Jennifer Tyrrell was the leader of Pack 109's Tiger Cub
Scouts in Ohio of which her son, Cruz age 7, was a member. Ms. Tyrell is lesbian. She and her partner together
raise their four children. Ms. Tyrell
informed the local Boy Scout official and the parents of the children in her
pack of her sexual orientation and they all were fine with it. By all accounts she did a great job as pack
leader. However, someone filed a
complaint against her with the Boy Scouts of America regarding her sexual orientation
and she was promptly fired. It was
reported that the complaint was filed after she raised some questions regarding
scouting finances after becoming local treasurer.
Deron Smith, a spokesman for the Boy Scouts of America said in
explaining the removal of Ms. Tyrell, “Scouting, and the majority of parents it serves, does not
believe it is the right forum for children to become aware of the issue of
sexual orientation, or engage in discussions about being gay."
Deron Smith’s argument could be equally well applied to
differences other than sexual orientation; perhaps children should not have to become
aware of people being black or Jewish or Hindu or atheist or disabled or female
(Boy Scouts of America in fact does exclude atheists, agnostics and girls).
Boy Scouts of America is a private organization and the
courts have held that they have the right to determine their own membership as
part of their freedom of association. But
that does not make their decision right or wise.
The Boy Scouts of America’s policy of excluding gays and
lesbians, atheists and girls teaches intolerance. Apparently boy scouts have to be taught, by
example, that they should not associate with others who hold different (and
more rational) belief systems, or are born with a different gender or sexual
orientation. Organizations that aim to
help children develop should imbue a spirit of tolerance and understanding
rather than one of exclusion and intolerance.
Scouting brings to mind the image of training children to be
respectful, helpful, hard working, and to love nature and the outdoors. These are all laudable goals – for all
children. Teaching intolerance and discrimination is not
appropriate for any children.
Let us hope that the Boy Scouts of America evolve – whether or
not they believe in the theory of evolution.
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