Morally Straight: How the Fight for LGBTQ+ Inclusion Changed the Boy Scouts―and America

by Mike De Socio

This deeply-reported narrative illuminates the battle for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Boy Scouts of America, a decades-long struggle led by teenagers, parents, activists, and everyday Americans.

Weaving in his own experience as a scout and journalist, Mike De Socio’s Morally Straight tells a story that plays out over the course of twenty-five years, beginning in an era when gay rights were little more than a cultural sideshow; when same-sex marriage was not even on the radar; and when much of the country was recommitting to conservative social mores. It was during this treacherous time that accidental activists emerged, challenging one of America’s most iconic institutions in a struggle that would forever change the country’s view of gay people and the rights they held in society.

In Morally Straight we meet James Dale, the poster child of Scouting who took his fight for inclusion to the Supreme Court; Steven Cozza, the 12-year-old scout in California who started a movement for inclusion called Scouting for All; Jennifer Tyrrell, the lesbian den mother whose expulsion from the Scouts reignited the gay membership controversy; Zach Wahls, the son of lesbian moms who led the final push for policy change; and an array of other previously unknown Scouters who played smaller—but no less crucial—roles in the fight for full inclusion.

Through original interviews and reporting, Morally Straight braids together these characters and brings to life their collective struggle. This is an essential narrative in the American LGBTQ+ rights movement—and a truly American story about the fight for a better future for our nation’s bedrock youth organization.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, LGBT, Queer

400 pages, Hardcover

Published June 4, 2024

About the author

Mike De Socio is an award-winning, independent journalist and author, telling stories about the LGBTQ+ community.

Mike’s career path has taken him through almost every part of the newsroom, where he’s worked as a photographer, writer, reporter and editor. As a freelancer, his work has been published in The Washington Post, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Fortune, Insider, Xtra, YES! Magazine and beyond.

He’s a graduate of Boston University, and has received awards from the Boston Press Photographers Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and Boston University. He was also a Fall 2021 Logan Nonfiction Program fellow.

Mike lives with his partner in upstate New York, where he spends most of his free time hiking around the Adirondacks, or figuring out how to get places almost exclusively by bike.

Reviews

[David]

Nearly every LGBTQ+ Scouter I've interviewed has told me something similar: that in a world of toxic masculinity and homophobia, Scouting - through not totally immune to those forces - was the closest thing they had to a safe haven.

[Kevin Montano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been a member of the Boy Scouts of America since I was old enough to be in Cub Scouts and while I always knew the BSA had exclusionary policies, I never paid much mind to what those meant, how they came to be and what work had to be done to bring about a more inclusive organization.

Mike does an incredible job digging into not only the history of the BSA’s ban on gay youth and adults but also unraveling the many, many efforts to overturn it. Mixing this fact-rich reporting with his own personal experience and stories as a scout really bring the story to life.

This book is the perfect pride month read and a reminder that despite its exclusionary past and a rocky future as membership continues to wane, it’s the people that have and will continue to make scouting an integral part of our nation.

[Elsie Birnbaum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I knew about the Boy Scout's gay ban but then I read this book and a) there were so many details I didn't know about and b) it was so much worse than I thought it was. My general conception that standards varied from troop to troop and national had a conservative bent was accurate. However I was unaware of how reactive the policy was, with the first publications about the anti-gay policy being published two years after James Dale brought his case. I was also unaware that the ban on gay volunteers was lifted only after two separate employment lawsuits were brought against the Boy Scouts.

Essentially, the BSA spent a good twenty or so years arguing that homophobia was integral to the program. I spent the entire book in awe of these activists continuing to fight for inclusive Scouting. There were so many moments of progress in the 2010's that I had taken for granted, I had assumed new leadership just changed their minds with the changing times. Not that they had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

On a structural level, De Socio is narrative in his approach giving the book a cinematic feel. I felt like I was in the room for all of these dramatic moments. It was very "When We Rise" and I hope it gets adapted into something, it's quite the story.

My only criticism is that I think De Socio is too optimistic. I don't buy that the BSA is more inclusive now. Yeah, they accept girls... in a segregated program complete with a different handbook. The recent rebranding was accompanied by a reassurance that Scouting America still requires Scouts to be religious. Are we seeing LGBT community centers and similar orgs gain the ability to become chartering organizations? Genuinely, are we seeing that, I don't know the answer to that question.

Don't get me wrong, I'm so excited and happy to see that LGBT affinity groups at OA conferences and Jamboree. The reversal of the ban on gay members was hard won and huge step in the right direction. I want to see a future with inclusive Scouting for all. I just wonder how does the BSA reform and progress in that direction, especially given the disillusion of Scouts for Equality.

All of this to say: this book left me inspired and spurred to action.

[Cheyenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐ CW: bullying mentions, homophobia, child sexual abuse mention, suicidal ideation mention

Morally Straight: How the Fight for LGBTQ+ Inclusion Changed the Boys Scouts--And America by Mike De Socio. Thank you to Mike De Socio and Pegasus Books for sending me a copy of this book for review. This was a nonfiction book that was well researched about the fight for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Boy Scouts by a gay Scout who is now an editorial journalist. This releases June 4!

De Socio starts off by giving us a bit of history of gay Scouts in the 70s who were kicked out when it was found out that they were gay, and continues that narrative throughout the book from different times and perspectives. We see the failed court cases that tried to make the Scouts stop their anti-gay policy that wasn't even really a policy until the issue was forced. De Socio shows us how that policy and the subsequent failed court cases affected gay Scouts and adult leaders. Gay inclusion was 20 years in the making. Boy Scouts was late to the party as far as gay rights are concerned, having only passed a gay resolution policy for Scouts in 2015.

I really enjoyed learning about this topic. I was in the Brownie Scouts as a kid, but always wanted to be in the Boy Scouts, but couldn't since I wasn't a boy. Now anyone can be a Scout. This looks back at the recent history that really hits home how quickly gay rights have changed in America in a short period of time, even from when I was in high school. It was really clear that the success of this movement was due to grassroots activism and staunch allies of the LGBTQ+ community. I don't think the Boy Scouts (Now called Scouting America) are perfect, but they have made strides, albeit under duress. The court of public opinion definitely had more of an effect than legal courts.

I did think the pace dragged a bit in places, particularly the first section and the last section. I don't think it was necessary to give us an entire play by play of entire conversations and court cases.

This is definitely worth a read if you want to learn more about the Boys Scouts in the context of gay rights or if you are a Scout or leader. Especially if you are a youth who has never seen a world where queer people weren't included in the Scouts.

[Solomon Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book! It caught my eye while browsing the shelves of the library and combines a lot of my interests: narrative reporting, LGBT history, activism, and organizational studies. My dad was a boyscout in the 50s and as someone who grew up in a (religious) youth movement in an age where marriage equality and LGBT inclusion was already normalized this book taught me a lot. A couple of points:

1. The author framed the fight for LGBT equality in the BSA as interlinked with the pervasive sexual abuse that happened in the organization that was covered up, ending in an agreement for the BSA to pay $2.4 billion to survivors. He claims that - as already covered in another book, regarding abuse in the BSA - the organization used gay men as a scapegoat for a larger problem in the Scouts when they created the policy. I don't think I fully understood this (interesting) argument, and wish it was fleshed out beyond the introduction. Maybe I need to read the other book.

2. I didn't know about any of the qualifications or aspects of the BSA "creed" - and found the "Duty to God" clause really interesting. What does it mean to be a young person of character, with obligation towards others? Does that include a belief in God? Are "God" and "country" linked and important still? I found that throughout all of the decades of fights in the courts and for hearts and minds, the unwillingness to speak on this area was curious. Like if a Jewish movement claimed you had to "believe in God" I would bat an eye.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Morally Straight brilliantly tells the stories of the brave Scouts who advocated, while risking it all, for the Boy Scouts of America to change its adult volunteer and youth membership policies. James, Jennifer, Tim, Pascal, Ryan, and Zach are heroes. As a non-Scout, I always had a vague sense that the BSA was anti-gay, so the final chapters and pages of the book changed my perspective—and gave me some hope. Being close in age to the author, these debates were happening at a time when I was graduating from high school and I was finally (freely) exploring my own sexuality in the safe haven that was college. Superb reporting and storytelling, a great read for Pride Month!

[Aubrey Lipshutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insight into the journeys of the many unexpected activists who slowly, but surely changed the tide for inclusion within the Boy Scouts written thoughtfully and meticulously by one their own Eagle Scouts. Wonderful motivational read.

[Liv · Rating 4 out of 5]

For most of the year, as an adult Scout, I promise twice a week in my Scout Oath to be "physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight." What does is mean to be "morally straight"? It was defined as follows:

"To be a person of strong character, your relationships with others should be honest and open. You should respect and defend the rights of all people." The Boy Scout Handbook, 11th edition, 1998

The handbook also says, "You are brave every time you do what is right in spite of what others may say ... You show true courage when you defend the rights of others."

I am a perfect audience for this book about LGBTQ+ inclusion in Scouting. It may have been a little on the nose, but coincidentally when I picked up this book, I was wearing a pride T-shirt with the Scout Law printed in rainbow colors.

While the book did occasionally get bogged down in details that felt skimmable, this was an informative read. I was hooked right from the dedication made out to "every queer person who joined the Boy Scouts of America, searching for a place to belong."

One thing to immediately note is that this book is not anti-BSA. In fact, everyone chronicled in it credits BSA as having a huge and positive impact on their life, making them into the adults they are today. They were just fighting so that all youth could have that opportunity.

This book was of particular interest, as BSA's saga with diversity went hand in hand with my personal relationship with Scouting.

While its first explicit anti-gay policy was penned in 1978, BSA first doubled down on their policy in the mid-90s, and I clearly remember the Girl Scouts releasing a counter marketing campaign with rainbow merch proclaiming, "Girl Scouts Celebrate Diversity!" I had that exact pin on my uniform vest for years. I was a Girl Scout all throughout my youth, and as a teen, when my council didn't have a residential camp, my local Boy Scout camp opened their tents to registered girls. So my Eagle Scout spouse and I attended the same summer camp as youth.

The next time BSA doubled down was in 2000 in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. I found the details and transcript material of this case to be the most interesting in the book. SCOTUS pointed out that in states with anti-discrimination laws, public entities would no longer be able to charter Scout troops. Justice Kennedy asked if it was worth it to keep pursuing this in light of this, and BSA persisted. On the grounds of being so concerned about sexual morality, Justice Scalia asked if BSA questions its members and volunteers about whether they are adulterers.

BSA's case was that banning gay members was a part of their first amendment rights, but it was argued that "a human being is not speech." Despite this, BSA upheld their right to discriminate in a 5-4 ruling. As a result, public groups started cutting loose their Scout troops, and the United Methodist Church (15 percent of all Scouting charter orgs at the time) urged its churches to stop sponsoring. Funding began to dry up from corporate sponsors that didn't want to be viewed as discriminatory, and urban municipalities started to restrict public land access to troops. And nine major metropolitan Scout councils wanted a resolution at the next national meeting to drop the ban.

A few years after this doubling down, I got married, and I told my spouse that I wasn't sure I wanted any future sons to be a part of BSA, as it was so contrary to our values. This feeling was so strong that when our first child wasn't male, we even joked that it solved our BSA dilemma. (The joke was on us, as said child recently finished their Eagle Scout project.)

The next time this issue made national waves was in 2011, after BSA kicked out a lesbian den mother. Once a media storm kicked up, members of BSA's national board started to ask for a decision reversal. Then in 2012, BSA denied its first Eagle award to a gay Scout, causing major financial donors to publicly step away from the organization. It was around this same time that my spouse wrote a merit badge with a major public release and was fielding media requests about volunteering for an anti-gay organization. He even received comments in our UU Church about how he could possibly support a discriminatory group. His response was always if the only people who stayed in BSA were those who were prejudiced, the organization would never change and that BSA needed people from the inside to fight for inclusion.

BSA did finally call for a revote in 2013, and as of 2014 had a policy that any boy could be a Scout. 2015 saw a discrimination complaint legally filed as a Scout council rescinded a job offer after discovering a candidate was a lesbian and multiple state AGs opened up hiring practice investigations of BSA. To this, BSA president Robert Gates spoke at the national meeting, saying, "We must deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it would be. The status quo of our movement's membership standards cannot be sustained." The concern was that if BSA didn't relent on this, they would have to legally compromise on their "foundational belief in duty to God" and their mission of serving only boys. Later that year, BSA lifted the ban on gay adults.

Once this ban was lifted, our middle child--a boy--did join Cub Scouts. Two years later, BSA officially allowed trans Scouts.

More exciting news came for our family in 2018. Though BSA's Explorer program has been coed since 1969, as have Venturing and Sea Scouts, Boy Scouts primary troop program had always been only for boys. (Of the 169 nations in the World Organization of the Scout Movement, the U.S. had been 1 of only 13 nations not to be coed.) After it's decision to allow gay and trans Scouts, the LDS church (25 percent of all Scout troops) pulled its support of BSA. With a steep decline in potential membership, girls were allowed in Cub Scouting in 2018 and in Scouts BSA in 2019. In 2018, our eldest child became an Arrow of Light Scout in Cub Scouting and was one of the first female Scouts to crossover to Scouts BSA in March of 2019.

While my eldest Scout has had some bumps along the way and experienced some prejudice, Scouting has been a net positive in their life.

In 2022, the National Order of the Arrow Conference had an official LGBTQ+ affinity space (Arrow pride), and the national vice chief announced, "Our order grows stronger the more inclusive and diverse it becomes." Following this move, a real effort for DEI was made in the OA, Scouting's honor society. My eldest Scout is now their OA Lodge's Admonition Chair, who supports and trains around diversity and inclusion. (BSA has also debuted an Eagle-required merit badge centering DEI.)

The book ends with a quote from a youth in Scouting who when asked what is your message to other LGBTQ+ Scouts, said, "There will always be a troop out there that accepts you. Don't let a bad troop experience ruin your whole Scouting experience. You are loved and accepted. Be Gay. Do Scouts."

My Scout didn't find their perfect troop on the first try, but now we are in a wonderful troop, one that with enthusiastic Council support, marched in a youth pride parade and hosted a table at a pride resource fair to let others know they can have a home in Scouting.

We happily attend a BSA summer camp that flies a progress pride flag on its climbing tower, and where almost all staff wear Scouting for Equality's rainbow knot patch on their uniforms. While registering for this summer, it was the first time we could select if a camper was male, female, or nonbinary.

The hope is that this generation of Scouts will know nothing but this sort of inclusion.

[Lauren | TransportedLFL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Pegasus Books and TLC Book Tours for the gifted book. These opinions are my own.

Mike DeSocio is an investigative journalist who writes of the fight for gay rights and inclusion for the Boy Scouts. The book is incredibly well researched and covers a span of more than 40 years. While I had been aware of and followed some of the more recent developments, I had no knowledge of earlier events, including the course cases of Tim Curran and James Dale, as well as the activism of Steven Cozza and his Scouting for All initiative.

I was impressed with the tone and writing, as it weaves together multiple stories. The author brought in his own experience both becoming an Eagle Scout and coming out. I didn't want to put it down, as it read just like a novel. The storytelling was immersive. And the history is so essential.

[ang · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - absolutely a comprehensive account of the fight for inclusion in the boy scouts, which is a very interesting piece of niche history. but it dragged on forever for me. i just didn't find the writing style engaging; and the author felt very involved in the narrative, while, despite his personal experience and role as interviewer and historian, he wasn't integral to this fight. i'm finding that i'm not a fan of narrative nonfiction so recent in history that the author is conducting the primary source interviews.

i was continually frustrated by the one-sidedness of the narrative, since (through no fault of de socio's! sorry!) bsa refused to acknowledge the book he was writing. strange, because several former higher-ups were interviewed for the scout's honor netflix documentary, as i recall. there's not really a good solution to this, but it was thing that was always in the back of my mind: there's another, less positive, side here.

the epilogue was adapted from a journalistic article de socio published, and i found that the tone changed in this chapter to something somewhat more removed but also more engaging. maybe i would've liked it more as a series of articles like this, profiling the major points of the fight.

all in all, an important story to be told. it's a good book! i just wasn't a huge fan of the style of telling, i guess.

(also, de socio's strong sense of optimism circa 2023 for continued inclusion in the bsa and america might have influenced my rating because it is honestly a little hard to take when you're reading it in the america of two years later.)

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morally Straight follows the fight against Boy Scouts of America's exclusionary LGBT+ policies for scouts and volunteers. This book was an interesting read for me, as someone who had limited knowledge of the activism around BSA pre-2012. De Socio does a fantastic job of laying out the history of why that anti-LGBT+ policy was in place as well as the activism fighting against it.

[Julia Hotz · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a straight woman with no history in the scouts, I found myself immediately invested in this book.
Journalist Mike De Socio pulls you in with his remarkable ability to weave personal anecdote with historical data, rich and extraordinarily detailed storytelling, in which you find yourself deeply empathizing with and rooting for each character.

This is a must-read, especially in our polarizing black-and-white times, about what can happen when ordinary individuals mobilize around a shared cause, and take it to the courts, the community, and beyond. It's not only an essential story in the American LGBTQ+ rights movement, but in American history altogether.

[Mykhael Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are books and then THERE ARE BOOKS! This book falls into the latter. I rarely use words like “brilliant” and “genius” and they are the only words I can use to describe how this book was written.

The author took multiple stories happening at different times to craft an engaging and emotional experience for the reader. I read this book in two sittings at a coffee shop and cried multiple times. Tears of heartache and tears of joy. I didn’t feel like I was reading a book, or even watching a story unfold, I felt like I was in the room! That is a true testament to the brilliance and genius of this excellent book.

This book is an important work highlighting the fight for equality. On a personal note, growing up in the Conservative Church, this story was not only relevant but also provided some clarity and healing in my own queer journey.

If you want your life to be better then you should read this book! If you want a deeper understanding of the healing equality brings you should read this book. If you want to be inspired by the courage of the real life heroes in these stories you should read this book.

[Chrissy Shea Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up in the 90s and coming from a news heavy household I felt somewhat knowledgeable about the political divide the BSA has been involved with. So I’ve hesitated to let my own son join the Scouts. But he joined just this year to participate with active friends. With this book, which is historically detailed, lays out the fight and the final standing on the inclusion of LGBTQ+ members and their advocates (as well as trans and girls more recently than I realized) , has educated me on the history.

We live in a relatively liberal area and to my knowledge there is no anti-gay stance with our troop or in the area, and half the troop is from female. But them not being chartered in a church did help in my decision. I still plan to keep an open ear as I’m not thrilled that it took as long as it did for them to come to their senses. Besides, if they hadn’t been down in enrollment and money I can’t help but ask if they would have changed at all. But if they’ve created a safe, fun place for these youth then it may just be worth it.

[paige morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book came to me as a birthday gift this past September directly from Mike (with some influence from a few friends - thanks Ted and Trina!). I remember being interviewed at the 2023 Jamboree by Mike thinking that a line or two of what I had said to him would make it into the Washington Post article he was writing. I could have never imagined I would get to see my own name printed in a book at all, which was so surreal to read on the paper in front of me.

If you or someone you know are trying to be better allies to the queer people around you, this is a great way to do that. Learn the history of one of America's most well-known organizations and see how we've grown from our founding in 1910. We continue to move forward, and more people knowing where this all started will only help us continue onward.

Be Gay! Do Scouts!

[Ted Weiland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the most extensive telling of how the BSA developed and eventually overturned the ban on LGBTQ+ scouts. As someone who went through the program during this time frame, it fills in the gaps that were often incomplete from a youth and young adult perspective. Mike is an effective story teller, and the narrative will pull the reader in, particularly if they have had any affiliation with the BSA (now Scouting America) during this timeframe. A must read for any adult leader associated with the program, as it demonstrates the issues that the young people face when they are bullied by the very organization they wanted to be a part of.

[V G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book is a love letter to scouting albeit a complex one. As a queer Eagle Scout I don't think I've ever come across another book that felt like it was so much written for me. From Mike's personal details about his own experience to the masterful way he articulates the history of this movement, every page is dynamic and fascinating. This books had moments where I was wiping tears and moments where I was laughing. I found myself sad to get to the end as I didn't want to stop reading. Highly recommend--particularly if you have a love of Scouting and want to see it grow and progress.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a queer scout, this book hit hard. I knew the basics of the history but the perspective Mike put into it was captivating, compelling, and oddly motivational. It's a great story for any scouter- young or old- to read.

[Christian Kilburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

God I love this book, mixes my passions of history, scouting, and activism. Written in a way that keeps you enticed from start to finish and tells a story that more people need to hear of LGBTQIA+ perseverance despite the odds.

[Peg O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great job with background info-fascinating.

[Timothy Hinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly insightful story about a troubling part of Scouting which was largely invisible to its members.

[Sean Gertsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic job recounting the organization's history with interviews and personal accounts.

[Dalton Dear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of niche history of inclusion in scouts with a clever title. Extremely well-written, researched, and personally relevant. Always interesting to read a history of something that impacted you directly and intimately. The documentation of the legal battles were particularly fascinating.

I liked how it didn’t strictly demonize BSA and was able to portray a more nuanced view on the organization and community (from someone who had a pretty strictly positive experience).

Really was a testament to grassroots organizing to enact institutional change. These activists put in the work, and it showed.

The newly minted Scouting America still has a long way to go, but I’m grateful that for the positive changes that are occurring and the increased inclusivity that was long overdue.