Eagle Scout returns his medal in protest (3 guesses why)

Gazette ^ | 8/2/12 | Katherine Heerbrandt

[workerbee]

Earning the rank of Eagle Scout is an arduous task, requiring dedication and hard work.

Returning the award was equally difficult for Steven Colella, 23, of Frederick, but it was a necessary one, he said.

Colella, who is gay, made his decision in response to an announcement this month by The Boy Scouts of America affirming its policy of "not granting membership to open or avowed homosexuals."

“I have no place in that organization. I knew it was the right thing to do for me,” Colella said.

Colella, who has spent 18 years in the Scouts, sent a letter to the Boy Scouts of America on July 25, tendering his Eagle Scout award and rescinding an application he had pending for a professional Scouting commission.

In his letter to the Scouts’ executive board in Irving, Texas, Colella said that the Scouts’ decision to uphold its discriminatory policies has taken away the pride he had in his contributions and his respect for the program.

“Most importantly, it has taken away my dignity as a human being and an American citizen,” Colella said in his letter.

[publius911]

I didn't know that 23-yr-olds were allowed to be scouts.
If he wasn't 'militant' when younger, what's his beef?
Being a pervert is not an issue, unless you also need to whine or demand 'acceptance.'

Guess the character building demands of scouting didn't stick.

[publius911]

No doubt most of these medal-throwing John Kerry wannabees will include “Eagle Scout” on their resumes when applying for a job.

Eagle Scout... or pervert...
Ummmmmm.

Tough choice.

[rlmorel]

He is a self-professed homosexual. But if you want to give him the benefit of the doubt for what it is worth and say he is a homosexual in his thoughts only, and has never consummated the act, that is up to you, I won’t argue it.

I would think that arguing FOR something like that is also morally unsound.

[Tax-chick]

Being a pervert is not an issue ...

Yes, it is an issue. The "new frontier" in lawsuits against organizations that don't accept homosexuality is going to be suits on behalf of boys who were assaulted or engaged in sodomy with other boys. As soon as a person decides he is "gay," he needs to be kept out of environments in which he can sodomize others, even if they're his age-contemporaries.

And if such a person is a minor, his parents need to try to find the adults with whom he has been involved, if only for health reasons.

[publius911]

Sorry about the misunderstanding. I meant to be brief.
Don't ask-don't tell is not an issue, ONLY if one also accepts that it goes without saying that don't do is an essential part of the deal.

[Tax-chick]

Okay, I see your point.