The debate over the Boy Scouts of America’s ban on gay adult employees will likely become a hot button issue again in light of the fact that the Scouts’ New York chapter has now openly and publicly defied the policy.
It was announced Thursday that the chapter has hired 18-year-old Pascal Tessier, the nation’s first openly gay Eagle Scout, as a camp counselor.
Tessier, from MD Troop 52 (one of the nation’s oldest troops), earned the rank of Eagle Scout only weeks after the ban on gay youth was lifted, and his hiring could lead to litigation between the New York chapter and the BSA’s national headquarters, though the hope is to resolve the conflict out of court.
Related: Straight Eagle Scout Fights To Keep His Gay Twin From A Lifelong Scouting Ban
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In anticipation of a possible fight, Tessier has been in touch with prominent lawyer David Boies, who has recently argued in favor of same-sex marriage.
“We all started this with the idea that the best resolution of this was a resolution based on conciliation and agreement,” Boies said.
“It is certainly a remarkable development because we now have the first openly gay scout leader employed by the Boy Scouts,” he added. “We hope that is the beginning of the end, if you will, of the policy nationwide.”
The Boy Scouts’ national spokesman, Deron Smith, said “We are looking into the matter.”
Stay tuned.
Billy Budd
I hope we win in the end.
ait10101
Good for him. The US connection of Scouts with a Christian God has no historical veracity outside the US itself. I would like to see the US Scouts banned from international events until they recognize this.
gaym50ish
Much of the opposition toward gays in scouting is based on the disproven idea that openly gay men are more likely to be pedophiles. The Family Research Council claims that if gay adults are allowed in scouting, there will be more boys at risk of being molested.
And yet we know that the policy of excluding gays has worked so well in the past that when the secret files on sex abusers within the Boy Scouts from 1965 to 1985 were released and published online, there were 1,247 names on the list. Each abuser had molested, on average, more than one Boy Scout. The ban on gays does not keep out molesters — only vigilance can do that, in ANY institution.
I look at it kind of like the “gays in the showers” argument that opponents of allowing gays in the military kept bringing up. My thought was, wouldn’t they rather KNOW which guys in the shower were gay than NOT to know? They were always there, long before they were allowed to be open about it, and it’s the same in scouting.
Saint Law
Only big hairy middle aged men look sexy in those outfits.
Billy Budd
@Saint Law: I disagree. The boy looks sharp and cute in his uniform. He looks innocent and virginal and I love it.
Dakotahgeo
If the Boy Scouts of America National Headquarters cannot retreat from their sham christian rules, then it needs to be totally shut down, legally if necessary!
jwtraveler
@Saint Law: @Billy Budd: Great guys. Sexualizing a boy scout is really the right response to this article.
MacAdvisor
A couple of things:
First, I am not sure physical attraction to boys 16 or 17 can properly be classified as pedophilia. In general, “pedophilia” is defined as, “a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children, generally age 11 years or younger.” I can well imagine a 25-year old Scout Master and a 17-year Boy Scout having a physical attraction for each other. While the law would likely find the relationship unacceptable, I am not sure it is indicative of a real psychiatric disorder.
Second, New York is an ENDA state. Thus, employers cannot discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in staffing. Given the Boy Scouts of America has admitted their “associative purpose” does not exclude gay Boy Scouts (a change of position from their assertions in Boy Scouts of America et al. v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640 (2000), I think the national organization will be forced to allow local organizations to follow state law. Thus, in states with ENDA, the Scouts will not be able to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, but will be free to do so in non-ENDA states. Thus, the need for a national ENDA. Write your Congressional Representatives, boys and girls.
Captain Obvious
I don’t see why it’s so hard to start a new group that’s inclusive of all types of people instead of holding onto this boy scout group and their ridiculous “values”. Let them have their group and start a new much better one.
@MacAdvisor: No offense and not saying you are one… but I’ve only ever heard pedophiles try to make that distinction. Fact of the matter is no one cares what the law says, if you’re after a minor you’re considered a pedo by the population at large. It’s rather disturbing that any adult would want to be in a “relationship” of a sexual nature with a child and anyone 17 and below is still very much a child. Even 23 year olds do things no 30 year olds would be doing and 30 year olds do things no 40 year olds would be caught dead doing.
Age is more than just a number, but some people have no respect for that. They only care about youth and looks… which is why they end up alone, robbed blind by a gold digger, or in prison for statutory.
I agree with you that it’s most likely not an actual disorder, it just fits nicely as an excuse in court to get away with it, or a lesser sentence when caught.
But even people who go after teens only do it because they know they can manipulate them in a way they never could an actual adult who’s been around the bend. That in itself is still pedophilia, it’s not much different than with a younger child. They don’t know any better so you have a ton of ways to take advantage.
It’s the “definition” of pedophilia that needs to be revamped, the way most people are using it is very correct. Fact of the matter is no one over 30 should be going after anyone under 25… but of course that’s not appealing to those who are looking for someone to take advantage of because a person 25 or older is far less likely to go along with everything they’re told or asked to do.
All that said I’m kinda tired of the subject of pedophilia always coming up about gay men when most convicted pedophiles are straight white males, and most convicted pedophiles in general happen to be “straight”(including women). But we all know pedophiles don’t really have a sexuality in the first place, they’re only interested in children. Regardless that’s how they’ve been identified. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a case of a gay pedophile as in someone who was with a man but caught molesting children.
Cam
The majority of troops now are through the Catholic and the Mormon churches.
They have yet another opportunity to do that right thing, but they will start AGAIN screaming their bigoted anti-gay B.S.
Maude
IMO, there are probably more scout leaders seduced my boy scouts, than there are boy scouts seduced by scout leaders…and the BSA does not distinguish the fact, because in their eyes, as well as the laws, the adult is wrong because he succumbed.
Love that word….’succumbed’.
phishy2
@Captain Obvious: We have laws that deal with this. They are the age of consent laws, which are state laws in the US. You sound like people who want to raise the legal drinking age above 21! A reasonable, clear legal age of consent needs to exist and that is not 25. It is most important to teach young people responsibility, so they are prepared for real life even before the ago of consent.
Royalhead
@Captain Obvious: MacAdvisor was simply stating the fact that pedophilia is a paraphilic disorder whereas the person is exclusively attracted to prepubescent children. Essentially accusing him of being a pedophile for reciting the definition is crazy. Adults that are attracted to peripubuscent adolescents is called hebdophillia. These are mental health diagnosis’, not legalistic terms as each state has differing ages of consent. What it comes down to is that if someone is going to be in a position of authority over young people they need to follow the law. If this 18 year old scout leader is attracted to a 16 or 17 year old scout, he has NO mental health condition; however, could still be breaking the law.
Finally, stating that anyone over 30 should never be with someone under 25 is rather stupid and frankly you remind me of many of these right wing nut-jobs that we are having to battle. Watch Fox News much?
We are constantly touting that love has no face then why would you think that it is acceptable to put stupid age restrictions on consenting adults? I have been in a 10 year relationship with my husband who is 6 years younger than me…I guess we should never have gotten together based on your crazy way of thinking.