We need more Scouts - all kinds

For more than a century, the Boy Scouts of America has been making our nation better by instilling strong character in boys and young men.

And for every day of those hundred-plus years, an invisible but impenetrable door has kept girls at arm’s length.

That changed last fall with the announcement that the Boy Scouts would admit girls — an astonishing policy reversal for everyone who hadn’t been paying attention. The organization had removed its ban on openly gay Scouts in 2013 and, two years later, began accepting openly gay Scout leaders. Steps have been taken for transgender membership, as well. So why not girls?

Well, not everybody’s crazy about the open-door approach. Some are uncomfortable with what they perceive as a break from longstanding and successful tradition, and the Girl Scouts of America — who have not always seen eye to eye with the guys — could be excused for perceiving the policy change as a threat to their existence.

Let’s think about something Chief Scout Executive Michael Surbaugh said last October at headquarters in Irving, Texas, in announcing the acceptance of girls into the Boy Scouts:

“The values of Scouting — trustworthy, loyal, helpful, kind, brave and reverent, for example — are important for both young men and women. We strive to bring what our organization does best — developing character and leadership for young people — to as many families and youth as possible as we help shape the next generation of leaders.”

That sentiment was repeated and amplified at the annual Boy Scout fundraising breakfast in Coeur d’Alene earlier this year. Scouting leaders shared stories about how girls in their families often did the work their brothers did toward merit badges because it was fun and fulfilling, yet the girls never got the satisfaction of completion or recognition. Now they can grow in Scouting side by side not just with their brothers, but with their friends. Who loses in that scenario?

Inclusion isn’t just a sound organizational fundamental. According to reliable sources, a carpenter a couple millennia ago had some success with that overarching approach.

As of this writing, there are 88 girls in the Inland Northwest Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and we say, welcome. There’s room for thousands more.