his article is written in response to concerned parents' questions about allowing their children to be part of a group comprised of heterosexual and homosexual adults and youths.

To set the record straight (no pun intended), homosexuality is not something new, invented to annoy suburban mother and fathers. Homosexuality has been around ever since there have been two or more people of the same sex. Some famous homosexuals in history include Leonardo De Vinci; Michaelangeleo; Francis Bacon and Alexander the Great.

A short list of famous contemporary homosexuals include Vice President Cheney's daughter Mary; Ellen DeGeneres; Rosie O'Donnell; Richard Chamberlain (actor; Dr Kildare; The Thornbirds; Shogun); Sir Ian McKellan (actor; "Gandalf" in Lord of the Rings; "Magneto" in X-Men); the late actors Greta Garbo, Paul Winfield, Rock Hudson, and yes, Cary Grant. The list goes on and on.

A parent writes, "I will not feel comfortable sending [my young boys] off to camp if I [were] to know that the male Boy Scouts staff are homosexuals or the scouts are gay." There is no reason to assume one's heterosexual sons are going to be affected in an environment where sexuality in general and homosexuality in particular is neither encouraged nor discouraged, but allowed to exist as the natural occurrence it is. Homosexuality has existed throughout the ages and will continue to do so despite oppression from a certain percentage of bigoted, frightened heterosexuals.

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) does not give merit badges for homosexuality or any type of sexuality, nor should it. That is not the issue. Scouting doesn't exsist to promote sexuality of any kind. Scouting For All recognizes that the world is made up of many types of people: tall, short, black, white, yellow, thin, big, gay, straight, believers-in-God and non-believers. This is reality. Do you want your kids to grow up in a fantasy world or the real world?

A parent writes, "Any homosexual person in the scouts is a threat to straight children. It is not fair to the heterosexuals to bunk with or take showers with homosexuals. Straight people have rights too." If your kids are absolutely straight, why worry that one look or nod from a gay kid might turn your "straight" child gay? If your child is really straight he will have no interest in same-sex sex. Ask yourself, if a gay person suggested gay sex to me, would I "turn"? Of course not, because you are straight. The real question for parents is: Am I afraid gay kids will find my children attractive? Or, conversely, is my fear REALLY based on my paranoia that my child will find other kids of the same sex attractive?

One mother writes, "Many child abuse cases have happened behind religion's doors. Do you think that it is possible that innocent straight children...might fall [prey] to homosexual staff or scout members? As a mother of two boys I have the right to know that my boys will be safe with heterosexuals but not possible sex offenders." It's a huge mistake to equate "different" with "criminal". Child abuse in the Catholic Church happens to both male and female children. Only deranged thinking will conclude that homosexuality equates to being a pedophile. Statistics show the average child molester is a 34-year-old hetersexual male, married, with two children. Scouting For All certainly does not want young scouts to be around sex offenders and encourages local scout troops to screen all leaders (straight and gay) concerning this matter. As a parent, not only is it your right to be sure your children's leaders are not child molesters, it is your responsibility to ensure they are not. Fact: There are more straight pedophiles than gay pedophiles.

A parent writes, "Straight children might fall [prey] to...[other gay] scout members." Is your child mute? Regardless of their sexuality, children have to learn to stand up for themselves when approached by anyone. For adults reading this, more than once you have probably effectively deflected unwanted passes from those who didn't interest you. Why assume children can't do the same thing? Can't your kids make decisions for themselves? Responsible parents instruct children about the real world and offer practical advice regarding unwanted sexual advances. Once again, the real question for parents is: Am I afraid gay kids will find my children attractive or does the fear come from a dread that my child will find other kids of the same sex attractive?

Regarding showers (again), another parent echoes, "It is not fair to the heterosexuals to bunk with or take showers with homosexuals." What's unfair about it? Asleep in bed or nude in a shower we're all equally vulnerable. If you have ever taken a shower in a high school gym class or at a public gym or swimming pool, in the military, even at scout camp, you've showered with homosexuals. It's unlikely anyone reading this has ever been sexually accosted in a same-sex shower. Gays have as much self-control as heterosexuals.

Said another way, gays are no more likely to engage in inappropriate shower behavior than their heterosexual counterparts. Again, if your kids are absolutely straight, why are you worried that one look or nod from a gay kid might turn your "straight" child gay? It's far more likely that a heterosexual child will be a danger to a gay child because some well-meaning but ignorant parents teach hate instead of "Just Say No". Is your real concern that your child may be gay and ready for an opportunity to experiment? If your child is gay, will you love and support him (the same way you would support a heterosexual child) as a true loving parent should?

This parent writes, "I am not perfect and do fall short of God's ways to salvation. [I try to be a good Christian by] doing and applying EVERYTHING that is in the Holy Bible. Please do read it."

Thank you for your comment. I have read the Bible and this is what I have found:

I'm certain you don't agree with the Bible regarding many of its teachings about sex. And you shouldn't. The Bible says clearly that sex with a prostitute is acceptable for the husband but not the wife; polygamy (more than one wife) is acceptable; concubines for the king (and the wisest king of all, Solomon, had 1,000 concubines) is acceptable; slavery and sex with slaves (acceptable); marriage for girls, ages 11-13 (acceptable); treatment of women as property (acceptable); inter-racial marriage (not acceptable); birth control (not acceptable); discussing or even naming a sexual organ (not acceptable); seeing one's parents nude (definitely not acceptable).

The verses people misquote to condemn gay sex have nothing to do with homosexuality and here's why. Consider this single Biblical text that was used for centuries to condemn masturbation: "He spilled his seed on the ground... And the thing which Onan did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also" (Genesis 38:9-10). For Jewish text writers, a man sleeping with another man was an abomination. But it was also an abomination (and worthy of death) to masturbate (have sex with one's self) or even to interrupt coitus (to halt sex with one's spouse before ejaculation as an act of birth control).

Why were these sexual practices abominations to Scripture writers in those ancient times? Because the Hebrew pre-scientific understanding was that male semen contained the whole of life and it was thought to be finite. With no knowledge of eggs and ovulation, it was assumed the man's sperm contained the whole child and that women provided only the incubating space. Therefore, the spilling of semen without the possibility of having a child was considered murder. Thus, spilling the seed made one a murderer and worthy of death.

The Jews were a small tribe struggling to populate a country. They were outnumbered by their enemy. You can see why it was an abomination to risk wasting even one child, but the passage says nothing about homosexuality as we understand it today.¹

Here are some other thoughts: