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Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski
I think they made the right decision, but it would NOT have destroyed the Boy Scouts had they ruled the other way.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon
I agree. I'm sure there were some who were horrified at the prospect of Pollard's scoutmastership, or at the decision to allow girls membership at the high school level. And I'm certain there were those who thought those occasions marked the beginning of the end of scouting.
Scouting is dynamic and resilient and will survive, even if the government interferes with BSA's right to conduct business as it sees fit.
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Well, this is all a matter of opinion, of course, but here's the result as I see it. The legal requirement to permit gay scoutmasters would've caused many religiously affiliated troops to sever ties, including the LDS Church. In addition, parents who opposed the idea (not few in number) would probably pull their children out of the programs. A group like scouting cannot remain resilient and dynamic without money or people.
The Boy Scouts may have survived in some form, maybe with troops affiliated with secular organizations in liberal parts of the country (like New Jersey, where Dale was). But the national organization as we think of it today would've been radically changed (my word: "destroyed").
The more significant implication, though, is the further curtailing of the freedom of association.