A caller on a local AM radio talk show
in the Twin Cities asked the host of the show whether he would be in favor of allowing his daughter to share a tent with a heterosexual boy. This was, of course, a discussion about the BSA dropping its rule against gay scouters.
The host was in favor of the BSA's rule change, but couldn't come up with a counter argument for this caller. That segment of the show is over, but the host missed an opportunity here.
It's not a matter of sharing a tent with someone. If I were the host of the show, I'd have said, "Well, I let my teenaged daughter go on dates with boys in their cars. I don't see the difference, really. If they're going to have sex, they'll find a place to do that, regardless of my wishes. Whether my daughter has sex with a boy is not something I can control, whether it's in a tent or the back seat of his car."
The assumption that caller was trying to promote is that all gay Boy Scouts are trying to have sex with all other Boy Scouts, and shouldn't be allowed to be in the Boy Scouts. That's just a silly argument. Adolescent boys make their own decisions in matters of sex. If they want to have sex, they will. Scouting is about other stuff, not sex. The assumption that a gay Boy Scout can convert a heterosexual Boy Scout into a gay Boy Scout is an invalid assumption. People do not choose their sexual orientation. It's not an issue.
No doubt parents worry about their children who are adolescents. They worry about them having sex, too. But kids are allowed to date, and to be alone with other kids. Their orientation isn't the issue. Adolescents make their own decisions. Thus has it always been.
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