A Scout Is "Not Gay"

In December of 2007, the City of Philadelphia took a bold stance against their local Boy Scout Council for their policies on homosexuals joining their organization. In doing so, the city has sent a strong message to the community that it is time to stop supporting organizations that continue to discriminate against, and further shame, the GLBT community.

The following story, from The New York Times details the development of this public conflict. From http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/06/us/06scouts.html/

Boy Scouts Lose Philadelphia Lease - Upload a Document to Scribd

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On May 27, 2008, Fox News reported that the Boy Scouts had filed a federal lawsuit against the city for their decision.
From - http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,358586,00.html

The federal lawsuit seeks to stop the city from evicting the Scouts or from charging the group about $200,000 a year in rent. The Scouts currently pay $1 annually for the space. The city says it cannot keep subsidizing the rent of a private group that discriminates. It gave the Scouts until Saturday to revise their policy or pay rent.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that the Boy Scouts, as a private group, have a First Amendment right to bar gays.

But taxpayers cannot keep subsidizing the rent of a group that discriminates, City Solicitor Shelley Smith told MyFOXPhilly. "They're free to exercise their First Amendment rights," Smith said. "What they're not free to do is get a benefit from the city while violating our policy."

The Philadelphia chapter adopted an explicit nondiscrimination policy in 2003 after negotiations with the city, but was forced to rescind it when the Boy Scouts of America balked, MyFOXPhilly.com reported. The national group said Philadelphia Scout officials could not deviate from national rules barring participation by anyone who is openly gay.

The Scouts say the higher rent would force them to cut programs, and is equivalent to the cost of sending about 800 needy children to summer camp.

As an Eagle Scout, I consider the Boy Scout's anti-gay policy to be more than just shaming and discriminatory for the gay community. It is a policy based on an old way of thinking, and not based in the reality of today's changing culture. When I was a teenager it would have been a crushing blow to be kicked out of my troop or denied the honor of being an Eagle because of my sexuality. The Boy Scouts is supposed to teach young men about being friendly and kind, which this policy is not. It is a time for them to grow socially and mentally, and develop skills to become responsible and honest men. By having a discriminatory policy, the Boy Scouts continue to teach impressionable boys that being different is wrong and that hating is acceptable. --JOSH

An Elephant, a Donkey, and Gay Marriage

On May 15, 2008 the California Supreme Court ruled that it would allow same-sex couples to legally marry, with all the same rights afforded to heterosexual couples. As of this point only one other state, Massachusetts, allows actual marriage between homosexual couples. This is a landmark triumph for the Gay Rights Movement. Couples can begin getting married June 17th.

However, the victory could be short-lived as conservatives in the state are pushing even harder for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage to appear on California ballots in November. Such an amendment would override the Supreme Courts decision and nullify any marriages performed up to that point.

The video below features Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain on the Ellen DeGeneres show after this decision was made. He makes his stance very clear, and, we think, Ellen is as cool as ever.





The current happenings in California are one of many results from the long-winded debate about establishing marital rights or denying marital rights to same-sex couples all across the country. Aside from John McCain viewpoints, some politicians support civil unions or domestic partnerships, and wish to continue to reserve the term "marriage" for opposite-sex couples. But, what happened to equal rights among all? To allude to what Ellen said, marriage is marriage and love is love...whether your attracted to a person of the opposite-sex or the same-sex...its all the same.


So, what's the premise of this debate?

1. "Same-sex marriage" means legal marriage between people of the same sex. Massachusetts issues marriage licenses to same-sex couples (since 2004), and now, California has joined the bandwagon.

2. "Civil union" is a category of law that was created to extend rights to same-sex couples. These rights are recognized only in the state where the couple resided. Currently, civil unions are recognized in Vermont (since 2000), Connecticut (since 2005), New Jersey (since 2006), and New Hampshire (since 2007).

3. "Domestic partnership" is a new category of law that was created to extend rights to unmarried couples, including (but not necessarily limited to) same-sex couples. Laws vary among states, cities, and countries. Across the U.S., Hawaii, Maine, Oregon, Washington, and the District of Columbia confer certain spousal rights to same-sex couples.

In conclusion, the most significant difference between marriage and civil unions (or domestic partnerships) is that only marriage offers federal benefits and protections. More than 1,100 rights and protections are conferred to U.S. citizens upon marriage (areas affected include Social Security benefits, veterans' benefits, health insurance, Medicaid, hospital visitation, estate taxes, retirement savings, pensions, family leave, and immigration law). Because same-sex marriages in Massachusetts, civil unions, and domestic partnerships are not federally recognized, any benefits available at the state or local level are subject to federal taxation.

What's your opinion?

Visit the Human Rights Campaign Website (http://www.hrc.org/) for more information on current issues in your state and how you can get involved.

Underage Shaming

"The stigmatization of homosexuality begins early in childhood and intensifies during adolescence." --Tangney & Dearing

Despite the successes and advances of the GLBT Community, there continues to be a notion that being gay is bad. From a young age we are taught that being gay is something to be ashamed of and that, somehow, it is ok to ridicule and hurt those that are different. For youth struggling with their sexual identity, school can be an especially harsh place to be open and feel safe. As of 2003, almost 40% of GLBT youth said that they had experienced some kind of physical violence at school and 84% had been victims of verbal harassment, all because of their sexual orientation.

The effects of these degrading and shaming experiences can be devastating. Gay youth are at an increased risk for social isolation, depression, substance abuse, dropping out of school and even thoughts of suicide. In fact, of the 5,000 suicides of young men and women each year in the United States, over 30% of them have been attributed to the emotional turmoil over sexual preference and societal prejudices and discriminatory behaviors regarding same-sex attractions and relationships.

In February of this year, a California middle school had a school shooting that barely made a blip on the news radar. Why? The victim, Lawrence King, was shot and killed by a fellow student because he was gay. We think its time for a new lesson to begin.

Watch these videos for more:






For more information on this tragic event visit:
http://www.rememberinglawrence.org/.

For more information on GLBT youth, read the following article:
Snively, C. (2004). Gay-Straight Alliances. An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Culture.