Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Gay Scouts
© Melissa Sztuczko-Payk
© Melissa Sztuczko-Payk
Over the years, there has been considerable debate about whether homosexuals should be allowed to lead youth, especially Scouts. On August 4, the New Jersey Supreme Court became the highest ranking court to conclude that mere homosexuality is not a sufficient reason to ban a Boy Scout leader, or a Scout, for that matter.
Boy Scouts of America has argued that homosexuality goes against the whole spirit of Scouting. The Boy Scout Oath reads, "On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight." And since homosexuals are not "morally straight" , the argument goes, it's obvious that they have no place in scouting.
The NJ decision read, in part, "The words 'morally straight' and 'clean' do not, on their face, express anything about sexuality, much less that homosexuality, in particular, is immoral. We doubt that young boys would ascribe any meaning to these terms other than a commitment to be good."
Bravo! Finally, a sensible response to the ridiculous fear that being near a homosexual puts our children at risk.
I'm a heterosexual, married mother of two middle school children. I'm a Christian. I was a Girl Scout Leader for three years. My daughter was a Girl Scout, my son a Boy Scout. And in all thattime, never did I have a nano-second of fear that their Scout leaders were sexual predators. Never did I consider whether they were gay or straight, because I don't care what they do in their bedroom.
For parents who feel justified in such ludicrous fears, consider this: if your child is in any real danger from a sexual predator, you probably need to look no further than your own family for the perpetrator. Statistically speaking, most childhood sexual abuse is among family members. The vast majority also are of a heterosexual nature: grandfathers, fathers, uncles, and brothers molesting granddaughters, daughters, nieces and sisters. It's illogical to waste time fearing "homos" , when we should be warning our children against the monsters right on their own doorstep.
Check out these statistics for more details. Like the fact that 53 percent were abused by biological fathers, nearly 15% by stepfathers, and 8.8% by uncles. And that 61 percent of all rape cases occurred before victims were 18 years old. Did you know that one study showed that the average period of sexual abuse was more than seven years, and that it began on average at age six? In all fairness, studies have also shown that boys are most likely to be abused by unrelated males.
My point is that our children need to be protected from abuse of all sorts, including sexual, and that we need to get it through our heads that it's not strangers or casual acquaintances that we need to fear. Homosexuals are no more likely to be abusers than heterosexuals, because sexual abuse is not about sex, but about power.
The NJ decision read, in part, "The words 'morally straight' and 'clean' do not, on their face, express anything about sexuality, much less that homosexuality, in particular, is immoral. We doubt that young boys would ascribe any meaning to these terms other than a commitment to be good."
Bravo! Finally, a sensible response to the ridiculous fear that being near a homosexual puts our children at risk.
I'm a heterosexual, married mother of two middle school children. I'm a Christian. I was a Girl Scout Leader for three years. My daughter was a Girl Scout, my son a Boy Scout. And in all thattime, never did I have a nano-second of fear that their Scout leaders were sexual predators. Never did I consider whether they were gay or straight, because I don't care what they do in their bedroom.
For parents who feel justified in such ludicrous fears, consider this: if your child is in any real danger from a sexual predator, you probably need to look no further than your own family for the perpetrator. Statistically speaking, most childhood sexual abuse is among family members. The vast majority also are of a heterosexual nature: grandfathers, fathers, uncles, and brothers molesting granddaughters, daughters, nieces and sisters. It's illogical to waste time fearing "homos" , when we should be warning our children against the monsters right on their own doorstep.
Check out these statistics for more details. Like the fact that 53 percent were abused by biological fathers, nearly 15% by stepfathers, and 8.8% by uncles. And that 61 percent of all rape cases occurred before victims were 18 years old. Did you know that one study showed that the average period of sexual abuse was more than seven years, and that it began on average at age six? In all fairness, studies have also shown that boys are most likely to be abused by unrelated males.
My point is that our children need to be protected from abuse of all sorts, including sexual, and that we need to get it through our heads that it's not strangers or casual acquaintances that we need to fear. Homosexuals are no more likely to be abusers than heterosexuals, because sexual abuse is not about sex, but about power.
LINKS:
No comments:
Post a Comment
We thank you very much if you write your comment, nick, ID, and email. Te agradecemos mucho que escribas tu comentario, nick, ID y email ;)