Quote of the Day

[Content Note: Homophobia.]

"On Thursday, 1,400 Scouting volunteers from all across the country will meet in Dallas to vote on a proposal that could end the [Boy Scouts'] ban on gay youth. However, gay adult leaders and employees, like me, would remain banned from Scouting. ...The proposed resolution to allow openly gay youth is a good first step, but it cannot stop there. If the resolution to repeal the ban on gay Scouts is approved, dedicated gay adult volunteers and employees, like me, will still be kept in the closet, and I will have no choice but to resign. For too many years, I eschewed relationships, felt uncomfortable around co-workers and was forced to remain cloaked in secrecy. I cannot continue to live in the shadows. It is not healthy, nor is it ethical."—An anonymous gay employee of the Boy Scouts of America, who has "dedicated more than two decades of [his] life to the Boy Scouts of America—first as a Scout and now for over five years as an employee" and spends "14-hour days and 80-hour workweeks promoting the Scouting program and providing the best possible services to build and retain membership." But fears losing his job every day if his employer finds out he is gay.

Read his entire essay here.

[Commenting Guidelines: Please note that victim-blaming will not be tolerated in this thread. Criticism of the Boy Scouts' homophobic policies is on-topic. Criticism of an individual person who has tried to change an organization he loves to be more inclusive and has regretfully and painfully come to the decision that it is no longer safe or ethical for him to be a part of this organization is not.]