Sunday, February 3, 2013

Scouts' Honor: Help Defend Scoutmaster Policy


 From Brian S. Brown, President, National Organization for Marriage
For over a century, the Boy Scouts of America have stood for honor and traditional Judeo-Christian values, and taught millions of young people leadership and life skills by faithfully applying those values in their own lives. It's not surprising that advocates of alternative "values," such as gay and lesbian activists, would challenge these traditional family values. Indeed, homosexual activists argued that the Boy Scouts should change their values and allow openly homosexual men to serve as scoutmasters with the responsibility of mentoring impressionable youth.
But thirteen years ago, in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, the Supreme Court of the United states upheld the right of the Boy Scouts to make their own decisions about membership, despite a New Jersey law that would have required them to accept an openly homosexual Scoutmaster.
The Scouts won that fight, but only because they were able to demonstrate to the Supreme Court that they had a consistent national policy against having homosexual scoutmasters.
Today, in the face of relentless demands by homosexual activists, facing potential loss of corporate donations from companies themselves pressured by the powerful gay lobby, and even facing internal pressure from Corporate CEOs on their Board, the Scouts are considering a proposal to abandon their longstanding national policy, and instead leaving the decision of allowing homosexual scout leaders to each individual council.
As we know from the marriage battle, capitulation is not a strategy for preserving our cherished values. When homosexual activists demanded "rights" and "benefits" many well-meaning policymakers responded with "civil unions" and "domestic partnerships," believing that this "compromise" would preserve marriage while providing tangible benefits for same-sex couples. Though many in the gay community lobbied for these changes, once enacted the y quickly adopted a strategy of condemning them as "second class" and used them to successful ly file lawsuits redefining marriage.
Even though their supporters have relentlessly pressured the Boy Scouts to admit openly homosexual men as scoutmasters with the responsibility of mentoring America's youth, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) now says the "compromise" the Boy Scouts are considering does not go nearly far enough.
They will settle for nothing short of capitulation – homosexuality-affirming troops in every locale across America, tolerating no exceptions, period. Any parent or young man who holds a traditional Judeo-Christian view of sexual morality will be attacked as bigoted and accused of discriminatory conduct. You can imagine the lawsuits that will follow.
The BSA Board of Directors will be voting very soon on this new policy proposal — perhaps as early as Monday — and they are seeking public input into their decision. We need to make it clear that compromising honorable values is no path to organizational victory.
Gay marriage advocates are pulling out all the stops on this one, and it is imperative that the Scouts hear from you today!

There are many ways to make your voice heard, but right now phone calls are the most important.
Please call the Scouts National Headquarters at 972-580-2000 or 972-580-2330.
The phone lines are flooded right now, so please keep trying if you have trouble getting through. When they answer the phone, simply tell them that you are AGAINST the proposed policy change.
In addition, we are reaching out directly to the members of the BSA Board of Directors who will be making this decision next week. Below is a partial list of board members — please call as many as you can and politely urge them to maintain their current policy with respect to homosexual scoutmasters, and not to sacrifice their longstanding moral beliefs in favor of political correctness or activist pressure.
This is a long list of phone numbers, but even a few phone calls could make a big difference! Please take a few minutes to make as many calls as you are able.
Togo D. West, Jr.(202) 775-1775
David M. Weekley(713) 659-8111
Rex W. Tillerson(972) 444-1000
Marshall M. Sloane(781) 395-3000
Roger M. Schrimp(209) 526-3500
Nathan O. Rosenberg(949) 494-4553
Matthew K. Rose(909) 386-4140
Robert H. Reynolds(317) 231-7227
Tico A. Perez(407) 849-1235
Arthur F. Oppenheimer(208) 343-4883
Scott D. Oki(425) 454-2800
Francis R. McAllister(406) 373-8700
Joseph P. Landy(212) 878-0600
Robert J. LaFortune(918) 582-2981
Larry W. Kellner(713) 468-4050
Stephen Hemsley(800) 328-5979
Aubrey B. Harwell Jr.(615) 244-1713
Earl G. Graves(212) 242-8000
T. Michael Goodrich(205) 328-9445 ext. 200
Jack D. Furst(972) 982-8250
R. Michael Daniel(412) 297-4989
John C. Cushman III(904) 393-9020
William F. "Rick" Cronk(925) 283-7229
Keith A. Clark(717) 763-1121
R. Thomas Buffenbarger(310) 967-4500
David L. Beck(801) 240-1000

Finally, once you've made as many phone calls as you can, please help spread the word by email and social media.
If the Boy Scouts repudiate their national policy and leave the issue up to each individual council, it is quite likely that any individual council which adheres to the old policy will find themselves facing a new lawsuit claiming they are violating their state's nondiscrimination laws. It will only be a matter of time before homosexuality will be embraced in scouting — voluntarily or by court decree — as the "new normal."
Don't let it happen!

 Dr. Eastman, a constitutional law professor at Chapman University and Chairman of the Board of the National Organization for Marriage, is, like his grandfather before him, an Eagle Scout, and served as a volunteer adult leader in the Boy Scouts as a Cub Scout Den Leader, Cubmaster, and Assistant Scoutmaster as his son advanced through the ranks to become an Eagle Scout as well.
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