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Peter Orum is concerned that upright gay men who volunteer to be scoutmasters would put themselves at undue risk of "false accusations from a disgruntled youth" ("Gay men and Scouting," Forum, June 5). Couldn't a disgruntled Tenderfoot just as easily falsely accuse a heterosexual scoutmaster as a gay one, with the same inconvenience?
Orum's concerns seems to be just a flimsy excuse for a hidden motivation to discriminate against gay men. Why not let them decide for themselves whether they're willing to take the risk?
And anyway, perhaps an openly gay scoutmaster would be more careful in his behavior than a straight scoutmaster, knowing that everyone is watching? If we're going to obsess about any chance of improper behavior, we may have better odds with highly scrutinized openly gay men.
Rick Edwards
Salt Lake City