Rick Perry is no stranger to controversy, so it should come as no surprise that the Texas Governor wouldn’t miss the opportunity to take an unpopular stance on an issue that falls well outside his jurisdiction.
Last week, on Glenn Beck’s radio program, the former Eagle Scout stated that he hopes the National Board of the Boy Scouts of America “will follow their historic position of keeping the Scouts strongly supportive of the values that make Scouting this very important and impactful organization.”
The Boy Scouts of America have attracted a host of media attention since they reaffirmed their position on homosexual behavior, a position that bans gay troop members and troop leaders from being a member of the organization.
However, the Boy Scouts are behind the times and their antiquated stance on gay rights is poisonous for any modern institution. While the BSA has seen its membership decline to historic lows, support for gay rights is higher now than at any other point in history.
According to a Washington Post poll released earlier this month, 58 percent of Americans support gay marriage and 55 percent of people in a Quinnipiac University survey believe that the ban on gays in the Boy Scouts should end.
The Boy Scouts are not perfect, but they prepare young men to be leaders. Of the 535 individuals who represented us in Congress last year, 206 have participated in the BSA. Of the 12 men who have walked on the moon, 11 were Scouts.
The Boy Scouts of America needs to recognize that when they talk, people listen and they should lift their ban on gay members.