Boy Scouts

Did the board make the right call in allowing girls to join?

The Boy Scouts of America waded into controversial waters this week when the national executive board voted unanimously to allow girls to join the Cub Scouts beginning next year.

As they progress, older girls will be allowed to achieve the Scout’s highest honor of becoming Eagle Scouts. The decision comes in the wake of declining membership, which some blame on the board’s earlier decisions to allow openly gay youth to join the Scouts and accept openly gay adults as leaders.

Needless to say there has been mixed reaction, especially on social media. Some say it’s about time for coed Scouting, while others say the move will have a negative impact on what it means to be a Boy Scout.

(It should be noted that this isn’t an altogether new notion. Girls already participate in some Boy Scout programs.)

Still, we want to know what you think. Are the Boy Scouts of America right to accept girls as members? Or are you opposed to the decision?

Send your response (50 words maximum) to opinion@texarkanagazette.com by Wednesday, Oct. 18. You can also mail your response to the Texarkana Gazette Friday Poll, at P.O. Box 621, Texarkana, TX 75504 or drop it off at our office, 101 E. Broad St, Texarkana, Ark. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number. We will print as many responses as we can in next Friday’s paper.

Last Week: On to Mars

Last week’s question was about the Trump administration’s announcement that it was committed to renewing America’s space exploration effort. Should the U.S. pursue renewed efforts in space exploration, including an eventual manned Mars landing, or do you think space exploration is not the best use of our money? What have U.S. citizens gained from 59 years and $635.488 billion spent on NASA? The only ones who have prospered are the corporations making their trinkets and people employed by NASA. Now billionaire Musk and his Space X are siphoning tax dollars through NASA. He uses NASA launch pad. Space X rocket failure cost NASA $110 billion, etc. We do not need outer space exploration. We need the money spent on this planet that has life. The government cannot find money for infrastructure, schools or anything else our people need, but the 2017 federal budget for NASA is $19 billion.