What scouting can do for girls

I recently became a father, and it’s the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Like my father before me and like his father before him, I will be able to share the sacred experience of scouting with my son, and this is a source of great joy.

The Boy Scouts of America shaped the person I am today. It made me a better citizen. It taught me resourcefulness and self-reliance. It lent me an appreciation for camaraderie and left me with many lifelong friends.

Perhaps most importantly, in scouting I developed a deep and abiding passion and respect for our outdoors heritage. I remain an avid outdoorsman, drawing on these scouting lessons every time I hunt, hike, canoe or camp. I cherish the memories we made on high adventure excursions — experiences in wilderness survival that made me strong, confident and independent.

I am overjoyed to share these same experiences with my son someday. But if I had a daughter instead of a son, why wouldn’t I want to share these same experiences with her (“Boy Scouts dropping ‘boy’ from name of flagship program,” May 3)?

If my wife and I are blessed with a daughter someday, we want her to grow up strong, self-reliant and fearless. We wish for her a lifetime of adventure in the outdoors and the confidence that comes from knowing you’re prepared for anything.

According to the Scout Law, “A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.”

It doesn’t say, and never has said, anything about being a boy.

Dusty Weis Wauwatosa physical appearance was out of bounds. The way she took it, by merely shifting in her seat rather stomping out of the room, deserves praise. Wolfe’s performance deserves loud howls of disapproval.