Scouts and Gays

As current chair of the San Diego County Human Relations Commission, I support Officer Chuck Merino in his struggle with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). I have worked with him as a member of the steering committee of the Citizens Patrol and have found his energy, wisdom and leadership to be a steadying influence to a potentially volatile and reactive issue to the San Diego community; namely that of hate crimes. His commitment to this kind of injustice caused him to sacrifice his own privacy for the safety of the community.

As a psychologist who has worked with hundreds of lesbians and gays over the years, it is clear that homosexuals do not recruit our children into a homosexual lifestyle. Homosexuality is a biological variation and not a learned one. There are 10 times as many heterosexual males molesting young girls in our society as homosexuals. We would be more justified to disallow all male heterosexuals against ever being soccer or softball coaches because some small number are predatory.

If the BSA wants to protect their youth from pedophiles, everyone would agree to that policy, including homosexuals. But to lump homosexuals with pedophiles is not only unfair and misinformed, but downright inflammatory and injurious to the lesbian and gay community.

Please accept this letter as a reflection of my respect and support of Mr. Merino’s stance to protect his rights against the BSA’s insistence on teaching and propagating intolerance and prejudice toward lesbians and gays.

R. SCOTT RHODES, San Diego