(Forwarded from the queer nation mailing list) Good news on the front page of the San Jose Mercury News! =================================================== SAN JOSE BOY SCOUT TROOP PLEDGES TO NOT HONOR NATIONAL BAN ON GAYS San Jose Scout troop 260 has sent a message to its national headquarters: It is possible to be "morally straight" and gay at the same time. The troop is apparently the first in the country to openly proclaim that it will not honor a Boy Scouts of America policy barring gay scouts or gay adult leaders. "We feel that their policy is inappropriate," said troop 260 Scoutmaster Michael Cahn. "We're saying this is our business, not theirs." The troop, which meets in a Willow Glen church, has no openly gay members or leaders, Cahn said. But a dozen members of the adult committee that runs the troop unanimously passed a resolution in December outlining its position. Though Cahn said the move was not intended to spur a public protest, it is likely the message will intensify a long-simmering debate over the Boy Scouts' ban on gay members. It is not clear what action, if any, the national Boy Scouts of America will take against the San Jose troop, which serves 26 Scouts from thoughout San Jose. The resolution has not been received yet by national officials. But Blake Lewis, a national spokesman for the Boy Scouts, said simply passing the resolution is not necessarily against national rules. "If they were to act on those thoughts that they've shared, that would clearly put them at odds with the policy," he said. Lewis said he could not speculate about what would happen if the troop admitted an openly gay member. In the past, national Boy Scout leaders have said the ban rests in part on a section of the Scouts' oath that requires members to be "morally straight." the ban against gays has been met with opposition before. Last fall, the San Francisco school board barred the Boy Scouts from public schools, citing the anti-gay membership rule. Weeks later, the Alum Rock School District ended an in-school program theScouts ran. It was later taken over by the Girl Scouts, which has no similar rule. In November, the Santa Clara County Council of Boy Scouts created a committee to look into theanti-gay policy. the United Way created its own committee the same day to review its own anti-discrimination policy and those of groups it funds, including the Boy Scouts. It was publicity about just such actions that prompted Cahn and his adult son, a member of the troop committee, to draft the resolution. Cahn said the resolution means that no person will be turned away as either a Scout of an adult leader on the basis of his sexual preference. No gays have asked to join the troop, he said. Scouts accept members between the ages of 11 and 18. "We do no agree that sexual orientation, such as male or female homosexuality, is immoral," Cahn, 59, said, reading from the resolution. "Sexual preferences is a private issue." Not as far as the Boy Scouts of America is concerned, Lewis said. "Scouting has always reflected traditional or historic family values," he said. "We continue to believe that homosexuals don't provide a role model consistent with that focus. That's not something that can be negotiatied or changed." Cahn said the policy has not prompted any complaints from Scouts' parents or the Scouts themselves. "I don't think the Scouts care," he said. The resolution was praised by the Rev. Jack Lundin, pastor of the church that hosts the Scout meetings. "This is a matter of conscience and I applaud them," Lundin, of the Christ the Good shepard Lutheran Church, said. Wiggsy iversten, of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, said the resolution is a small step toward challenging outdated attitudes among leaders of the Boy Scouts of America, which will celebrate its 82nd year this month. "What it means, hopefully, is that somebody is chipping away at the armor of prejudice and bigotry manifested by the Boy Scouts," said Siversten, who chairs the national gay and lesbian group's youth task force.