Compromise on Gays Pleases No One, Scouts Are Learning; New York Times, 5/8/14

Kirk Johnson, New York Times; Compromise on Gays Pleases No One, Scouts Are Learning:

"What hangs over the Boy Scouts in all its discussions about leaders — how to pick, train and monitor them — is the specter of the past, when some sexual predators were able to use scouting to gain access to victims. Mr. Smith, the Scouts spokesman, said the organization makes “no connection between the sexual abuse, or victimization of a child, and homosexuality.” Still, there is no question that scouting’s detailed rules on “youth protection” are mostly about heading off inappropriate sexual behavior.

But the new approach since last year’s vote, with what amounts to essentially a code of silence about homosexuality, with little to no guidance in the training materials on how to incorporate gay scouts into a troop or to discourage bullying of a gay scout, sends the wrong message, said Pascal’s mother, Tracie Felker.

“If you connect the dots, it’s still saying that being gay is unacceptable,” she said."