15-year-old Steven Palewski and his father are concerned the Boy Scouts are making use of the “transition time” before the new rules about gay Scouts goes into affect to “essentially weed out all of the homosexual Scouts from their ranks.”
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According to NBC 5 Chicago, the teen, who has been elected Senior Patrol Leader twice, was suspended from his Troop, #128, after coming out to two 11-year-old scouts “who were using gay slurs during a campout last month.”
Palewski said that he believed he “could use his own experiences as a teaching opportunity.” But according to his father, Steve, they actually “found out the hard way” that that was not to be the case. His son was suspended from any and all Scouting activities, and when they asked about the new policy which allows gay Scouts, they were informed that the compromise the Boy Scouts of America adopted last month—to allow gay Scouts but not Scout leaders—does not actually go into affect until January, 2014.
The Scouts, however, tell a different version. Scout Executive Matt Ackerman insists the suspension had “nothing to do” with the teen’s sexual orientation, but was in fact, due to “the use of inappropriate dialogue” with the younger members of his troop. According to NBC:
Neither party would confirm what was said during the campout exchange between Palewski and the younger scouts. But after the parents of the younger Scouts apparently lodged complaints, Palewski and his father were called into a private meeting with troop and district executives. It was there, the family said, the teen was immediately suspended from Scouting.
Steve Palewski said he is worried that what happened to his son is not, in fact, an isolated incident. He said, “That’s not what Boy Scouting is supposed to be about. You’re supposed to be setting the example for these kids. So, set a good example. Everybody should be treated fair.”
But Ackerman asserts that the incident with Palewski is a “unit level issue that is being handled by unit leadership with respect and sensitivity.” He also said that the Three Fires Council “teaches all of our members to treat others with courtesy and respect at all times.”