Gays have been in Boy Scouts all along

EDGEWATER -- Odd how people are all up in arms about the Boy Scouts maybe changing their policy and letting in scouts and leaders who are gay. Are they naïve enough to believe that gays have never been in any scout groups in the past?

Many gay men and women served and served us well in the military over the years but kept that part of their lives secret. They did not cause problems or try to lure others into their lifestyle. They did their jobs as every other serviceperson did.

People in all walks of life have been gay and in the closet so to speak for fear of ridicule and loss of employment. That is sad and totally unnecessary.

What anyone does in their own bedroom should have nothing to do with what job they do or if they can volunteer to be a scout leader or whatever.

What anyone does in their own bedroom should have nothing to do with what job they do or if they can volunteer to be a scout leader or whatever.

Even presidents have strayed from their marriage vows, but they managed to run our country nonetheless.

The marital issue never should have even been brought to our attention since that is between husband and wife and did not affect us in any way. Yes, we thought we elected a moral man but in years past what we hear now wouldn’t have been allowed to be published and I for one think we were better off for it.

Now we know after such previous leaders have died that they slept with their slaves and fathered children, or they were perpetual cheaters both on their wives and in their business ventures and so forth.

Why do we need to know this even now? Why do we allow paparazzi to harass stars, politicos and royalty for pictures and news they don’t need to publish?

They hound the children of stars who are just trying to go to school or on vacation with their families and cause the kids’ distress they don’t need.

If people would just refuse to read the rags they publish this stuff in or watch the news it is being reported through, there would be no more of it. But I digress.

I see no harm in a gay scout leader as long as he/she is not trying to influence my kid against their ideals. We are too quick to point the finger at anyone who may be what we perceive to be different.

I see no harm in a gay scout leader as long as he/she is not trying to influence my kid against their ideals. We are too quick to point the finger at anyone who may be what we perceive to be different.

When I was in ninth grade we had a wonderful teacher who all the students adored. He taught English and Algebra and we learned easily from him because he was fun. He was young and different from the old fogies’ the rest of the teachers were.

One day we arrived at school to find he had been fired for being a communist and was accused of trying to mess with our minds and teach us to be communists. This was during the days of the Cold War. I can tell you he never, ever made any reference to communism in any class I was in.

We students rose up in his defense but were overridden by our parents and the school board. No one listened to us. He was unjustly accused and no longer could teach which was what he loved doing and was good at.

How very sad for him and for us. He may have been a closet communist but as long as he wasn’t trying to teach us his beliefs he should have been allowed to live his life.

Same goes for gay people wanting to be servicemen, scouts or leaders. Leave them alone to live their lives and they will do us proud in the long run. They may well be the one person in your child’s life that shows him the way to college or to be an astronaut.

Without that person, his life may be completely different and maybe not as happy as you’d wish. It is time to stop pointing fingers and live and let live.

I was a girl scout and know their ways. Truly I do not believe they will be corrupted if a gay girl is a member or a gay woman is a leader.

We need to embrace each other’s differences in all ways. If we stop condemning what is foreign to us we just might have our horizons broadened and learn new things from different cultures. We might one day even be able to stop warring with each other over religion and live in peace. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

We need to embrace each other’s differences in all ways. If we stop condemning what is foreign to us we just might have our horizons broadened and learn new things from different cultures. We might one day even be able to stop warring with each other over religion and live in peace. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?