Wrong, this has nothing to do with it. Any type of program that is geared towards youth attracts certain adults who will molest them. Sports teams, church groups, school groups, you name it. The Boy Scouts were the first organization to recognize this and took steps to try to prevent it. The idea of "two-deep leadership" was developed where a child was supposed to never be alone with an adult. "A Time To Tell" was a short film produced to warn all kids to be wary of strange adults. The child abuse files that were released a few weeks ago actually showed how successful the BSA was. With millions of kids going through the program, the abuses were few and far between. Adults were prosecuted when caught, but sometimes the victims and their parents refused to press charges and put their kids through the ordeal of going to court. The BSA was aware of certain predators and the various councils that made up the national organization informed each other of these people. That being said, Scouting guidelines sometimes weren't followed and a child predator would figure out the system and use their authority to abuse it. The Catholic Church with the Preist-Alterboy scandals caused major damage to that church and don't even get me started about the rate of kids being abused on sport teams with no oversight at all.
The Gay Pride movement has had it in for the Boy Scouts ever since a certain Supreme Court case. A former Eagle Scout and adult leader by the name of James Dale decided to wear his uniform in a Gay Pride parade and his local Council decided to kick him out after parents in his Troop complained. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court and the Boy Scouts won a close decision. They are a private organization and have the right to decide who their leaders can be. In no way am I saying that a Gay man will molest a boy. The part of the "Scout Oath" that covers being "Morally Straight" as an adult leader should also be interrupted in my mind to include leaders who drank, smoked, used drugs, cursed, had extra-marital affairs, etc. As leaders, a child's sexual orientation was never an issue. Sexual behavior at these ages was discouraged if anything, there was never any training, classes, Merit Badges, that promoted any certain lifestyle.
I worked with a couple of Gay men who had their sons in my Troop. They realized that the leadership skills, first aid, cooking, camping, speaking, service projects helping their community, planning, and so many more skills were much more important than tossing a leather ball around a field. I know I learned a lot from all the training I took and the classes and programs I later led and taught others. It is not a perfect organization, but I have never met a better group of volunteers from all walks of life that I had a pleasure to work with.
