Gays and Scouts

The Mahogany Coconut Group stands firmly in support of Mr. Darcy Dear, of the United Gays and Lesbians Association of Barbados (UGLAB), in relation to the recent statements of Dr.Nigel Taylor, Chief Commissioner of the Barbados Boy Scouts’ Association. Dr.Taylor stated that the Boy Scouts’ Association of Barbados has a “closed door policy” in granting membership to openly gay men.

The historical purpose and contribution of the boy scouts movement needs no repetition here. We cannot understand,  why at this time, the leaders of the movement in Barbados would want to make the inclusion of openly gay members an issue.  We do not believe that the charter of the movement was concerned with the sexual orientation of its members but more so with the good deeds they render to their fellow citizens. This alarming witch hunt needs to be strongly protested.

Discrimination of all forms is to be forcibly opposed by all freedom loving citizens. There can be no compromise on this position. We completely find favor with Mr. Dear’s position that there may be already gays in the scouts’ movement and their numbers should be of no relevance in an enlightened society. We have no evidence that the movement in Barbados has in any way been affected or hampered by any gay members.

Gay and lesbian and citizens are to be found in all spheres of human endeavor. We, as a progressive Watchdog group, cannot deny that there are productive  gays and lesbians in all areas of public and private enterprise in our Caribbean region.  There is no evidence to show that the homosexual community is more disposed to any negative straits than the heterosexual or any other group within the region.

We therefore call on all civil society groups to eradicate discrimination in all forms. We commend Mr. Dear for his clear insight and commonsense position on this and many other issues within the gay community. We urge all gays to stand up for their rights and do not allow society to drive them to exist under a rock or on the periphery of the society itself.

 We all deserve to be treated as equals regardless of age, gender, religious or political persuasion, and sexual preference or orientation. Let the scouts do their good deeds and allow the movement to be all that it can be. We hope that Dr.Taylor will be more enlightened in his future pronouncements.