Posted on 02/04/2013 10:26:04 PM PST by Steelers6
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012/07/17/boy-scouts-reaffirm-gay-ban-after-2-year-review/
NEW YORK (AP) — After a confidential two-year review, the Boy Scouts of America on Tuesday emphatically reaffirmed its policy of excluding gays, ruling out any changes despite relentless protest campaigns by some critics.
An 11-member special committee, formed discreetly by top Scout leaders in 2010, “came to the conclusion that this policy is absolutely the best policy for the Boy Scouts,” the organization’ national spokesman, Deron Smith, told The Associated Press.
Smith said the committee, comprised of professional scout executives and adult volunteers, was unanimous in its conclusion – preserving a long-standing policy that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000 and has remained controversial ever since.
As a result of the committee’s decision, the Scouts’ national executive board will take no further action on a recently submitted resolution asking for reconsideration of the membership policy.
Boy Scouts of America Chief Executive Bob Mazzuca (Source: scouting.org)
The Scouts’ chief executive, Bob Mazzuca, contended that most Scout families support the policy, which applies to both leaders and Scouts.
“The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve value their right to address issues of same-sex orientation within their family, with spiritual advisers and at the appropriate time and in the right setting,” Mazzuca said. “We fully understand that no single policy will accommodate the many diverse views among our membership or society.”
The president of the largest U.S. gay-rights group, Chad Griffin of the Human Rights Campaign, depicted the Scouts’ decision as “a missed opportunity of colossal proportions.”
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“With the country moving toward inclusion, the leaders of the Boy Scouts of America have instead sent a message to young people that only some of them are valued,” he said. “They’ve chosen to teach division and intolerance.”
The Scouts did not identify the members of the special committee that studied the issue, but said in a statement that they represented “a diversity of perspectives and opinions.”
“The review included forthright and candid conversation and extensive research and evaluations – both from within Scouting and from outside of the organization,” the statement said.
The announcement suggests that hurdles may be high for a couple of members of the national executive board – Ernst & Young CEO James Turley and AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson – who have recently indicated they would try to work from within to change the policy. Both of their companies have been commended by gay-rights groups for gay-friendly employment policies.
Stephenson is on track to become president of the Scouts’ national board in 2014, and will likely face continued pressure from gay-rights groups to try to end the exclusion policy. Asked for comment on Tuesday about the Scouts’ decision to keep the policy, AT&T did not refer to Stephenson’s situation specifically.
“We don’t agree with every policy of every organization we support, nor would we expect them to agree with us on everything,” the company said. “Our belief is that change at any organization must come from within to be successful and sustainable.”
A statement from the executive committee of the Scouts’ national executive board alluded to the Turley-Stephenson developments.
“Scouting believes that good people can personally disagree on this topic and still work together to achieve the life-changing benefits to youth through Scouting,” the statement said. “While not all board members may personally agree with this policy, and may choose a different direction for their own organizations, BSA leadership agrees this is the best policy for the organization.”
Since 2000, the Boy Scouts have been targeted with numerous protest campaigns and run afoul of some local nondiscrimination laws because of the membership policy.
One ongoing protest campaign involves Jennifer Tyrrell, the Ohio mother of a 7-year-old Cub Scout who was ousted as a Scout den mother because she is lesbian.
Change.org, an online forum supporting activist causes, says more than 300,000 people have signed its petition urging the Scouts to reinstate Tyrrell and abandon the exclusion policy. The petition is to be delivered to the Scouts’ national headquarters in Irving, Texas, on Wednesday.
How many of these critics were parents eager to have their sons raped. And, how many of these critics were homosexuals eager to sodomize young boys?
This was not a good election for the Boy Scouts, both candidates wanted to homosexualize them, Romney has promoted it for almost 20 years.
I just emailed their leader at Wayne.Brock@Scouting.org
Calling is better, but if you can’t call, you can email. If possible, do both!
Speaking about the leftists on the board -I had a wild thought the other day when considering how the leftists had gotten this far by infiltrating the BSA national board and it came to me that perhaps it was one or both of these leftists that was behind the released information pertaining to the so called 'BSA perversion files' that were trumpeted all over the leftist media recently as a way to discredit the national BSA leadership.
I wonder?
None of this is about tolerating homosexuals in the Boy Scouts. There are, and have been, gays in the scouts since I was a kid and there are gays in the scouts today.
I sent this to the BSA this weekend...
We had our Klondike Derby this weekend and I was around a lot of adult scout leaders. Not surprisingly, the gay ban was on most people’s minds. I can tell you that there were THREE very vocal proponents — two of which were our scout master and assistant scout master. Many parents were unhappy with this strong support but felt that voicing such concerns would stigmatize them.
Personally, I am disappointed that an organization built on a strong value system has put find raising above those values. I think you are doing this all wrong.
First, stop talking about this. Do not respond to questions and do not make statements. Second, instead of chasing the wavering supporters, promote the solid supporters. Include a list of scout friendly merchants as part of your parent communications and encourage scout families to support these friends of scouting. Scouting families buy a lot and should be seen as something to be wooed.
I’m concerned that the BSA is the next JCP. Penny changed their values to woo an attractive demographic. The attractive demographic would never patronize JC Penny, so few new customers were gained. The wooing process chased away a lot of customers who were offended by the changes and JCP now has no customers.
Just last fall senate and presidential candidates lost elections after campaigns distancing themselves from values voters — democrat voters didn’t believe them and republicans did.
The BSA is (was) an organization based on values. It’s OK if people who do not like those values do not support us. It’s not ok if the people who like those values do not support us.
“With the country moving toward inclusion perversion, the leaders of the Boy Scouts of America have instead sent a message to young people that only some of them are valued all of them should be protected,” he said. “They’ve chosen to teach division and intolerance one of America's fundamental liberties - Freedom of Association.”
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Why must Socialists inject sex, warped or otherwise, into EVERYTHING? Particularly when it involves kids who are really too young to even give it more than a passing nod; kids who have a narrow window of time to enjoy other things in life - before they have to grow up and take on huge responsibilities in life? - Obama seems to be obsessed with warped sex; but even he still likes to shoot hoops and tap the golf balls much of the time.
Personally, I think that if a group believes there should be a scouting organization that welcomes homosexuals, they can start their own such organization. They can call it the Rump Rangers and invent a whole new set of merit badges, for all I care. They don't need to wedge themselves into the BSA.
This is an old article.....And it looks like the Scouts have changed their mind since then.
When one endorses sanctions or subsidizes poor behavior you get more poor behavior. Kudos to the BSA for recognizing and encouraging the best behavior.
Good, they recently sent me a note thanking me for my Dec 31 donation. I was hoping it wouldnt be my last
This is from JUL of last year—Why is it posted here now?
Why must Socialists inject sex, warped or otherwise, into EVERYTHING?
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Because that is the most efficient way to distort the family unit. Look how successful they have been in our culture.
Un mentioned was the mandaory Youth Protection program that is required for all BSA leaders to protect scouts from the sexual predators.
The amount of time and of money spent to protect boys is extremely great and should be unnecessary. In a previous age, the predators would be beaten to pink pulp. That policy might be necessary again. Screw around with the boys and you may not walk well again. The legal system has failed and the tyrannical lawyers that run it for their own benefit should be bypassed untill they get their priorities straight.
I would have had a lot of fun with the vocal proponents. “So you’re the sodomy scoutmasters” “Sodomy is filthy and bad for your rectum, how does that jibe with being morally straight”, etc. I LOVE provoking those folks.
Just tell them that it’s an EXIT, not an ENTRANCE.
This story is old. It isn’t regarding the current “debate”.
Thanks. Yes, I sadly noted this after another poster pointed it out. I still think that my theory in post #5 is worth checking out regarding who released information or provided the smoking gun pertaining to the so called 'BSA perversion files'
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