Since 1910, the BSA has served the United States as the leading organization helping boys to grow into mature, responsible men. Each of us who signs this letter is the product of Scouting—its values, its people, its practices, and we are deeply committed to living our lives as a reflection of the Scout Oath and Law.

Scouting helped form us as citizens. Some of us are Republicans. Some of us are Democrats. Some are independents. Like Scouts and Scouters of all backgrounds, we hold an array of beliefs about the best policy approaches for our country. And Scouting has taught us how to work together across those differences and develop bonds of friendship that transcend party lines.

We write this open letter to affirm that “locker room talk” is beneath us. It is not excusable as the banter that goes on among boys and men. Scouting taught us that our words about other people have meaning, that what we say to a fellow Scout when we think no one is listening is a test of our character.

Our role models—our Scoutmasters, camp counselors, and adult advisers—taught us that no woman, and no person, is to be treated as an object to seize or violate. And as adult male leaders today, we strive to live out that example for the boys and young men we lead.

This letter is not a call for anyone to vote in a particular way. Rather, it is our public statement that comes from our sense of responsibility to the young men of this country.

We will continue to work to develop young men who respect women as equals—who respect their minds, bodies, and spirits. Those are the values Scouting formed in us, and they are the values that American boys and men need today more than ever.