Scouting Discrimination: Article to The Denver Post

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Your October 18^th Editorial page printed 6 letters objecting to Rabbi Steven Foster’s actions regarding Boy Scout rejection of gays.  One individual even compared this former head of the State Civil Rights Commission, relentless advocate for individual needs and interests, and recipient of numerous human rights awards, with Hitler.

When an organization rejects the membership of one particular segment of a population, it sets a precedent for the deliberate omission of other segments of that population. That is a highway to bigotry, discrimination, and prejudice.  Rabbi Foster understands this: When a significant violation of civil rights occurs, he knows that as a leader in our civic and religious communities, he has a responsibility to protect the safety of some, for the sake of freedom for all.

Being gay—having a male gender preference during sex—has nothing to do with Scouting qualifications.  Scouting is not about sexual practices, but about life skills that prepare young men for adulthood.  To forbid gays in the Scouts because of an issue that has nothing to do with Scouting, but rather cultural ostracism, is a violation of our Bill of Rights.  Rabbi Foster understands this, and he has used his visibility to file an objection to such a poor Court decision.