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The Boy Scouts ask conservative activist Ralph Reed to set up meetings with Christian leaders...
WORLD Magazine ^ | 5/13/2013 | Warren Cole Smith

Posted on 05/14/2013 8:26:16 AM PDT by MacNaughton

Sometime during the week of May 20, about 1,400 delegates representing Boy Scout troops from across the country will gather in Texas and vote on a proposed policy that, if passed, would allow openly homosexual boys to be Scouts while continuing a ban on homosexual leaders. Most conservative Christians oppose the proposal, so the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) have engaged a high-profile advisor to help them make their case: Ralph Reed.

WORLD learned that Reed, founder of the Christian Coalition and now president of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, has arranged meetings and conference calls between Christian conservative leaders and BSA officials who support the pro-gay resolution. According to John Stemberger, founder of OnMyHonor.Net, a group opposed to the policy change, “After the introduction is made, the BSA officials try to convince these top conservative evangelical leaders to support the resolution by finding friendly media venues to discuss it.”

Reed confirmed in a phone conversation with me that he had arranged conference calls in an attempt to be a “peacemaker” in the process. He said he had not personally participated in the calls and acknowledged he is paid a small retainer by the Boy Scouts. Reed would not disclose the amount of his fee except to characterize it as “de minimus.” “[I would] deeply resent any implication that I am helping this policy to pass.” he added. “I am on record opposing a change in the current policy. Period.”

Stemberger, though, called Reed’s comment “doubletalk.” Regardless of Reed’s intention, Stemberger said, “these calls could not help but further the resolution.”

Among the conference calls Reed has set up, one was between the BSA and executives at Salem Communications, the largest Christian radio company in the country. Salem executives had no comment on the content of those calls but published a short editorial statement that aired on most of Salem’s approximately 100 radio stations. Read by Dr. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and a member of Salem’s editorial board, the statement said in part:

“The central authorities of the Boy Scouts of America have announced yet another compromise position on how they propose to deal with the issue of homosexual leaders and Scouts. This came just a year after the Boy Scouts insisted that it would stand behind its ban on openly gay scouts and scouting leaders. But then, earlier this year, they floated a compromise policy amounting to a ‘local option’ for troops. After the outrage from that proposal, the new proposed policy will require all troops to accept boys without regard to sexual orientation, but they will retain an outright ban on openly homosexual adults serving as scout leaders. As one mother said, ‘I knew they would try to split the baby in the end.’ And that’s exactly what they have attempted to do again. In the end, it will please no one.”

UPDATE: In an email to WORLD, Ralph Reed stressed “my 43-year involvement in the Boy Scouts, the fact that I am an Eagle Scout, [and] the fact that I sit on the executive board of one of the most respected local councils in the country [the North Georgia Council of the Boy Scouts (– incorrect – it is either the Northeast Georgia Council or the Northwest Georgia Council)].” He said his role was to “facilitate a dialogue.” Neither Reed nor the Boy Scouts would say how much the organization is paying Reed.


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: boyscouts; homosexual; homosexualagenda; ralphreed
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1 posted on 05/14/2013 8:26:16 AM PDT by MacNaughton
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To: MacNaughton
I never really accepted Reed ... and now ... wellll ... nuthin's changed.

The answer, Ralphie, is just, plain .. no.

2 posted on 05/14/2013 8:28:59 AM PDT by knarf (I say things that are true ... I have no proof ... but they're true)
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To: MacNaughton

Disproportionately high levels of depression, mental illness, substance abuse, smoking, etc.

Can someone tell me while we destroy another institution exactly what these wonderful gay would-be scouts are bringing to the table other than pathology?


3 posted on 05/14/2013 8:29:47 AM PDT by relictele (A place dedicated to economic, racial and social equality. It was called Jonestown.)
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To: MacNaughton


4 posted on 05/14/2013 8:29:56 AM PDT by EternalVigilance (Separate school and state, before it's too late!)
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To: MacNaughton

May as well change their name to Wandervogel.


5 posted on 05/14/2013 8:30:29 AM PDT by Irenic (The pencil sharpener and Elmer's glue is put away-- we've lost the red wheel barrow)
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To: MacNaughton

no peacemaker needed, most scouts and their parents do not want homosexual men who re obviously attracted to other males to be left alone and be teaching or be around their boys.

They have mental illnesses, depression, drug use, can’t seem to keep their penis on their pants, hence why so many dog parks, walking trails, public bathrooms, etc are used by these people


6 posted on 05/14/2013 8:34:30 AM PDT by manc (Marriage =1 man + 1 woman,when they say marriage equality then they should support polygamy)
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To: manc

If they allow gay scouts, it’s only a matter of time before that extends to allowing gay Scout leaders.


7 posted on 05/14/2013 8:35:38 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Irenic
5 May as well change their name to Wandervogel.

Excellent response. Where else but FR will you find informed citizens. The upcoming vote appears to be very close. Conservatives may yet prevail in the vote on 5/23/2013, but the barbarians are at the gate.

1922–1945 - The Wandervoegel movement became the core of the Hitler-Jugend (HJ, Hitler Youth). The HJ was the 2nd oldest paramilitary Nazi group (after the SA). The Boy Scout movement and the Jünglingsverein, the German equivalent of the YMCA, were banned in Germany in 1934-35 and the HJ absorbed many of their members. The HJ appropriated many of scouting’s activities, but changed its content and intention. The Evangelische Jugend, a Lutheran youth organization of 600,000 members, was integrated into the HJ on 2/18/1934 (The Lutheran Church was the state church of Germany at that time.). Membership in the HJ was seen as an important stepping stone to future membership in the elite Schutzstaffel (SS, Protection Squadron or defense corps). By DEC 1936, HJ membership stood at just over 5 million. That same month, HJ membership became mandatory for Aryans. From then on, most of Germany's teenagers belonged to the HJ. By 1940, it had 8 million members. Most of the adult supervisors of the HJ were also Sturmabteilung (SA, Storm Detachment or Assault Division, also referred to as Brownshirts). The SA functioned as the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. SA officers were almost exclusively homosexual. Ernst Röhm was a co-founder of the SA and later its commander. He was a notorious open homosexual. Adolf Hitler personally arrested Röhm and ordered the arrest of other SA leaders on 6/30/1934 in a plot to eliminate them, not because of their homosexuality, but as rivals to his consolidation of power. Historians later called this political purge, “The Night of the Long Knives.” They were all executed in prisons on 7/02/1934. Homosexual activity continued on into the war years when HJ boys frequently became victims of molestations at the hands of their SS tutors. The traditional scouting movement and YMCA were re-introduced in West Germany and Berlin after 1945. Today there are ~150 scouting associations in Germany.

8 posted on 05/14/2013 8:38:01 AM PDT by MacNaughton
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To: MacNaughton
Forgot to include some background on the Wandervoegel.

early 1900s - In Central Europe (Austria/Hungary/Germany) an informal hiking and camping society of young men emerged in the Wandervoegel (Wandering Youth) movement. Its goal was to revive the ancient Greek ideal of pedagogic pederasty. A substantial number of the Wandervoegel leaders were known homosexuals.

9 posted on 05/14/2013 8:40:55 AM PDT by MacNaughton
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To: manc

This isn’t about scout leaders (for now). It’s about letting openly homosexual scouts join. Now I wonder what kind of young man would be open about his homosexuality in the first place. That sounds more like an advocate for a sexual perversion than someone who wants to scout. Even if said scout isn’t interested in pushing an agenda, who would want them camping with their children? Keep in mind we’re not talking about someone who is quietly dealing with homosexual tendencies. We’re talking about a young male who is openly homosexual.


10 posted on 05/14/2013 8:44:44 AM PDT by CitizenUSA (Why celebrate evil? Evil is easy. Good is the goal worth striving for.)
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To: dfwgator

sadly agree.

Homosexuals have proven time and again how they cannot keep it in their pants, how they cannot shut up about their sexual life and they always seem to think the world is all about them.


11 posted on 05/14/2013 8:46:32 AM PDT by manc (Marriage =1 man + 1 woman,when they say marriage equality then they should support polygamy)
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To: MacNaughton

The BSA has fought homos for years and now, all of a sudden, they seem to be wanting to let them in. What happened?


12 posted on 05/14/2013 8:47:15 AM PDT by jeffc (The U.S. media are our enemy)
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To: jeffc
What happened?

Follow the money.

13 posted on 05/14/2013 8:47:50 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: MacNaughton
Some people are under the impression that if homo-boys are allowed in that somehow that would be alright.

But, that is the camel's nose under the fence.

Once the homo-boys are allowed in there will be a demand for "their own" scout leaders who really understand them.

My three sons all went through scouts and made it to Eagle.

Does anyone think I would like them to have been forced to be around a known homo-boy who is politically protected?

No complaints will be allowed when the homo-boys are going after the other non-homo boys.

14 posted on 05/14/2013 8:49:44 AM PDT by Slyfox (The red face of shame is proof that the conscience is still operational.)
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To: CitizenUSA
10 ... Now I wonder what kind of young man would be open about his homosexuality in the first place. That sounds more like an advocate for a sexual perversion than someone who wants to scout. Even if said scout isn’t interested in pushing an agenda ...

DEC 2000Matt Comer, aged 14, had his membership in a Winston-Salem, NC, Boy Scout troop revoked because he came out publically as a homosexual in high school. Comer said he 1st cautiously came out in middle school, telling his friends and family that he was gay. The following year, as a 14-year-old freshman at R.J. Reynolds High School, he experienced bullying and harassment in the halls, on school buses and in classrooms. In response he created a gay-straight alliance, SPEAK (Students Promoting Equality Awareness & Knowledge), a student club where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight ally students could come together to discuss their experiences and work on projects to make school a safer place for all students. Comer said that at the same time he was months away from completing the requirements for the Eagle rank. It was then that he began to encounter resistance from his troop. “One of my Scout leaders talked to me and said that the (Old Hickory) council would be voting on my membership status. It scared me and I didn’t go back to any Scout meetings until December. The scoutmaster then told me that, ‘If you choose to live that lifestyle, then you are choosing not to be a Boy Scout.’” According to Comer, Troop 715 did not follow the policy for dismissing a Scout, which called for discussions with a Scout’s parents or family minister. He said those discussions never took place. Comer said that he was unable to determine exactly who decided on his dismissal from the Boy Scouts. Later he was told by former council scout executive Hal Murray that it must have been a troop decision.

Two years later on 10/12/2002, Comer helped organize and participated in a Scouting For All Rally at the Old Hickory Council’s service center in Winston-Salem. The rally was held in conjunction with the National Rally Week of Scouting For All, a national effort to try to get the BSA to change its exclusive membership policy. The rally was sponsored by Replacements, Ltd. of Greensboro, NC, and the Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem. It took the form of a silent protest from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A closing reception was held at the Unitarian-Universalist church from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Wayne Brown, field director of the Old Hickory Council, declined to comment about the protest.

Due to family concerns, Matt Comer changed his last name to Hill during his college years. Now at age 26, he is an LGBTQ activist and the editor of QNotes, a Charlotte-based LGBTQ community newspaper. He is also the contributing author of “Youth in Crisis: What Everyone Should Know About Growing Up Gay.”

10/04/2012 – It was reported in the news today that 17 year-old Life Scout Ryan Andresen (who was close to his 18th birthday) was recently denied the opportunity to apply for his Eagle Board of Review by the BSA National office and kicked out of Scouting. Ryan was a member of Troop 212 which is chartered to Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Moraga, CA. The local council is the Mount Diablo Silverado Council (~15 miles east of San Francisco). BSA National spokesman Deron Smith read a statement that Andresen recently "notified his unit leadership and Eagle Scout Counselor that he does not agree to Scouting’s principle of 'Duty to God' and does not meet Scouting’s membership standard on sexual orientation. While the BSA did not proactively ask for this information, based on his statements and after discussion with his family he is being informed that he is no longer eligible for membership in Scouting.” Ryan came out in July. His 52 year-old father, Eric Andresen, said the scoutmaster (SM) knew about Ryan's sexual orientation and the family had no idea he wouldn't sign off on the paperwork. Eric Andresen resigned as the troop committee chairman after it was confirmed that Ryan wouldn't receive the award. The district advancement chairman wrote on an internet scouting forum that (1) after meeting Ryan to approve his Eagle Service Project (ESP) he suspected Ryan was homosexual but did not inquire, (2) the ESP proposal was unusual but was approved, (3) the SM was young and inexperienced with a young family whose boys were not yet Scouting age, (4) the entire local volunteer scouting community was in an uproar that Ryan was treated unjustly, (5) the SM moved out of his home to a undisclosed temporary location because of threats, (6) Ryan’s troop had a reputation for hazing, and (7) he thought someone either on the troop committee or from within the church reported Ryan to the local council office. Ryan's ESP, a "tolerance wall," was inspired by the years of hazing he endured in middle school and later at Boy Scout summer camp, where his nicknames were "Tinkerbell" and "faggot." Ryan worked at the local middle school to organize an art project for “Respect All Differences Day”, which has an anti-bullying theme. Students created 288 tiles expressing "kindnesses," which he used to create a mural that was mounted on a wall by the school library. His mother, Karen Andresen, a 49 year-old stay-at-home mother of 3, said Ryan entered the Cub Scouts when he was 6 years old and in no way knew what he was. Karen Andresen was so upset by BSA’s decision that she posted a petition on Change.org. "It was not his idea, it was mine," she said. In the petition, Andresen cited the merit badge -- "Citizenship in the Community … [It] means standing up for what is right, and I am proud of Ryan for doing just that," she wrote. "Will you stand with him, too?" Many scouts and scouters across the land voiced their support of Ryan. Six days after the story broke, Ryan appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” to tell his story. She presented him a U.S.$20,000 check for a college scholarship.

15 posted on 05/14/2013 8:50:11 AM PDT by MacNaughton
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To: MacNaughton
early 1900s - In Central Europe (Austria/Hungary/Germany) an informal hiking and camping society of young men emerged in the Wandervoegel (Wandering Youth) movement. Its goal was to revive the ancient Greek ideal of pedagogic pederasty. A substantial number of the Wandervoegel leaders were known homosexuals.

I'm sure that influence pervaded in the Hitler Youth.

16 posted on 05/14/2013 8:52:12 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Slyfox

You can bet the first thing that will happen is that the “morally straight” part of the Scout Oath goes bye bye.


17 posted on 05/14/2013 8:53:11 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: MacNaughton
It might seem innocuous, after all they're just kids, but the Boy Scouts admits and does not segregate boys and young men between the ages of 11 to 17. And the seventeen year olds are more likely to have "come out" and eager to introduce the younger to the joys of their newley-discovered lifestyle.

Few parents are going to expose their children to this risk. This is the end of the scouting movement. All that's left are street gangs.

18 posted on 05/14/2013 8:55:27 AM PDT by Procyon (Decentralize, degovernmentalize, deregulate, demonopolize, decredentialize, disentitle.)
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To: MacNaughton
As one mother said, ‘I knew they would try to split the baby in the end.’ And that’s exactly what they have attempted to do again. In the end, it will please no one.”

The proposed policy of allowing gay scouts but banning gay scout leaders is nothing more than an incremental step to allow gay scout leaders. Allowing gay scouts will please the homosexual lobby because the next step is obvious.

19 posted on 05/14/2013 9:12:25 AM PDT by olezip
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To: MacNaughton
Illustrative of the true meaning of current buzz words; i.e. dialogue, debate, discussion all which assume there is something to "discuss," "debate," or conduct a "dialogue."

Everytime one "discusses" something it assumes there is at least some merit in the other sides position. In the case of Sodomites having access to normal healthy boys there is no MERIT in that position. Indeed giving them access to boys would have been a crime in the pre 1950's through 1960's.

20 posted on 05/14/2013 9:31:31 AM PDT by AEMILIUS PAULUS (It is a shame that when these people give a riot)
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