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The Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) announced this past Monday (January 28, 2013) that they will consider changing their membership policy which excludes gay and bisexual scouts and scout leaders. They will meet this week to discuss the policy change, and if adopted, it will remove the nationwide restriction, leaving it up to local chartering organizations to determine whether or not to welcome and include gay and bisexual scouts and scout leaders. The BSA is receiving and monitoring public response to this concern.

Express your support for policy change today by going to the contact page for the Boy Scouts of America.
Note:  The Boy Scouts had created a call-in line to receive public opinion but the message now says the voice mail inbox is full.

National Scout Sunday is this Sunday, February 3

Letter from Rev. Geoffrey Black to the President and Executive Board of the Boy Scouts

Download your We Welcome ALL Scouts! banner for use this Sunday to stand with ALL Boy Scouts!

Download and distibute the We Welcome ALL Scouts flyer to worshippers

Social Networking

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Twitter:
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As a member of the United Church of Christ, I support the #boyscout policy change that welcomes gay and bisexual scouts & scout leaders.

Note: If you are not a member of the United Church of Christ, substitute, "As a member of [name of your denomination or church]" or "As a person of faith..."

Follow the Faith for Gay Scouts on Twitter: @Faith4GayScouts

Facebook
Publically demonstrate the strong faith based support for inclusion by helping the Facebook page, People of Faith for Gay Scouts and Scout Leaders, get to 10,000 "Likes" by Monday.  Please "Like" the page and share the page with your friends and networks, urging them to like it, too.

Connecticut UCC member and former Boy Scout pushes for anti-gay policy change

Statement of Support for Policy Change

January 29, 2013

The Boy Scouts of America should open their doors to gay and bisexual scouts and scout leaders.

Although media stories have only represented the faith voice that opposes this action, for decades there have been hundreds of United Church of Christ congregations, as well as other welcoming and inclusive faith communities urging the BSA to eliminate discrimination in the Boy Scouts of America.  We are calling on the BSA leadership to take advantage of this opportunity to make it happen now.  Several churches—churches that affirm and welcome LGBT Christians into their fellowship—have either lost their scout troops or they are unwilling to sponsor troops because of the exclusionary policy of the BSA and with this policy change, they will have the opportunity to rejoin the BSA.  

While every scouting program should be inclusive and welcoming to all, it is important to note that the policy change under consideration will give local scouting organizations the freedom to choose, creating a patch work of welcoming and not welcoming scout organization.  Nevertheless, the policy change under consideration is an important step to full inclusion.  Welcoming gay and bisexual scouts and scout leaders is way overdue and the BSA National Council should waste no time to change their policy and open the door to non-discrimination.

The General Synod of the UCC adopted a resolution (2003) called, The United Church of Christ and the Boy Scouts of America which states that discrimination against anyone based on sexual orientation is contrary to our understanding of the teachings of Christ.  The resolution unambiguously urged the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America to adopt a membership policy that does not discriminate based on sexual orientation, and that allows for the reactivation of membership of persons who were previously excluded solely on that basis.

Since 1978, the Boy Scouts of America established a policy of not accepting gay scouts and gay scout leaders.  They reaffirmed their discriminatory policy a few times since then, most recently last summer.  TheBSA policy of excluding gay youth and adult gay leaders has caused pain to gay and bisexual youth and adults, as well as to their heterosexual peers, families, and allies.  The discriminatory policies and practices of the BSA invite gay or bisexual persons to feel diminished, invisible, and marginalized.  Thousands of boy scouts have felt shame and embarrassment about the current policy of exclusion, which they feel is inconsistent with the scout laws that embrace values of dignity and respect for all. 

For many years, hundreds of UCC congregations and various other faith communities have protested the BSA’s policy of exclusion, calling on the BSA to lift the ban and welcome gay youth and gay adults into the scouting programs.  Some troops joined an alternative program, “Scouting for All” which welcomes gay youth and gay adult leaders in their scouting programs.  This is an important development not only for the BSA but also for the thousands of boys who have been excluded from scouting programs because of their sexual orientation.

Rev. Michael Schuenemeyer, Executive
Office for Health and Wholeness Advoacy

Andy Lang, Executive Director
United Church of Christ Coalition for LGBT Concerns
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