Governor Rick Perry Is Against Letting Gays in Boy Scouts

Last week the Boy Scouts' national leadership announced that it would consider ending the ban on gay scouts and leaders. Instead, the national leadership would let the decision fall on the local level.

Yesterday Governor Rick Perry said that the Boy Scouts of America should not soften their position. According to the AP:

Gov. Rick Perry of Texas said emphatically Saturday that the Boy Scouts of America should not soften its strict policy barring gay members, and dismissed the idea of bending the organization to the whims of “popular culture.”

Mr. Perry, the country’s longest-serving governor, is an Eagle Scout, and in 2008 he wrote the book “On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting For.” It detailed his deep love for the organization and explained why it should continue to embrace traditional conservative values — including excluding openly gay members and leaders.

The governor spoke at the Texas Scouts’ 64th annual Report to State, where hundreds of scouts from across the state filled the State House of Representatives to announce their delegations’ recent accomplishments. Mr. Perry had addressed the gathering several times before, most recently in 2010.

Mr. Perry told the youngsters that the Scouts were a key reason that he had joined the Air Force and later sought public office, and that society’s failure to adhere to the organization’s core values was a cause for high rates of teenage pregnancy and wayward youths who grow up to be “men joining their fathers in prison.”

After his address, Mr. Perry said: “Hopefully the board 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 will consider the proposal starting Monday at the national meeting of the executive board.

What do you think about this? Do you agree with Governor Rick Perry? Or do you think the Boy Scouts should allow gay scouts and leaders?