The 40+ Republican elected officials in Texas who signed on to the letter calling on the Boy Scouts of America to continue discriminating against gay scouts probably won’t have to wait long to see history’s judgment. From a Reuters article on Wednesday:
The Boy Scouts of America has delayed its vote until May but a national poll released on Wednesday showed the public has made up its mind, saying the youth group’s ban on gay members must end.
By a margin of 55 percent to 33 percent, respondents to the telephone poll by Quinnipiac University said the century-old youth organization should drop its policy against openly gay members.
A broad array of respondents, male or female, Catholic or Protestant, favored accepting scouts regardless of their sexual orientation, the poll showed.
Who is most likely to support discrimination against gay scouts? According to the poll, white evangelical Protestants support the ban on gay scouts 56 percent to 33 percent. In contrast, white (non-evangelical) Protestants oppose the ban by 44-41 percent. Women, by 61-27 percent, and white Catholics, by 63-25 percent, are strongly opposed to the ban.
We’ll hear supporters of anti-gay discrimination — especially the signers of the Boy Scouts letter — say their position is based on tradition and morality regardless of what the polls say. Supporters of racial segregation said the same thing.
That’s the 1/3 we need to deport, take away their citizenship and give it to the immigrants that are not bigots or assholes!
The Boy Scouts didn’t kick me out because I was gay (because I’m not gay.). They kicked me out for being an atheist.
I wonder what the polling among current and former scouts looks like.
Not that it would makes much difference on which way I think the decision should be made. However, how such a poll turned out could have some impact on what I think of current scouts. Has the next generation failed to learn the prejudices of those prior that now lead them, or does it rather seem hopelessly tainted and best left to the dustbin of history?
So, dang it, who are the 40+? Name names!
Check the link in the post, Jim. It includes the full letter and the most up-to-date list of names.