Written: 1/16/2013
A father in Brooklyn is starting a Scouting troop open to women and gays.
There are actually a bunch of these organizations that spring up, I’ll have to write about them sooner or later.
And, fun fact, the BSA will allow girls to join if there is not a Girl Scout Troop nearby. Also, Venturing is co-ed, and it starts at age 14, focused mainly on high adventure (but units can specialize in other interests if they wish), and there is also Exploring (for now) and Learning for Life, a school program.
I’m a bit mixed on the women issue. Venturing was pretty much created because GSA was doing a terrible job of retaining older girls and giving them what they actually wanted to do, so the BSA stepped in. That, by the way, is reality, not at all what anyone official will tell you.
But of course, I support opening the program to gay, bisexual and transgendered youth, they need to know they matter, they have value and they are not broken.
Will this new group change anything? Not on the national scene, but for those kids, it will mean the world.
And that means the world.
All my best,
Mike
