Boy Scouts: “A few” returned medals
Boy Scouts confirm some Eagle Scouts return their medals after exclusion of gays
By Alex HalperinTopics: Gay Rights, Boy Scouts, Human Rights, Texas, Conservatism, Life News, News, Politics News
The Boy Scouts of America confirmed to Salon that after a week of controversy surrounding its continuing ban on gays, some Eagle Scouts responded by returning their commendations. “Throughout the years people have chosen to return Eagle medals for a variety of reasons,” Deron Smith replied to questions from Salon in an email. “In the past two weeks we’ve received a few (less than ten).”
The group has faced pressure to admit gays for more than a decade. But last week’s renewed affirmation of the policy is increasingly marginal after same-sex marriage has become legal in several states, the military dropped “don’t ask, don’t tell” and President Obama expressed support for same-sex marriage.
The number of resignations has not matched an outpouring of social media activity that followed the decision. In particular, several Eagle Scouts have renounced the title in letters posted online — including Douglas Woodhouse, who returned his Eagle Award with a letter that’s posted on Open Salon. Boing Boing alone has published more letters than the Scouts say it has received. As of this writing, the new group Eagle Scouts for Equality has almost 400 likes on Facebook. Founder and Eagle Scout Sam Bonin is encouraging Scouts to lodge protest calls to the organization’s Texas headquarters on Aug. 1, the 100th anniversary of the first Eagle Scout award.
Many of the sorrowful letters say that excluding gays is contrary to the values they learned in many years as Scouts. But Smith tells Salon that Scouts have no obligation to even be aware of homosexuality if they don’t want to be. “Members join Scouting to associate freely with those who share their values, views, goals, and vision—which is a right of all Americans. Forcing parents to potentially have to address this topic with their children before they are ready infringes on their rights to address issues of their choosing, when they wish to address them.”
The Scouts came under further criticism last week after a gay staffer was fired from a Boy Scout camp in northern California. The move prompted 10 other workers to resign in protest.
Woodhouse said he wouldn’t refer to himself as an Eagle Scout until the policy changes. Scouts generally earn the top rank of Eagle after thousands of hours of activity including a major community service project.
“It’s never an easy decision to give up their Eagle award,” Woodhouse said. “No one became an Eagle Scout lightly. This is not a small gesture on anybody’s part.”
Alex Halperin is news editor at Salon. You can follow him on Twitter @alexhalperin. More Alex Halperin.
Related Stories
More Related Stories
-
Stop comparing everything to "Girls"!
-
Is killing a fetus murder?
-
New DSM, new debates over ADHD and autism
-
Berlusconi's parties featured women dressed as Obama
-
Should graduation ceremonies be multi-faith?
-
Federal government is letting us eat metal shards, pink slime
-
Photographed secretly at home: Is it art?
-
Obama pledges to end "scourge" of sexual assault in the military
-
My "truly remarkable" cancer breakthrough
-
I think this guy is stalking me
-
The illusions of advertising
-
North Dakota lawmaker: Blame Roe v. Wade for school shootings
-
Take the Pope Francis tour of Buenos Aires and be pontiff for a day
-
Taxing technology to save the arts
-
Mormonism's most dangerous morality lesson
-
Are streetcars the future of public transportation?
-
Lockheed Martin yet another victim of the sequester
-
Protesting has never been so hilarious
-
Report: Millennials don't like Abercrombie & Fitch
-
Conservative group says AARP promotes radical "homosexual agenda"
-
Study: Muscle men more politically conservative
Featured Slide Shows
The week in 10 pics
close X- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 11
- Previous
- Next
-
A missing poster hangs on a tree outside the Cleveland home of Amanda Berry Wednesday. Berry and two other women, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus, made a daring escape this week after being held captive for more than a decade.
Credit: AP/Tony Dejak -
Elvis Rafael Rodriguez and Emir Yasser Yeje offer their best impression of Eric B. & Rakim. On Thursday, New York prosecutors identified the pair as members of an international gang that robbed $45 million in a matter of hours by hacking into a database of prepaid debit cards and draining ATM machines around the world.
Credit: AP -
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie walks to a podium during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Technology Enhanced Accelerated Learning Center at Essex County Newark Tech in Newark, N.J., Tuesday. Christie made less flattering headlines this week after undergoing a secret stomach surgery to curb his weight.
Credit: AP/Julio Cortez -
Workers stand outside the Tung Hai Sweater Ltd. factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday after a fire broke out in its 11-story building. Eight people were killed in the blaze.
Credit: AP/Ismail Ferdous -
Workers rescue a woman trapped for 17 days in the rubble of a garment factory building in Saver, Bangladesh, Friday. The building's collapse was the worst industrial disaster in the country's history, killing more than 1,000 people.
Credit: AP -
Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford gives his victory speech Tuesday in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., after winning back his old congressional seat in the state's first district.
Credit: AP/Rainier Ehrhardt -
Jodi Arias reacts in Maricopa Country Superior Court Wednesday after being found guilty of first-degree murder in the gruesome killing of her one-time boyfriend, Travis Alexander. Arias has subsequently said she wants the death penalty, claiming she'd "prefer to die sooner than later."
Credit: AP/The Arizona Republic/Rob Schumacher -
Ariel Castro stands for his mug shot Thursday at the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center, where he is being held on $8 million bail. The former bus driver is accused of imprisoning three young women and beating them repeatedly over a period of 10 years.
Credit: AP/Cuyahoga County -
Charles Ramsey addresses the media Monday after helping rescue three women held captive in Cleveland for more than a decade. Ramsey's hero portraiture has been complicated by revelations of his own domestic violence record.
Credit: AP/The Plain Dealer/Scott Shaw -
Michael B. Donley, Secretary of the Air Force, testifies during a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday. The military branch was rocked this week after its chief sexual assault prevention officer was charged with sexual battery.
Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster -
Recent Slide Shows
-
The week in 10 pics
-
Mobile Entertainment: 9 Amazing Drive-In Movie Theaters Still Standing
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 11
- Previous
- Next
-
Mobile Entertainment: 9 Amazing Drive-In Movie Theaters Still Standing
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
Netflix's April Fools' Day categories
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
Slideshow: Nerd Obama
Related Videos
Most Read
-
Jaron Lanier: The Internet destroyed the middle class
Scott Timberg
-
When the IRS targeted liberals
Alex Seitz-Wald
-
Revenge, ego and the corruption of Wikipedia
Andrew Leonard
-
The man behind Abercrombie & Fitch
Benoit Denizet-Lewis
-
Pat Robertson: Husbands won't cheat if the wife makes the home "wonderful"
Jillian Rayfield
-
White House trolls Republicans over Obamacare hashtag
Jillian Rayfield
-
Is Reddit censoring openly racist users?
Fidel Martinez, The Daily Dot
-
Report: Millennials don't like Abercrombie & Fitch
Katie Mcdonough
-
Cannes: The 10 hottest movies
Andrew O'Hehir
-
My "truly remarkable" cancer breakthrough
Mary Elizabeth Williams
Popular on Reddit
links from salon.com
From Around the Web
Presented by Scribol
-
Diane Gilman: Baby Boomers: A New Life-Construct -- From "Invisible to Invincible!" -
Susan Gregory Thomas: Why Divorced Boomer Moms Don't Deserve The Bad Rap -
British Nanny Offered An Annual Salary Of $200,000 -
Arianna Huffington: What I Did (and Didn't Do) On My Summer Vacation -
Vivian Diller, Ph.D.: Maybe Happiness Begins At 50






French President Hollande Signs Marriage Equality Bill
Obama Group Braces For Progressive Backlash Over Keystone
Republican Lawmakers Took IRS Union Campaign Cash
30 Places You'd Rather Be Sitting Right Now

Comments
46 Comments