Delegates' booing and jeering overpowered the words of the Pledge of Allegiance at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles last summer. Despite outward appearances, the commotion did not express a lack of patriotism but disapproval for what the Eagle Scouts who were leading the pledge stood for.
Traditionally, Eagle Scouts, the highest ranking members of the Boy Scouts of America, represent honor, cooperation and service. However, the organization has come under fire since a 1998 Supreme Court ruling that supported the Boy Scouts' right to exclude gay troop leaders on the basis of their sexuality.
At the time of the Aug. 2000 convention, Rep. Lynn Woolsey of California demanded the repeal of the Boy Scouts' federal charter due to its exclusive policy. Since then, her bill was voted down, but the controversy surrounding the organization and the ruling remains.
The majority of the American public seems to agree with the Supreme Court's decision. In a recent survey conducted by the Rasmussen Research company, 63 percent of Americans agreed that Scouts should be able to prohibit gay men from becoming Scout leaders.
Here at Dartmouth, however, reactions to the Boy Scout controversy have not mirrored this national trend. Many students who talked to The Dartmouth said they believed that although the rights granted by the First Amendment should be available to all, there is still no excuse for the Boy Scouts' discriminatory policy.
"I am disgusted with the Boy Scouts for their actions and their philosophy about who can and cannot be a Scout," Boy Scout Joseph Ackley '03 said. "Barring members due to their sexual orientation is demonstrating exactly the opposite of what I learned through the program."
And while intolerance is a striking feature of the Boy Scouts' policy, Peter Rapp '03 was quick to point out that, "Yes, it is intolerant, and seems a step in the wrong direction, but the problem is not with the law, but with the mentality of this country."
Most students who talked to The Dartmouth, who were or presently are Scouts, reflected on their personal experiences and not on the public policy issues that surround the Boy Scouts.
Last year, Boy Scouts contributed over 52 million hours of service to the country, according to the Boy Scouts of America. And Dartmouth students said it is these hours together with one's own local troop that members most appreciate.
Rob Karl '03 told The Dartmouth, "I still believe that the BSA is the greatest organization for youth that exists in this country. But I'm afraid that soon the rest of the American public won't see that as well. The ultimate tragedy will be if this policy leads, through a loss of United Way funding, through a Scout leader resigning in protest of the policy, through whatever, to one kid not having the opportunities I have had because of Scouting."
The 5.8 million member BSA was publicly questioned for its exclusive policy towards homosexuals for the first time in 1980.
Tim Curran, then a 17-year-old Eagle Scout and assistant scout master, was refused the status of Scouter (adult member) by the Mount Diablo Council of Boy Scouts because he was gay and therefore an "inappropriate role model."
The first BSA "Handbook for Boys" claims that "no boy can grow in the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God." With regard to sexual orientation, the handbook states that homosexuality is inconsistent with "the requirements in the Scout Oath that a Scout be 'morally straight' and in the Scout Law that a Scout be 'clean' in word and deed."
Curran decided to take the Scouts to court. Inspired by Curran, several others followed in high-profile cases. However, a big blow came to the former Scouts' arguments when a divided U.S. Supreme Court decided in 1998 that the BSA has the constitutional right to block gays from becoming troop leaders because it is not a public institution -- even though it has a federal charter.
Congress granted a federal charter to the Boy Scouts in 1916. Among other privileges, the charter guarantees the exclusive right of the Boy Scouts to their emblems, badges and name.
According to the First Amendment, the Boy Scouts organization can freely associate with whomever it pleases. Though some have hailed the Supreme Court decision as a move promoting discrimination, others have pointed out that the Supreme Court provided the proper legal action in this case for a private institution.
"[Excluding gays] is scarcely an argument for denying First Amendment protection to those
