According to several sources, including NBC News, Boy Scouts of America (BSA), the largest youth organization in the nation, is close to ending its decades-long prohibition of gay scouts and gay scout leaders. Many large charitable groups and corporations now believe that the homosexual ban is wrongly discriminatory and have ceased providing financial aid to the Boy Scouts.

It's possible that organizations which now support BSA, will diminish or withdraw their support, leaving BSA with even less financial support than before the lifting of the ban.

Personally, I take no position on gay scout members. If an eleven or twelve year old boy is gay, or thinks he might be gay -- fine, the local troop leaders can decide.

But I do believe that allowing gay scout leaders is a mistake. Placing any adult in a role-model position, in charge of young, impressionable, and sometimes troubled or sexually-confused boys or girls, where there is at least some possibility of sexual attraction and tension, and where one of the duties is being in charge of overnight camping trips, is "inappropriate," to use old-fashioned vernacular.

Let's suppose I wanted to take a group of twelve-year-old girls in the neighborhood, on a series of weekend camping trips. Would anyone object? Should anyone object? After all, I've never been in trouble with the law, and even though I'm heterosexual, nobody has ever even accused me of pursing underage girls. In fact, I would be quite indignant if someone even hinted that I would do something so vile. In our politically correct world, perhaps there are some who would hesitate to make a fuss, but most people, in their gut, would understand that this is "inappropriate."

You see, none of this has anything to do with homophobia or hatred of gay people. It's incredible that allowing gay scout leaders has turned into a gay rights issue. And it's a shame that our nation's gutless leaders in politics, in the press, and even in the gay-rights movement, lack the wisdom and the ability to understand and communicate this.

Dan Nagasaki is the author of a book for teens and young adults: The Beginner's Guide To Conservative Politics.