Welcome to 'Morally Straight'

A space for stories on the LGBTQ folks fighting for a more inclusive future.

Morally Straight: It’s queer, and it’s here.

🌈 Hello, friends! ✨ This is a free, weekly newsletter that tells the stories of LGBTQ folks fighting for a more inclusive future in the Boy Scouts of America.

• Morally Straight highlights activists and everyday people who believe a better future is possible.

• It’s honest, vulnerable and unvarnished. We share successes right alongside sorrows.

• Hundreds of people enjoy these stories each week.

• Mike De Socio, the author, is a journalist who has been reporting on the LGBTQ community since 2015.

• The newsletter is totally free. No gimmicks. No ads.

• We’ll use your email address to send you each weekly newsletter. Nothing else. And we make it super easy to unsubscribe.

What’s with the name?

So given the topic of the newsletter, what’s with this name? “Morally Straight?”

Let me explain.

There’s one other thing you should know about me: I’ve been a Boy Scout for basically my entire life. That means I’ve pledged “… to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.”

Here’s why that phrase is relevant: The Boy Scouts’ struggle to accept LGBTQ members has been one of the defining experiences of my life. And as the queer community rose up to challenge decades of discrimination in the BSA, “morally straight” became a phrase and a weapon used against us. I say it’s time to take it back.

So that’s part of what I’m doing here with Morally Straight: I’ll tell you the stories of the LGBTQ Scouts who fought for a better future, and how that teaches us so much about our culture’s deeper issues with the queer community.

What people say about Morally Straight

If you’re interested in hearing more of these stories — about rebels and revolutionaries — stick around. I hope to build a beautiful community here where we can can learn from each other. And maybe help create a more inclusive future along the way.