Tag: boy scouts

According to the Associated Press four men are suing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in federal court because they claim they were sexually abused during Boy Scout of America functions in Idaho.

Three of the men say they were in troops sponsored by the church and were abused by scout leaders in the early 1980s.

Now that Boy Scout delegates have taken their long-awaited vote and permitted openly gay Scouts, will there be a mass exodus by religious groups?

It depends on who you ask.

On Thursday the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America will decide whether or not it should change its policy which currently forbids openly gay scouts to participate in scouting troops across the country.

The proposal will be put before roughly 1,400 voting members at a meeting in Texas.

The compromise proposal from the Boy Scouts of America to allow gay youths — while continuing to exclude gay leaders — has picked up a powerful backer: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Mormon leaders, who sponsor more Scout troops than any other religious or civic group, announced Thursday (April 25) that they are “satisfied” with the BSA’s plan.

For former scoutmaster Richard Guglielmetti, the Boy Scouts of America’s reconsideration of its ban on gay scouts and leaders is long overdue.
Guglielmetti, 66, who led Troop 76 in Simsbury, Conn., for a dozen years until 2005, said leaders and members of his troop ignored the national organization’s prohibition on gays because they felt it was wrong.