No Merit in Homophobia

After a secret two year review of its long-standing ban on gay members, the Boy Scouts of America announced Tuesday that the policy is here to stay. The decision, which surprised absolutely no one, reinforces the sort of widespread homophobia our society has come to tolerate as acceptable in the twenty-first century.

In the eight years since George W. Bush used gay marriage as a wedge issue—and scare tactic—in his bid to win reelection, the United States has become a more gay-friendly country. This May, President Obama appeared on the cover of Newsweek with a caption reading “first gay president” after he finally got around to stating the inevitable: that he, like so many other Americans, supports marriage equality.

This, of course, is the same president who instructed the justice department to stop defending the deplorable Defense of Marriage Act, and has done more than any of his predecessors to treat members of the LGBTQ community as constituents instead of criminals, pedophiles, and Biblical abominations. 

Which is why the Boy Scouts, Chick-Fil-A, and myriad other businesses, organizations, and political parties can get away with advancing homophobia as an “alternative” to President Obama’s agenda. 

When I worked as an editorial writer and columnist for the Daily Iowan, I once argued with my editor about treating gay rights as a natural extension of the civil rights movement. The connection between the two has always been obvious to me. And though I’m not naïve enough to believe homophobia can be swiftly eradicated from our country—hell, these ridiculous voter I.D. laws are evidence enough that Jim Crow tactics are still alive and well in America—I do think we’re responsible for making sure the advancements of the last eight years aren’t reversed.

Polls show that Americans are rapidly warming to marriage equality and LGBTQ rights in general, and replacing President Obama won’t change that trend. But even as the Republican Party finds itself increasingly in the minority on this issue, it shouldn’t give anyone—not the Boy Scouts, not Chick-Fil-A, not the GOP—a pass to swipe at gay rights. These groups should be punished for their beliefs: by cancelling memberships, boycotting their restaurants, and ignoring their candidates.

The advancement of one group shouldn’t give another the right to a reactionary rebuttal. Holding homophobes accountable is the way we advance. There is no merit in homophobia, even if the Boy Scouts of America would like you to believe otherwise, and we need to tell them so.