Obama Asks Boy Scouts to Stop Being Homophobes and Admit Gays

Gay kids who want to “be prepared” alongside their straight peers got some big-time support during the Super Bowl yesterday: Barack Obama, honorary president of the Boy Scouts of America and real president of the United States, told CBS News in an interview that the Boy Scouts should lift its ban on the LGBTQ community.

“My attitude is that gays and lesbians should have access and opportunity the same way everybody else does, in every institution and walk of life,” he said, calling the Scouts “a great institution” that offers skills that enrich the lives of all children, even boys who like other boys.

The Boy Scouts reaffirmed their longstanding ban on gay boys and adult leaders last July, but are voting this week on whether the decision of allowing gay members should be left to local Scout governing boards. “The policy change under discussion would allow the religious, civic or educational organizations that oversee and deliver scouting to determine how to address this issue,” Scouts spokesman Deron Smith said in a statement. “The Boy Scouts would not, under any circumstances, dictate a position to units, members or parents.” That means that faith-based chartering groups could (and would likely) continue to prohibit gay scouts and leaders, so conservatives don’t have to start rambling about the horrors of letting all types of boys learn how to tie square knots. But obviously they have, because this is AMERICA and politicians have the right to speak freely about how gay people shouldn’t have rights.

Some prominent bigots have already voiced their support for never changing any antiquated rules ever, including Texas Governor Rick Perry, who said it would be “inappropriate” to “have popular culture impact 100 years of their standards” and that “I think you get tolerance and diversity every day in Scouting.” Little known fact: Rick Perry wrote the definition of “tolerance” in the dictionary, which reads, “Fuck social progress, I do what I feel like.”