SCOUTS - The Salt Lake Tribune

Peg McEntee: Discrimination lives on in the Boy Scouts

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:16:30 MDT

Peg McEntee: Discrimination lives on in the Boy Scouts

By peg mcentee The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated May 24, 2013 06:16PM MDT

So, you can be out and a Boy Scout. But when you turn 18, you’re out for good. The Boy Scouts of America is being heralded as a forward-thinking organization that, after much deliberation, decided to let openly gay boys join a troop, go to camp, earn merit badges and learn to love campfires and charred hot dogs. But in excluding men of 18 and over, it returns to open discrimination against gay men who are presumed guilty of something — being a normal guy and sexually active — and the BSA is per...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

A good first step

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:26:02 MDT

A good first step

Updated May 24, 2013 06:26PM MDT

The decision by the Boy Scouts of America to allow openly gay boys to join in the pursuit of merit badges just like any other boy is a giant step forward for an organization that has struggled to remain viable in a society less willing to tolerate discrimination based on sexual orientation. Though commendable, as it undoubtedly is, Thursday’s decision by roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA’s national council to adopt the proposal of the governing executive committee is only a partial victor...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Former Utah Scout: Next challenge is making gay youth welcome

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:55:25 MDT

Former Utah Scout: Next challenge is making gay youth welcome

By ray parker The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated May 24, 2013 11:55AM MDT

Dylan Lukes of South Jordan dropped out of his Boy Scouts of America troop two years ago after another Scout found his journal, where he had written about being gay. “The other parents freaked out and were not comfortable,” said Lukes, now 17. “I wanted to get my Eagle [Scout] badge … but I just stopped going because I felt uncomfortable.” In a historic decision Thursday, selected leaders of the BSA voted to ease an increasingly controversial ban and allow openly gay boys to join, while conti...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Boy Scouts approve plan to accept openly gay boys

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:08:09 MDT

Boy Scouts approve plan to accept openly gay boys

By DAVID CRARY and NOMAAN MERCHANT The Associated Press

Updated May 23, 2013 08:08PM MDT

Grapevine, Texas • In one of their most dramatic choices in a century, local leaders of the Boy Scouts of America voted Thursday to ease a divisive ban and allow openly gay boys to be accepted into the nation’s leading youth organization. Gay adults will remain barred from serving as Scout leaders. Of the local Scout leaders voting at their annual meeting in Texas, more than 60 percent supported the proposal. Casting ballots were about 1,400 voting members of BSA’s National Council who were atte...

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Vote on gay Scouts at emotional moment for Utah, nation

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:11:21 MDT

Vote on gay Scouts at emotional moment for Utah, nation

Staff and wire reports

Updated May 23, 2013 04:11PM MDT

In a vote that will resonate in Utah, where thousands of boys participate in the Boy Scouts of America, selected leaders of the organization are deciding Thursday whether to allow gay Scouts to join. An announcement of the results is expected after 4 p.m. Fifteen Great Salt Lake Council members have joined the 1,400 members voting on the BSA proposal, which would allow gay youth but continue to exclude gay adults. Currently, the BSA — one of the nation’s oldest youth organizations, with million...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Will Boy Scouts accept gay youth? Vote is imminent

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:45:34 MDT

Will Boy Scouts accept gay youth? Vote is imminent

By DAVID CRARY The Associated Press

Updated May 18, 2013 01:45PM MDT

With its ranks deeply divided, the Boy Scouts of America is asking its local leaders from across the country to decide whether its contentious membership policy should be overhauled so that openly gay boys can participate in Scout units. The proposal to be put before the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA’s National Council on Thursday, at a meeting in Grapevine, Texas, would retain the Scouts’ long-standing ban on gays serving in adult leadership positions. Nonetheless, some conservatives ...

Scout campfire

Fri, 17 May 2013 01:01:04 MDT

Scout campfire

Updated May 17, 2013 01:01AM MDT

On Friday, May 10, I was camping with friends at Vernon Reservoir in southwestern Utah County. It was crowded with weekenders. I didn’t mind the crowd as much as I did the behavior of Boy Scouts from Herriman and Orem. On Saturday morning, each troop packed up and left, leaving their campfire aflame. We pulled the burning wood out of the two fires and doused the flames. As a former Scout, it grieves me to see this lack of leadership and mentoring of our young men. It takes courage to be a Scout...

As gay vote looms, church-based Scouting draws interest

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:45:23 MDT

As gay vote looms, church-based Scouting draws interest

By ADELLE M. BANKS Religion News Service

Updated May 18, 2013 01:45PM MDT

They have pledges. They have merit badges. And they may go camping. But they’re not Boy Scouts. Across the country, there are decades-old religious alternatives with names like Pathfinders (Seventh-day Adventist), Royal Ambassadors (Southern Baptist) and Royal Rangers (Assemblies of God). And as the Boy Scouts of America considers whether to change its membership policy to admit gay members (but continue its ban on gay leaders), some of these groups are fielding inquiries from people concerned a...