It’s not just Eagle Scouts who support the LGBT community who are sending back their badges; atheist scouts are resigning, too:

[Dr. William] Van Druten recalled being “proud” when he earned his badge. “Nobody bothered us with what superstition we had or did not have, whether we were straight, gay, black, white, yellow or grey. We learned lashing, tenting, knotting, truth telling. We hiked the Califonria coastal mountains, learned the trees, shrubs and birds. We backpacked the High Sierra. Yet now I discover that my youth’s delight is captured by bigots. So I am now ashamed of my badges and of my eagle award, too.” Van Druten’s daughter, a high school teacher, wrote BSA that she will no longer be writing “recommendations for young men who are pursuing an Eagle Scout Badge. I will be telling them that there is nothing wrong with being gay, there is nothing wrong with being an atheist, and there is nothing wrong with being black. Yes, I equate them all. It is a hateful policy, and I refuse to help you perpetuate it.”

There’s also a new Tumblr: Eagle Scouts Returning Our Badges.

I’m doubtful any of this will dent the mindsets of the BSA leaders, but at the very least, they’re letting other people know why they shouldn’t get involved with such an organization.



