美国童子军取消同性恋担任领导人

AS IT IS 2015-08-07 Boy Scouts² of America Cancels Ban on Gay Leaders, Workers 美国童子军取消同性恋担任领导人

The Boy Scouts of America has cancelled its policy barring openly gay adults from serving as scout¹ leaders and employees. The policy was set up to keep boys away from homosexuals -- people who are sexually interested in members of the same sex.

Now, that is changing. But local Boy Scout groups linked to religious organizations still have a right to bar gays from serving as scout leaders or camp counselors⁴.

About two-thirds of the more than 100,000 Boy Scout units nationwide have ties to religious organizations. The others have ties to civic⁵ groups or educational organizations.

The Boy Scouts’ announcement may be an attempt by the 105-year-old organization to stop falling membership. Observers say it is also aimed at satisfying the demands of religious groups while at the same time avoiding legal action. They say the organization’s leadership is concerned about possible court cases by gay rights activists⁶. 

Robert Gates is the president of the Boy Scouts of America. He served as Secretary of Defense⁷ for two presidents: George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Mr. Gates spoke⁸ about the decision shortly after it was announced.

“For far too long, this issue has divided and distracted us. Now it’s time to unite behind our shared belief in the extraordinary power of scouting⁹ to be a force for good.”

Some Christian¹⁰ leaders criticized the decision. One of them was Robert Jeffress. He heads the First Baptist Church Dallas in Texas.

“Remember it was just a few years ago that the Boy Scouts were forced to release 14,000 pages of documents -- the so-called perversion¹¹ files -- that detailed¹² thousands of sexual assault cases of troop leaders against boy scouts.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints supports more Boy Scout units than any other religious group. Members of the church are known as Mormons. After the decision was announced, the group released a statement. It said the church’s 100 year-long relationship with the Boy Scouts of America will “need to be examined.”

Some religious groups are urging their members to send their boys to organizations other than the Boy Scouts.

One such group is Trail Life USA. Its website says Trail Life USA has links to Christian groups in almost every state. It says “the morals and values of our country are deteriorating…and are becoming increasingly opposed to true Christian values.” 

However, some parents support the Boy Scouts of America’s decision.

Oliver Tessier is the father of a boy who is an Eagle Scout. That is the highest level of scouting.

“You’re taught to be honest. You’re taught to be trustworthy. You’re taught to be generous, caring. Discrimination is none of those things.”

The new policy took effect as soon as it was announced.

Words in This Story

gay – adj. sexually attracted to or interested in people of the same sex; homosexual

counselor³ – n. a person who is responsible for young people at a camp

unit – n. a single thing or group that is a part of something larger

distract – v. to take (attention) away from someone or something

perversion – n. sexual behavior that people think is not normal or natural

1 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

2 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

3 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

4 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册

5 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

10 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

11 perversion   

n.曲解；堕落；反常

参考例句：

• In its most general sense,corruption means the perversion or abandonment.就其最一般的意义上说，舞弊就是堕落，就是背离准则。
• Her account was a perversion of the truth.她所讲的歪曲了事实。

12 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。