Award Winning Den Mother Removed From Scouts For Being a Lesbian

Posted by Kevin Farrell on Aug 25, 2011 in Oh Hell No! | 18 comments

Jaden, Jackson, and Denise Steele & Jackie Funk.

Denise Steele first became involved with the Cub Scouts of America, and later the Boy Scouts for the most inane of reasons – no other parent would volunteer to be a den leader for the interested boys in town. Over the course of six years as a Den Mother, Steele transformed her initial reluctance into an award winning tenure with the Scouts.

Her five years spent leading her son Jackson’s Cub Scout troop saw the group awarded with the Blue and Gold Award – the highest honor – all five years. With the exception of two boys who moved away from town, Steele’s entire troop remained active Scouts and graduated to Boy Scouts earlier this year.

Steele’s relationship with Jackson’s other mother, Jackie Funk, was hardly a lightning rod for controversy among the parents of the other boys in the group. Rather, Steele became a trusted community leader who many of the other Cub’s parents turned to for advice.

When Jackson and the rest of his troop graduated to Boy Scout, Steele completed the certification process to become a Boy Scout leader in three weeks. The process usually takes about a year. No, she didn’t cut corners or half-ass the process. Steele was just that good, a truly gifted leader in the Scouts. She was open and honest about her partner of 20 years with Mike Tucker, the scout master overseeing her training, during the process. He informed her that there was no problem, and that local decision makers had the authority to overlook some of the Boy Scout standards.

In June of this year, Steele’s participation in the Boy Scouts came to a screeching halt after an assistant scout leader, Skip Inabinett, saw Funk pick Steele up from a camping trip. He became obsessed with the women’s relationship, and took his issues directly to the highest level possible within the organization – skipping the local committee and chair that had approved Steele’s credentials in the first place.

Inabinett also sent this bizarre email to one of Steele’s friends:

“If what you said about Denise Steele being an active sexual is true, do you feel comfortable talking with her about stepping down/resigning as an ASM … as her friend, this may be an opportunity for you to share with her about Christ’s love and the need to believe that as sinners we cannot get to heaven on our own and that we need a savior.”

And that’s the end of it. Steele, and award winning and beloved Scout leader has been kicked out of the Boy Scouts for being a lesbian. The five years she spent shaping her troop into the fantastic young men they are today means nothing to the Boy Scouts, nor does the fact that there would not even be a local Cub Scout troop in her town had she not volunteered for the job, because no other parent was willing to shoulder the responsibility.

“I think it’s disappointing – it’s a sad day for Boy Scouting. I think the actions are really out of sync of what scouting stands for,” Eric Ianson, a friend of Steele’s and an Eagle Scout said.

The scout law says a scout should be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind and obedient, thrifty, clean and reverent, Ianson said.

“I mean, when the leaders of the troop hear that, how does it feel? Were they loyal to Denise? It certainly wasn’t kind what they’ve done to her,” Ianson continued. “It absolutely isn’t brave. The brave thing to do would be to take a stand here and say this isn’t right, this person has been great to our kids and it’s time to stand up for her and be great for her.”

Even other assistant scout masters from Steele’s troop felt it was vindictive, like Joe Leonard.

“I saw that he was vindictive and on a witch hunt because he asked her personal friends what her sexuality was. There’s no business in that. It’s a shame that a good leader for the boys has been removed because of one person who’s eccentric when it comes to his religious belief,” Leonard said. “It’s also a sad not that [Boy Scouts of America] has not or is not willing to entertain what other private organizations have done and their beliefs.”

(via Loudoun Times)

http://www.facebook.com/Zak.Ferguson Zachary Ferguson

This is the exact reason I refused to be a leader in my Boy Scout troop after I turned 18. I didn’t want to put up with any bullshit.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Robyn-Venessa-Mazy/1303224949 Robyn Venessa Mazy

i hope she fights, and i really hope the families and kids fight, this is not right and not what america stands for.

http://www.facebook.com/people/William-Bellanger/100002081411022 William Bellanger

She can try as she might, but even if she were to appeal to National, I’m sorry to say the outcome wouldn’t be much different at all… I speak from experience on that one

http://www.facebook.com/people/Will-Swigart/764110690 Will Swigart

Back when I was in Boy Scouts it hadn’t been taken over by the religious fanatics and religion rarely was ever brought up at all, thankfully,… there was Sunday school and Church for that.
Anonymous

This is why my husband sent his Eagle Scout award back to national with a letter of protest against their silly DODT policy. They are fine with gays leading until it becomes known they are gay, then they are kicked out. I believe they don’t want scouts to find out that the stereotypes are false.It is more important for the BSA to maintain their lies that gays choose to be gay etc. They worry that if a scout learns later that they had a gay scoutmaster they admired, the scout may begin to wonder about other lies they were taught. Remember, the BSA has been hijacked by the Mormon church which uses it exclusively for their purposes. Rolling Stone magazine had an expose years back and pointed out that BSA executives can take courses in becoming a BSA leader at Brigham Young University.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_S6PVMRPZK6I6IC42OGLXJRSPRE Jeff

I was a boy scout growing up from age 7 to 17. I loved it and had a lot of fun being outdoors. Then when things started coming out with my sexuality and I was told I could NOT come out of the closet because I would get kicked out of boy scouts, I quit instead. I only had my community service project left to become the highest rank, Eagle Scout. It was a tough decision but I chose to be myself instead of hiding, no matter what the cost. I’ve also heard of times where Eagle Scouts were stripped of their honorable rank because they were later found out to be gay, even after they earned it and had their ceremony. It’s sad that this kind of stuff happens.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_S6PVMRPZK6I6IC42OGLXJRSPRE Jeff

PS there is some US law that protects the boy scouts rights (right now) of doing this.. I can’t recall what it’s called but it has to do with private organizations are allowed to choose who they want or don’t want part of their program.

Anonymous

Hhmm, doesn’t let me add a URL. It was the Supreme Courts ruling on Boy Scouts of America vs. Dale. They ruled a private organization has the right the make it’s own rules, even if it violates a states non discrimination laws.

http://twitter.com/lilianajoo Liliana Joo

It’s true, and it’s sad. Some of the affiliate groups of BSA, however, do not encourage this policy. :[[

http://www.facebook.com/people/William-Bellanger/100002081411022 William Bellanger

This is why I’m hoping to also get mine published here as well… was an Eagle Scout, turned 18, was outed without cause by Don Ellis, not a leader anymore… I know some people say “once an Eagle Scout, always an Eagle Scout” nope… not me… I refuse to have ANYTHING to do with that damnable organization after the pain I’ve gone through, the sleepless nights I’ve had to endure. I refuse to rest until that CSE Don Ellis is good and fired for discrimination based on unproven facts.
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http://www.facebook.com/people/Luinne-DLlard/100001583873176 Luinne D’Llard

Sad fact: Scouting is generally a homophobic tradition. Methinks we need to work on equalizing it.
http://twitter.com/SenatorPring Kindra Pring

The basic thought process for bigots is this: “Gay people can’t raise normal families or be contributing members of society. Any who do we have to stifle because otherwise they will destroy our preconceived notions about how they behave.” You insist we aren’t “normal” and yet when we try to conform to your definition of “normal” you block every possible direction.
http://twitter.com/jarrettlclark Jarrett L. Clark

The Scouts wasn’t always this way. Sadly to say, many things have changed since the group was hijacked by the mormon church in the 80s.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1384279376 Theo J. Williams

It’s pathetic, deeply disappointing, and by no means new. My parents were deeply involved in Scouting when I was a kid, and one of the warmest men I’ve ever met was a rabbi who served on the same area council. His relationship with another man was dismissed at the time as ‘two old bachelors rooming together’; today he’d probably be hounded out with the same zealotry now being brought to bear in Denise Steele’s case. (I’ve never known nor cared whether my rabbi friend were gay—he was simply a good man giving freely of his time and energies to help others, and someone whom I still admire.)
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000451850693 Ashley Valencia

Well its a good thing she got removed from the scouts! Wouldn’t want her influencing those boys and making them lust after women! ….wait…
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_TD2QZ37OZO2OOJLKLS2OADIHN4 anthony

scouting is an AWESOME organization… except the discrimination policy. FYI: most people in scouts aren’t homophobes, just the people on national council are!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=626955436 Andy Olsen

I was essentially forced out of the Boy Scouts for two reasons, being an Atheist, and being Gay. By that time, I was a Life Scout, which is the second highest natural rank, and was a few requirements shy of becoming an Eagle (including the hefty service project); which would have looked excellent on a college application.

Though I can say the culture, at least in my troop and hometown, was a very homophobic bunch, it got pretty tiring. Glad to see the troops in the more open minded areas (Loudon– near DC) making those exceptions, for as long as they would last, anyway!
Anonymous

Don’t support the BSA with your membership or donations. Instead, consider forming a Spiral Scouts group in your town for your children. Spiral Scouts is a scouting program specifically for those families who don’t want to support a theocratic fascist organization like BSA. They emphasize community service, diversity, environmental stewardship, and respect for other living beings. Far superior to BSA, in my opinion.

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