay scout or troop leader will "turn their kids gay." This outdated and false argument has been used for decades to discredit LGBTs. Yet the BSA leadership can claim that, well, they surveyed their members and parents and – guess what? – they are opposed to changing BSA's policy. Then in May, when the issue will be discussed, BSA will announce that the policy won't be changed. BSA already has a U.S. Supreme Court decision on its side: as a private organization, it can discriminate. So we'll be back to where we are now, with no out gays allowed in the Boy Scouts, either as members or troop leaders.
This survey is a bait-and-switch that gives cover to the national leadership under the guise of getting feedback. But the loaded questions just reinforce what has been debunked for years. Additionally, it's not likely that former scouts, who have ceased contact with the organization because of its anti-gay policies, will be part of the survey sample, further skewing the results.
There have always been plenty of gay youth in the scouts, they just weren't out. It's similar to what we see in elite team sports, where everyone knows there are gay professional athletes, yet none will come out of the closet during their playing days. And why would they, when anti-gay athletes regularly spew homophobic bile on social media sites and in interviews?
For the BSA to effect real change, its leadership must exhibit the will to lead. The policy excluding gay scouts and troop leaders should be jettisoned, so that all may participate in scouting, which offers a variety of great programs for youth. Thousands of same-sex couples are now raising families, and some of those kids may want to be involved in scouting. Yet the current BSA policy would prohibit those parents from participating in scouting activities.
Back in January, after word of the BSA's possible policy change was leaked, officials said that they might let individual troops decide for themselves whether to admit openly gay scouts or have gay leaders. This too is flawed because a troop in a conservative area would keep the ban, while those in more liberal areas would get rid of it. But what about all those communities in between? A uniform policy is called for, and that policy should be scouting for all.