Dear The Boy Scouts of America,

Boy Scouts of America

1325 Walnut Hill Lane

P.O. Box 152079

Irving, Texas 75015-2079

Wayne Perry

National President

Boy Scouts of America

CEO Shotgun Creek Investments

P.O. Box 998
Bellevue, WA 98009

Los Angeles Area Council

2333 Scout Way

Los Angeles, CA 90026

Aug. 23, 2012

Dear Mr. Perry,

When we explained to our 8-year-old son, Holden, a Cub Scout of two years, that the Boy Scouts of America would not allow gay scouts or parent volunteers to participate, he looked really confused. “That’s not very Scout-like,” he said.

Indeed. In Cub Scouts, Holden learned a lot about giving back to the community and being a good citizen. He loves the Scouts, especially his friends and leaders in Den 6, Pack 788 in Redondo Beach.

So, last night, when, after weeks of reflection and discussions, we finally decided that the Scouts is not an organization that’s right for our family, Holden was understandably sad. His younger brother, Riley, who has looked forward to his chance to be a Cub Scout this year after two years of being on the sidelines, cried upon learning he’d never wear the coveted blue uniform and scarf.

Telling your children they can’t do an activity that they love is heartbreaking. But we know this decision is right when we think about all the other boys and their parents who are being told, or will be told, by BSA that they don’t belong. We stand by those boys and their families by saying we don’t belong, either.

We recognize that the BSA, as a private organization, has the right to make its own membership rules. As we explained to our boys, we have the right to decide if an organization with exclusionary, intolerant and bigoted policies is the right place for us. We’ve grappled if it would be better for us to leave in a show of support of the LGBT families in our community and across the nation, or to stay and work toward change from within. In the end, we decided our message to our children and our community would be stronger if we removed ourselves.

We appreciate the willingness of our local Den and Pack leaders to discuss the policy. We believe all of them disagree with the rule, but understand their decision to carry on, so as to not jeopardize the involvement of the other families in our Pack. There are many reasons to stay in the Scouts, and we respect other families’ decisions to do so. We just could not align ourselves with an organization that does not treat everyone equally, as they should be.

Best,

Denise Nix                 Kevin Nix