On 5/24/2013 11:10 PM, Attila Iskander wrote:
"Tom McDonald" wrote in message
...
On 5/24/2013 8:20 AM, PV wrote:
Jeanne Douglas wrote:
In article ,
Mitchell Holman nomailverizon.net wrote:

Boy Scouts vote to lift ban on gay youth
May 23 2013

GRAPEVINE, Texas -- The Boy Scouts of America voted
Thursday to end its controversial policy banning gay
kids and teens from joining one of the nation's most
popular youth organizations, ditching membership
guidelines that had roiled the group in recent years.
Over 61 percent of Scouting's National Council of 1,400
delegates from across the country voted to lift the ban,
BSA officials said. The final tally was 757 yes votes,
to 475 no.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013...couts-vote-to-

lift-ban-on-gay-youth?lite

It's about ****ing time!

Next step is to allow atheists. Until that day, the Boy Scouts are
still a bigoted organization.

Sexual orientation is not a choice, however atheism is, so why must
Scouts
change to accommodate those that choose atheism?

If religion, or lack thereof, is a matter of choice, as are many other
things, why should Scouts single out one religious belief (i.e.
'None') for special disdain? The only relevant part of the Scout Law
that could conceivably come into play is the last Law, A Scout is
Reverent. There is nothing whatsoever keeping an atheist Scout or
Scouter from being reverent. Nothing at all.

So why the disbarring of atheist boys and men from Scouting?


Which group has disbarred atheist boys and men ?
Considering that most Scout groups are usually run though a church, it's
no surprise that most members are of that faith.

In my town growing up, there were three troops. Mine was in a mainstream
Lutheran church, and had boys from all religious affiliations. There was
no overt religiosity at all. Another troop was part of an extremely
conservative Lutheran church, and they were hyper-religious, compared to
any other troop I've ever known. The third troop met in a school and was
a lot like mine, except not as great. :-)

In working with other troops in my Council, I don't remember hearing of
any that were mostly composed of members of the faith of the church they
met in except the one I mentioned. They really stood out in that way.

I was involved with 2 scout groups in my life
One was run by the local Catholic Church, and thus was oriented to
Catholicism, since their Chaplain was Catholic and his church basement
was used.
The other was organized through 2 churches of the same Ethnic group.
One Catholic, the other Protestant (Calvinist).
Since the Jewish Community was too small to have their own synagogue,
the Jewish Children had the choice of joining either the Catholic or
Protestant troop.
A lot of activities alternated between the 2 Churches.
The Summer camp was held on property owned in common by the 2 Churches,
where the 2 Churches also held fund-raiser picnics during the summer months
During the Summer camp, the Catholic Priest and Calvinist Minister held
a common Sunday mass/service, And when a rabbi who spoke the language
showed up, he was always welcome to hold a Service on Saturday.
Attendance for the Scouts was mandatory for ALL services.

The Churches also used the same site for their fundraiser picnics, Just
about every member of the community irrespective of religious
affiliation, showed up
There was usually some really stiff competition between the ladies when
it came to traditional dishes.
There was also an annual Men's Picnic, where the men were responsible
for ALL the food, from appetizer to deserts. Typically the men's picnic
were very non-standard but traditional dishes, such as a spit roasted
steer, or wild goose hunter style. I clearly remember the year that the
men went hunting for moose, which was the main dish at the picnic
And the women were only allowed to enjoy being served and decide which
dishes would be the winners that year.
Over the span of 30+ years, this community was able to build 2 churches
and a synagogue, as well as a retirement home for their community.

So I just think back of the tolerance of that community for their
members and their
religious beliefs
And when I see the lack of tolerance shown by either theist or atheists,
I just have to shake my head.

Yup.