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Please act today to ask the San Francisco Bay Area Council (SFBAC) to take a stand to change the Boy Scouts of America's discriminatory membership policy.
Please sign this petition asking the SFBAC to Reject the Boy Scouts of America's anti-gay policy. All members of the community are encouraged to sign. Please mention if you are currently a scout, scout leader, or parent of a scout in the "comment" box.
Link to change.org petition
Want to do more...send a letter
If you are an active member of scouting, you already know how great the program is. Even if you live in a different council there are many reasons you should let the SFBAC know how you feel. Make sure to let them know specifically if your troop attends one of their camps or training sessions.
If you are not an active member of scouting, but are a member of the community we serve, you may not be aware of all the good that scouting does. It is an amazing program, but it does have one very big flaw. The current exclusionary policy against gay youth and LGBT leaders is wrong and does not represent the values of Scouting or of our community.
Many parents nationwide simply don't want to fund or enroll their sons in an organization that practices discrimination. The policy also creates a huge discrepancy with BSA's Youth Protection standards. While the BSA allows "closeted" youth into the program - they must keep their orientation a secret. As a result, these youths cannot report bullying, violence, or possibly even sexual abuse because it would jeopardize their membership status. In this case, current policy is dangerous.
We would like your help in changing the policy. The Mount Diablo Silverado Council passed a series of resolutions on March 16, 2013. We would like you to ask the San Francisco Bay Area Council to do the same.
A. Scouts and Scouters should be judged by their conduct, their actions, and their character, consistent with the Scout Oath and Scout Law, not by stereotypes or group related prejudices.
B. The Scout Oath and the Scout Law are foundational ideas that every person should be exposed to so that all people can benefit from the Scouting movement's principles, ideals, and values.
C. Regardless of sexual orientation, sexual topics and conduct, which include pointing out another individual's sexual orientation, are not part of the Scouting movement and should not be tolerated. Further, the Scouting movement should not permit its organization to be used as a vehicle to promote any personal, political, social or other objective that is inconsistent with the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
D. The support from our volunteers and our community has reaffirmed the role that the Scouting Movement has had and can continue to have in shaping the lives and values of young people. However the current BSA membership policy clearly excludes an entire group based on a presumption of behavior rather than on the actions of individuals. Excluding an entire group of people based on stereotypes and prejudices is inconsistent with the Scout Oath and Scout Law. The current membership policy is of deep concern to many in our Council for its potential to undermine the future vitality of the Scouting movement.
E. Chartered Organizations have always and will continue to create Scouting Units that are consistent with their organizational faiths, standards and deeply held beliefs. However, we believe that the national BSA board should not pass this important decision from BSA's governing body to Chartered Organizations. Rather, we believe that the national board should adopt a standard policy, consistent with the Scout Oath, Scout Law, and the principles documented within this report, which ends the isolation and exclusion of LGBT individuals.
We believe that the council executive board should vote to support these Membership Standard Principles. Further, we believe our board should vote to advocate for these principles. Finally we believe our board should vote to encourage our national board representatives to vote in a manner consistent with these principles.
Want to help? Please:
1. Write and send a letter to SFBAC today. (We have provided a sample letter, but a personal letter would be even better.)
Mr. Kenneth C. Mehlhorn
Scout Executive
San Francisco Bay Area Council
1001 Davis Street
San Leandro, CA 94577
phone: 510-577-9000
Mr. Rick Pickering
Council President
San Francisco Bay Area Council
1001 Davis Street
San Leandro, CA 94577
Or e-mail to:
be_heard@sfbac.org
(Make sure to tell them whether you are a member of scouting or a member of the community)
2. Forward this e-mail to every interested adult you know who supports ending discrimination in the otherwise great organization that is the Boy Scouts of America.
Sample Letter - member of scouting
Sample Letter - member of scouting -rtf format for Word
Sample Letter - member of the community
Sample Letter - member of the community -rtf format for Word
More Sample Letters
Mt. Diablo - Silverado Council Membership Survey results
Yours in Scouting,
Wendell Baker (SFE-Golden Gate)
Eric Andresen (SFE-Golden Gate)
Thomas Brennan (Scouts for Equality)
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