Changes

::The BSA reaffirmed its view that an avowed homosexual cannot serve as a role model for the traditional moral values espoused in the Scout Oath and Law and that these values cannot be subject to local option choices.

::The BSA reaffirmed its view that an avowed homosexual cannot serve as a role model for the traditional moral values espoused in the Scout Oath and Law and that these values cannot be subject to local option choices.

This has led to several high profile [[lawsuit]]s, such as the one brought by the [[ACLU]] of San Diego<ref>http://www.aclusandiego.org/boy_scouts/boy_scouts_082800.html</ref>, which proposes that the discriminatory practices of the organization should make them ineligible for the use of public funds or public lands.

Starting in the late 1990s this led to several high profile lawsuits, such as the one brought by the [[ACLU]] of San Diego<ref>http://www.aclusandiego.org/boy_scouts/boy_scouts_082800.html</ref>, which proposes that the discriminatory practices of the organization should make them ineligible for the use of public funds or public lands.

 

The homosexual cases culminated in the Supreme Court's Dale decision in 2000, which ruled that as a private organization, the Scouts were entitled to choose their own members. The ACLU lost, but as noted by Robert Bork Jr., spokesman for the BSA and son of the former Supreme Court nominee, the ACLUS "has been trying ever since to have the Scouts expelled from the public square." Gay-rights advocates in dozens of cities have persuaded United Way to stop supporting the Scouts.  

Prohibition of homosexual scout leaders is not universal within the BSA, however. The Massachusetts Minuteman Council, for example, adopted a bylaw in 2001 barring exclusion of anyone on the basis of race, religion, or [[sexual orientation]]. The bylaw, which resembles the U. S. Military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, permits homosexuals to lead troops so long as they do not discuss their sexual orientation. A few other councils have similar policies.<ref>[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20010802/ai_n13920546 Mass. Scouts permit gay leaders], Chicago Sun-Times,  Aug 2, 2001</ref>

Prohibition of homosexual scout leaders is not universal within the BSA, however. The Massachusetts Minuteman Council, for example, adopted a bylaw in 2001 barring exclusion of anyone on the basis of race, religion, or [[sexual orientation]]. The bylaw, which resembles the U. S. Military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, permits homosexuals to lead troops so long as they do not discuss their sexual orientation. A few other councils have similar policies.<ref>[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20010802/ai_n13920546 Mass. Scouts permit gay leaders], Chicago Sun-Times,  Aug 2, 2001</ref>

Atheist Scouts have also been removed from the organization on the basis of the twelfth point of the Scout Law being "reverent". <ref>http://www.beliefnet.com/story/116/story_11619_1.html</ref>

Atheist Scouts have also been removed from the organization on the basis of the twelfth point of the Scout Law being "reverent". <ref>http://www.beliefnet.com/story/116/story_11619_1.html</ref>

==See also==

==See also==

* [[Boy Scouts]]

* [[Boy Scouts]], for international perspective

==Further reading==

==Further reading==

* Macleod, David. ''Building Character in the American Boy: The Boy Scouts, YMCA, and Their Forerunners, 1870-1920'' (2004), standard scholarly history

* Macleod, David. ''Building Character in the American Boy: The Boy Scouts, YMCA, and Their Forerunners, 1870-1920'' (2004), standard scholarly history

* Mechling, Jay. ''On My Honor: Boy Scouts and the Making of American Youth.'' (2001) 323 pp.  accounts of how the Scouts work in practice, with much attention to songs, rituals, and games  

* Mechling, Jay. ''On My Honor: Boy Scouts and the Making of American Youth.'' (2001) 323 pp.  accounts of how the Scouts work in practice, with much attention to songs, rituals, and games  

* [http://www.bsajamboree.org/ National Jamboree]

* [http://www.bsajamboree.org/ National Jamboree]

==References==

==References==

<small><references/></small>

<references/>

[[Category: Service Organizations]]

[[Category: Service Organizations]]