Homosexuals need the right of marriage

The Boys Scouts' anti-gay policy has recently been defended by Randy Brown, executive of the Hoosier Trails Council. It isn't really discriminatory, he claims, because the Scouts want leaders who will exemplify their values about abstinence before marriage and fidelity during it. Similar reasoning has been used by churches that refuse to ordain "active" or "practicing" (i.e., noncelibate) homosexuals. The logical fallacy, of course, is that the terms "premarital," "marital" and "extramarital" are meaningless for homosexuals. They will continue to be meaningless, until and unless our society officially acknowledges the committed relationships of homosexuals, by the state, in the form of marriage or domestic partnership, by churches, in commitment or union ceremonies, if not marriage ceremonies. In seeking such acknowledgment, homosexuals want, not a "special" right, but one so basic heterosexuals can fortunately take it for granted. Only when homosexuals have that right, too, will the policy of the Boy Scouts of America be truly nondiscriminatory.\nBetty Rose Nagle\nAssociate professor of classical studies