A survey being distributed to 1.1
million Boy Scout leaders, alumni and parents asks whether it's okay
to discriminate against gays.
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is
distributing the 13-question survey two months ahead of a planned
vote on whether to lift its national ban on openly gay scouts and
leaders and allow local chapters to decide the issue.
“Do you believe the current policy
prohibiting open homosexuals from being Scouts or adult Scout leaders
is a core value of Scouting found in the Scout Oath and law?” a
yes-or-no question asks.
Other questions ask whether a scenario
is acceptable or unacceptable, such as “Is it acceptable or
unacceptable for an openly gay Boy Scout to share a tent with a
heterosexual boy on an overnight camping trip?” or “Is it
acceptable or unacceptable for a lesbian to serve as a den leader for
her son's Cub Scout den?” or “Is it acceptable or unacceptable
for the gay adult leader to take adolescent boys on an overnight
camping trip?”
In a third group of questions,
respondents can choose from a scale that runs from “strongly
support” to “strongly oppose.”
“The current Boy Scouts of America
requirements, stated above, prohibit open homosexuals from being
Scouts or adult Scout leaders. To what extent do you support or
oppose this requirement?”
The Los Angeles Times
reported that the questions are not being sent to current Boy
Scouts.