Comments on: Boy Scouts Get Federal Money for Their Discrimination

By: Brian H

Brian H — Mon, 30 May 2011 17:24:51 +0000

as a former scout this whole thing saddens me

By: james

james — Mon, 30 May 2011 07:09:41 +0000

My scoutmaster knew myself and my friends in boy scouts were atheists. We all stayed in until we were 17, whereupon we mostly quit simply because we were older and had other stuff to do like AP classes and college admissions. We were certainly never discriminated against, whether that is official policy or not.

By: Rob Golder

Rob Golder — Mon, 30 May 2011 06:23:52 +0000

As an Eagle Scout and Assistant Scout master I hate the discrimination against gay members. Just because I am attracted to women does not mean I am attracted to under aged women who can not make decisions for themselves. This would be just like a woman going to a boy scouting event or a father going to a girl scouting event. I love scouting and I feel it is a great learning resource for men, but men need to know about gay men as well as people who are atheist. My brother got his Eagle Scout even though his is atheist, he just had to prove he was following his faith, which was that there is no god.

As long as we keep open minded leaders in Scouting, Scouting will go far, but if we are limited but narrow minded people, Scouting will die.

By: Trentib

Trentib — Mon, 30 May 2011 04:27:49 +0000

I always find this weird cause I am an eagle scout and an atheist and was always very vocal about it while i was in scouts… so this kind of thing always seems weird to me…

By: Patricia H.

Patricia H. — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 22:53:43 +0000

I support your stand about federal money and BSA discriminating against gay boys and such. What proof do you have that BSA is receiving federal monies? Please get back to me on this subject. I would appreciate it. hollisph@att.net

By: Gullwatcher

Gullwatcher — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:51:36 +0000

By: Gullwatcher

Gullwatcher — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:48:54 +0000

By: Claire

Claire — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:59:57 +0000

Stogoe, it’s not just a rumor,and it’s not a vague fear of upsetting them. This quote is from that article I linked to before, from 2000:

Several months ago, the Mormons drew another line in the sand over a controversial issue: if BSA units (the troops and packs sponsored by religious and other organizations) must accept homosexuals as leaders, the church would drop out and take its 400,000 scouts — about 12 percent of the BSA’s total membership — with it.

The other biggest sponsor is the catholic church. Churches are a major source of both funding and other support. And yes, there are welcoming and tolerant churches out there who protest the restriction and would be happy to see the BSA include the gay community, but those aren’t the major sources of their funding.

Is it any wonder they ban both gays and atheists?

By: stogoe

stogoe — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:09:45 +0000

I don’t know for certain that it’s just the Mormons, or them at all. It’s just what I’ve oft heard repeated in BSA discussions – that there are a ton of Mormon boy scouts and troops, and upsetting them enough to make them leave (i.e, by allowing atheists and/or gays to join and participate) would be a bad thing for the organization.

By: Vincent

Vincent — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:58:55 +0000

It is worse than just the BSA.
Some overtly religious groups are targets of earmarks for HUD and other agencies.
The Americans United for Separation of Church and State has protested many of them. I’m involved with the American Humanists in opposing another.
The AU letter can be seen here:
http://www.au.org/site/News2?abbr=pr&page=NewsArticle&id=9679
And the actual list of earmarks can be seen here:
http://www.rules.house.gov/110/text/omni/jes/jesdivk.pdf