ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Hats off to the Boy Scouts.
Just days ago, the Boy Scouts of America strongly reaffirmed the organization’s long-standing policy that “open or avowed” homosexuals cannot be Boy Scout members, either as Scouts or leaders.
The Scouts maintain that “this policy reflects the beliefs and perspectives” of their members. It also affirms the common-sense view that parents should be free to address the subject of homosexuality with their own children, from their own perspective, on their own time, and in the context of their own religious beliefs and family values.
The Boy Scouts will continue to stand, on principle, behind timeless moral values.
Boy Scouts of America CEO Bob Mazzuca explained, “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.”
Unlike the public schools and “progressive” youth organizations, the Boy Scouts organization understands that issues such as sex and marriage must be addressed within a moral context. And parents have the right to provide that context. Moreover, beliefs about sexuality and marriage are communicated as much by example as by words.
The homosexuals’ demand for membership in the Boy Scouts — as Scouts or leaders — reflects their unrelenting goal for homosexual behavior to be viewed as not just acceptable, but normal and desirable. Groups like the Gay-Lesbian-Straight Education Network (GLSEN) have mounted efforts to indoctrinate children to think cross-dressing is normal sexual self-expression and that homosexual partners are parents just like any married mom and dad.
What they don’t understand is that no political pressure or lobbying can change human nature — or alter God’s design for sexuality and marriage. Homosexual behavior is immoral. The Old and New Testaments affirm this, so even if supporters of traditional marriage dwindled to a faithful few, God does not follow the political winds. While homosexuals deserve the respect and dignity owed to every human being, their behavior is morally wrong.
And they are not entitled to use private platforms — including the Boy Scouts — to promote or rationalize away their behavior.
How to save your family: Support the Boy Scouts
The Boy Scouts’ position is supported by faith and laws. Make sure your friends know this. (All they are likely to hear from liberal media is moaning about the Scouts’ lack of inclusivity and tolerance.)
When the Boy Scouts’ policy was challenged in court a decade ago, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Boy Scouts’ right to freedom of association — and their right to exclude openly homosexual boys and men.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist noted that the Boy Scouts organization “asserts that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the values it seeks to instill.” The First Amendment of the Constitution protects our freedom to associate, which, according to the court, “presupposes a freedom not to associate.” As a result, “[t]he forced inclusion of an unwanted person in a group infringes the group’s freedom of expressive association if the presence of that person affects in a significant way the group’s ability to advocate public or private viewpoints.”
In other words, the Boy Scouts take a principled stand respecting traditional marriage and sexual conduct, and they respect the rights of their member families to address topics such as homosexuality with their children, in private. Openly homosexual people have no right to demand membership, given that their behavior and views stand in direct contradiction to the moral principles upheld by the Scouts.
When the homosexual-rights crowd cries “discrimination,” it is blowing smoke trying to obscure its real agenda: in-your-face promotion of homosexual conduct to our children.
Remember Dan Savage, the homosexual sex columnist who was invited to speak at a national conference for teens, and used his platform to mock Christian sexual morality and then ridicule Christian teens who left his talk in protest? He began his “It Gets Better” videos as a way to reach teens who, in his view, were suicidal because “homophobic parents and bigoted ’Christian’ organizations” prevented children from embracing the homosexual lifestyle.
We don’t need more homosexual activists mentoring our children. We need more organizations like the Boy Scouts, supporting traditional values and supporting you, parents, as you form your children’s hearts, minds and souls.
• Rebecca Hagelin can be reached at rebecca@howtosaveyourfamily.com.
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