Like a Good Eagle Scout, Glenn Blackmon, Displays the Courage of a Scout to Speak Out Against the BSA's Policy of Exclusion

The Olympian, June 5, 2001
P. O. Box 407, Olympia, WA, 98507
(Fax: 206-754-5408 )
http://news.theolympian.com

Letter: Many oppose Boy Scouts' national policy

I can appreciate that the United Way had a difficult time deciding whether to continue funding the Boy Scouts despite its discrimination against gays.

The national Scouting leadership should not force communities to choose between supporting the youth who participate in Scouting and standing up for our principles of tolerance and nondiscrimination.

As an Eagle Scout, the parent of a Scout, and a Scouting volunteer in my son's troop, I am especially offended that the Scout executive, Larry Abbott, would claim that the anti-gay policy is "what the majority of our parents want."

I know many parents who oppose the national policy of intolerance that is being forced on local Scouting programs. Some are choosing to participate in Scouting despite their objection to this policy. Others are choosing to walk away from Scouting.

If the policy is really being guided by Scouting families, why aren't individual troops allowed to make their own decisions about whether to discriminate against gays?

- Glenn Blackmon, Tumwater