asterroc | behavior, morals, characteristics... (Reply)

As usual, I've said something that started a nearly-very-heated discussion. :-\ In short, to a discussion about the Boy Scouts I added that I did not like their religious bent, someone took that a step further by accusing the BSA of homophobia, and then Howard Tayler said that the BSA's actions are not homophobic, and are instead promoting morals uniformly against any form of sexuality.

I respect Tayler a good deal - he is really smart and funny, and for a Mormon is quite open minded, so I was surprised at his comment, with which I disagree. As I understand it, and as I read it online, the Boy Scouts of America expressly forbids anyone who self-identifies as preferring people of the same gender rather than people of opposite gender. (They also forbid atheists, but that's a different issue.) They do not expressly forbid promiscuity. Their policy is against "known or avowed" homosexuals, does not allow "out" but celibate homosexuals, but does allow promiscuous heterosexuals. To me, this shows a policy directly targeting homosexual preference, not homosexual behavior, and therefore is a homophobic policy, not a morals-based policy.