The Boy Scouts are considering changing their policy toward homosexuals. I believe that move would open them up to endless lawsuits and drain away scarce financial resources.

As a Boy Scout in my youth, I can tell you that any young boy could be a Scout, whatever his sexual orientation, and it worked out. I also can tell you homosexuals were sometimes Scoutmasters or assistants, and it worked out poorly.

People wouldn’t want their 14-year-old daughters to be under the oversight and in close quarters with 18- to 30-year-old men they hardly knew. No matter how good the character of the young men, it would be playing with fire.

The fact of the matter is the Scouts need adult role models who do not have to fight their impulses toward the boys; they lose that battle too often, no matter how well-intentioned.

Also, pretending that homosexual pedophiles are not drawn to the Scouts looking for easy targets is fantasy. People should do all they can to protect the boys.

The Scouts are a private organization that has the legal right to maintain its current standards, which are designed to give maximum protection to the boys. The sad thing is it is wavering because big corporations and the United Way are cutting off its funding.

It would appear the Scouts corporate leadership is more worried about money than it is the boys. Unfortunately, it would appear that the love of money is more powerful than the Scouts honor code. I hope I’m wrong.

Bruce Clavette

Athens


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