Perry: Scouting no place for lessons in sexuality

Gov. Rick Perry recited the Boy Scouts' oath at a rally in Austin Saturday. Photo by Kolten Parker/ San Antonio Express-News Gov. Rick Perry recited the Boy Scouts' oath at a rally in Austin Saturday. Photo by Kolten Parker/ San Antonio Express-News Photo: Kolten Parker, San Antonio Express-News Photo: Kolten Parker, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 36 Caption Close Perry: Scouting no place for lessons in sexuality 1 / 36 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry stood his ground Saturday against allowing openly gay members to join the Boy Scouts of America, an idea the century-old organization will consider at a national board meeting next week.

Scout policy has traditionally refused gay scouts and scout leaders, a practice affirmed by the Supreme Court in 2000. In a recent shift, Scout officials said they might consider lifting the ban. Perry, an Eagle Scout, has been vocal against the change.

“Hopefully the board will follow their historic position. ... I think most people see absolutely no reason to (remove the ban), and neither do I.” Perry said, following a rally at the Capitol. “To have popular culture impact 100 years of their standards is inappropriate,”

Hundreds of Scout delegates from each of the 19 councils in Texas were seated in the House chamber Saturday as part of the 64th annual Report to the State tradition. Delegates from each council reported to the governor their accomplishments from the past year.

As Boy Scout leaders prepare to address the long-standing ban next week at their meeting in Irving, Perry repeated sentiments expressed in his 2008 book, “On My Honor.” In it, he writes that “openly active gays” should not be allowed in the organization because their sexual orientation would “distract from the mission of Scouting.”

“I think forcing Scouts to accept,” he paused, “Listen, Scouting is not a place where sexuality should be the intersection,” Perry continued. “Scouting is about teaching a substantial amount of life lessons; sexuality is not one of them, never has been and doesn't need to be.”

Individual troops, typically chartered by churches, would still have the final say in selecting membership and leadership regardless of the decision next week, said Charles Mead, marketing and public relations director for the Capitol Area Council Boy Scouts.

“The proposal would just formalize the decision that chartering organizations would continue making their decisions and there would no longer be a national restriction on openly gay kids or adults in the Boy Scouts,” Mead said.

Jason Stanford, a Democratic consultant, said banning discussions of sexual behavior from Scouting is a form of introducing sexuality to the organization. He agrees that Boy Scouts should ignore sexuality, adding that Perry's statement is “a migraine-inducing inconsistency.”

“If we can have gays and lesbians in the armed services killing terrorists, then why can't we have them in Boy Scouts making campfires?” Stanford asked. “Do you really have to be straight to tie a proper bowline?”

Perry stressed that the Boy Scouts are a private organization and should not be held to the same standards as public institutions, such as schools.

“What people do in their private lives is their business,” he said. “When that intersects with individuals and making them accept a behavior that they don't see, and pay for those behaviors, that's where you have these conflicts. The idea of Scouting being treated like a teacher in a public school, that's different. Those institutions may have a different set of parameters.”