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In 1962, my mother was the den leader of a Cub Scout Pack with a bunch of rambunctious 9-year-old boys. She took us on lots of field trips and guided us through bird-house construction and other projects. And after a Sunday afternoon of miniature golfing that fall, she managed to keep the Rambler American on the road as we went nuts upon learning that our San Francisco Giants had beaten the dreaded Dodgers in a playoff to advance to the World Series against the Yankees.
After reading a number of stories this week about Jennifer Tyrell of Ohio, I’ve concluded that she, like my mother a half-century ago, was a really good den leader.
Since September, Tyrell had led her 7-year-old son’s Tiger Cub den in a lot of fun and worthwhile activities. She took them on campouts and helped them carve Pinewood Derby cars. The boys also served at a soup kitchen.
Last month, the Boy Scout council in her area informed Tyrell that she could no longer serve as den leader because she is gay. (An AP story about her dismissal appears below)
The decision by the Scouts came shortly after Tyrell became the treasurer for the local Boy Scout troop and raised questions about its finances. She believes it was because of the questions she was raising that she was turned in to Scout authorities. Scouting has had a longtime ban on gay leaders.
Since Tyrell’s dismissal, there has been a growing protest.
More than a quarter million signatures have been collected urging the Boy Scouts of America to end its ban on openly gay leaders and Scouts. A board member of an Ohio Scout council, who is an Eagle Scout, resigned this week in support of Tyrell.
I was a Scout for eight years, attained the Eagle rank and have written stories about Boy Scouts and Scouting throughout my newspaper career. I like Scouting and the many great things it does for boys.
I don’t, however, like the organization’s policy
that weeds out good volunteers like Jennifer Tyrell. Neither the Boys & Girls Clubs of America nor the Girl Scouts of America have such a discriminatory policy.
It’s time for the Boy Scouts of America to re-examine its policy banning gays and do the right thing — get rid of it.
—-
Associated Press story
Lesbian scout leader ousted in Ohio
By John Seewer, Associated Press
The first-graders in Ohio Pack 109′s Tiger Scouts didn’t know or care their den mother was a lesbian — at least not until the Boy Scouts of America threw her out over the organization’s ban on gays.
Now, parents who were aware of Jennifer Tyrell’s sexual orientation well before she took the boys on campouts and helped them carve race cars for the annual Pinewood Derby have rallied to her defense in a case that has re-ignited the debate over the Scouts’ policy.
“I teach my children to judge people on their actions,” said Rob Dunn, a father in Bridgeport, a village of about 2,000 across the Ohio River from Wheeling, W.Va. “Whether you agree with their lifestyle or not.”
The Boy Scouts of America, whose oath calls for members to be “morally straight,” maintains that as a private organization it has the right to exclude gays and atheists from its ranks.
That stance was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000 but has led many state and local governments to deny support for the Scouts.
Male scout leaders who are gay have long been barred, but instances of women being excluded are not well-documented and probably rare. A lesbian couple in Vermont were told two years ago that they could no longer be involved with their son’s Scout troop.
Because of the policy, Tyrell said she only reluctantly allowed her 7-year-old son to join up in Bridgeport, where she lives with her partner and their four children. Told, she said, by the local cub master that it didn’t matter that she is a lesbian, she was drafted to lead the pack in September.
Tyrell told parents at their first meeting about her sexual orientation. Some already knew her because she had coached youth baseball and volunteered at school, organizing class parties and reading to children.
“She wasn’t trying to hide anything,” said Dunn, whose son is among the dozen or so members of the boys-only pack. “Nobody I know of has ever made a single complaint against her.”
Tyrell said she was removed in April, right after she was asked to take over as treasurer of the local Boy Scout troop — which oversees Tiger Scouts, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts — and she raised questions about the finances.
She said the Boy Scout Council for the region told her she had to resign because she is gay.
“In this case, the policy was understood by her and her fellow volunteers but not followed,” said Deron Smith, a spokesman for the Boy Scouts of America at its headquarters in Irving, Texas. “When a fellow pack leader made a complaint about it, to a local Scouting professional, they followed the policy.”
The organization said it believes Scouting is not the right place for youngsters to be exposed to issues of sexual orientation.
Tyrell said she is not certain who complained, but she felt betrayed.
So did parents, who organized a protest last week outside the church where the pack held its meetings. They demanded Tyrell be reinstated.
Crystal Sabinsky said: “My son asked me last night, ‘Why did Jen leave? Why is she in trouble?’ He doesn’t understand.”
“The only people who were hurt were the kids,” Dunn said “They’re asking questions they shouldn’t have to ask at this point.”
Parents of the Tiger Scouts, a program for first-grade boys before they become Cub Scouts, said they never heard Tyrell mention her sexuality to the children. Club rules require a parent or other adult to accompany each child to every meeting.
“I had no clue she was a lesbian. It doesn’t really make a difference to me,” said Don Thomas, whose grandson is in the pack. “She did a fantastic job, and the kids loved her. You couldn’t ask for a better den leader.”
Gay rights groups have taken up Tyrell’s cause, starting an online petition to get the Scouts to change their policy.
“The extent that people care is amazing,” Tyrell said. “We’re a perfectly normal family. We’re not dangerous. We’re not predators. We’re just normal, everyday people.”
Associated Press writers Deepti Hajela in New York and Andrew-Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.
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4 comments
deer7978 says:
May 2, 2012
WOW. There really are not enough people willing to give of their time in this totally worthwhile activity for kids anyway, and to thow out an apparently really great one, albeit one who was totally upfront and open from day one, seems a real travesty.
I remember when my son was young and the Cub Scouts had any interested parents attend a meeting in the cafeteria of one of the local elementary schools. We were then divided up into areas of where we lived, and were told to come up with a den mother and possibly an assistant. I remember thinking to myself that I had never seen so many people so fixated on their shoes or the floor. In other words NO ONE was willing to make eye or to volunteer. I finally stepped up as I was only working parttime, but limited the number I could take since no one would offer to help.
George says:
May 2, 2012
Spent over 20 years as a Scout and as a Professional Scouter on the staff of two different Councils and one think I know the BSA will NEVER change it’s policies on women and gays. Reason: the largest BSA Sponsors the Mormon Church the Catholic Church and the Baptist Church. None of whom are known for their enlightened policies towards women and gays.
Machesh Bapatish says:
May 4, 2012
Catholic church – Boy Scouts
Women and gays not allowed, but pedophilia is tolerated.
And the Mormons, they baptize dead Jews, even in the grave Jews can’t escape the missionaries.
Now there are three organizations that need emergency surgery.
Boy Scout Handbook of old defined “morally straight” as “treating all people equally”
The Scout leadership says the right things, however the behavior is much different.
Scouting is about teaching outdoor skills, the adults should finance Scouting and leave the leadership/politics to the smartest participants, that would be the kids.
John Smith says:
May 5, 2012
The Supreme Court ,in June 2000, ruled in ‘Boy Scouts of America v. James Dale’ that the BSA does have the right to exclude gays from it’s ranks. BSA need not change for you and your friends. But interestingly, homosexuals have created a “scouting like” program called “Adventure Scouts USA”. I would invite you to start up a local chapter and see how many sex offenders you attract.