Will the Boy Scouts Reverse Its Anti-Gay Policy?

[American Patriot]

Will the Boy Scouts Reverse Its Anti-Gay Policy?

An outcry over the dismissal of an openly gay den mother has prompted the Scouts to consider ending its contentious membership policy.
By Catherine Traywick | June 7, 2012 | +

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H. Armstrong Roberts
Boy and girl scouts saluting.


For 102 years, the Boys Scouts of America has excluded homosexual boys and adult volunteers with such unapologetic conviction that one has to wonder if there’s a badge for that. But after coming under fire for ousting an openly gay den mother, the organization says it’s considering a resolution to end its contentious membership policy.
Jennifer Tyrell, 32, was dismissed from her 7-year-old son’s Tiger Cubs pack in April over her sexuality. Since then, a change.org petition demanding her reinstatement has collected nearly 300,000 signatures. Tyrell’s son presented the petition to officials at the Boy Scouts annual meeting last month.
(MORE: Can a Scout be Gay?)
The resolution has been referred to a committee for review, although it seems unlikely that the Boy Scouts will reverse its anti-gay membership policy anytime soon. Robert Mazzuca, chief executive of the Scouts, told USA Today that the organization has no plans to make any changes, while spokesman Deron Smith said that the petition was received “as a courtesy.”
The organization’s exclusion of gays and lesbians has made headlines for years, most notably in 2000 when the Supreme Court ruled that, as a private organization, the Boy Scouts could legally do so. The ruling cited a 1991 BSA position statement that characterized homosexuality as “inconsistent” with the group’s requirements “that a Scout be morally straight” and “clean in word and deed.” The organization also bans atheists and agnostics.
The comparatively progressive Girls Scouts of America, by contrast, maintains a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on homosexuality and, as of last year, is inclusive of transgender youth. A statement by the Girls Scouts of Colorado, which accepted its first biologically male member in 2011, summed up the organization’s position thusly: ”If a child identifies as a girl and the child’s family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout.”


Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/06/07/...#ixzz1x7jOMPsI

[American Patriot]

My wife and I no longer support or work with the Girl Scouts.

We no long work with or support the Boy Scouts.

Liberals invade our society with nonsense everywhere. Including those two places.

[Malsua]

I was never a part of either of these organizations other than buying some cookies. I just wish the gays would keep it to themselves.

[American Patriot]

We all do Mal. I know people who are and aren't all that "loud" about it.

In fact, they really HATE it when these groups try to force this stuff in our faces.

[vector7]

QUEER NATION
Boy Scouts Of America Vote To Go Gay

May 24th
Posted by NTEB News Desk in Boy Scouts of America
110 comments

Scouting for boys

Memo to BSA: All forms of homosexuality is a sin against God…looks like it’s time to re-write the century-old oath.

Boy Scout Oath
On my honor, I will do my best

To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;

To help other people at all times;

To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

“And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.” Romans 1:27

From AP: GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — The Boy Scouts of America threw open its ranks Thursday to gay Scouts but not gay Scout leaders – a fiercely contested compromise that some warned could fracture the organization and lead to mass defections of members and donors.



Of the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA’s National Council who cast ballots, 61 percent supported the proposal drafted by the governing Executive Committee. The policy change takes effect Jan. 1.

“This has been a challenging chapter in our history,” the BSA chief executive, Wayne Brock, said after the vote. “While people have differing opinions on this policy, kids are better off when they’re in Scouting.”

However, the outcome will not end the bitter debate over the Scouts’ membership policy.
Liberal Scout leaders – while supporting the proposal to accept gay youth – have made clear they want the ban on gay adults lifted as well.

In contrast, conservatives with the Scouts – including some churches that sponsor Scout units – wanted to continue excluding gay youths, in some cases threatening to defect if the ban were lifted.

“We are deeply saddened,” said Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s executive committee after learning of the result. “Homosexual behavior is incompatible with the principles enshrined in the Scout oath and Scout law.”

The Assemblies of God, another conservative denomination, said the policy change “will lead to a mass exodus from the Boy Scout program.” It also warned that the change would make the BSA vulnerable to lawsuits seeking to end the ban on gay adults.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry also expressed dismay.

“While I will always cherish my time as a Scout and the life lessons I learned, I am greatly disappointed with this decision,” he said.

The result was welcomed by many liberal members of the Scouting community and by gay-rights activists, though most of the praise was coupled with calls for ending the ban on gay adults.

“I’m so proud of how far we’ve come, but until there’s a place for everyone in Scouting, my work will continue,” said Jennifer Tyrrell, whose ouster as a Cub Scout den leader in Ohio because she is lesbian launched a national protest movement.

Pascal Tessier, a 16-year-old Boy Scout from Maryland, was elated by the outcome.

Tessier, who is openly gay, is on track to earn his Eagle Scout award and was concerned that his goal would be thwarted if the proposed change had been rejected.

“I was thinking that today could be my last day as a Boy Scout,” Tessier said. “Obviously, for gay Scouts like me, this vote is life-changing.”

The vote followed what the BSA described as “the most comprehensive listening exercise in Scouting’s history” to gauge opinions.

Back in January, the BSA executive committee had suggested a plan to give sponsors of local Scout units the option of admitting gays as both youth members and adult leaders or continuing to exclude them. However, the plan won little praise, and the BSA changed course after assessing responses to surveys sent out starting in February to members of the Scouting community.

Of the more than 200,000 leaders, parents and youth members who responded, 61 percent supported the current policy of excluding gays, while 34 percent opposed it. Most parents of young Scouts, as well as youth members themselves, opposed the ban.

The proposal approved Thursday was seen as a compromise, and the Scouts stressed that they would not condone sexual conduct by any Scout – gay or straight.

“The Boy Scouts of America will not sacrifice its mission, or the youth served by the movement, by allowing the organization to be consumed by a single, divisive and unresolved societal issue,” the BSA said in a statement.

Since the executive committee just completed a lengthy review process, there were “no plans for further review on this matter,” the group added, indicating it would not be revisiting the ban on gay adults anytime soon.

Among those voting for the proposal to accept openly gay youth was Thomas Roberts, of Dawsonville, Ga., who serves on the board of a Scout council in northeast Georgia.
“It was a very hard decision for this organization,” he said. “I think ultimately it will be viewed as the right thing.”

The BSA’s overall “traditional youth membership” – Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Venturers – is now about 2.6 million, compared with more than 4 million in peak years of the past. It also has about 1 million adult leaders and volunteers.

Of the more than 100,000 Scouting units in the U.S., 70 percent are chartered by religious institutions.

Those include liberal churches opposed to any ban on gays, but some of the largest sponsors are relatively conservative denominations that have previously supported the broad ban – notably the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Southern Baptist churches.

While the Southern Baptists were clearly upset by the vote to accept openly gay youth, the Mormon church reacted positively.

“We trust that BSA will implement and administer the approved policy in an appropriate and effective manner,” an official LDS statement said.

The National Catholic Committee on Scouting responded cautiously, saying it would assess the possible impact of the change on Catholic-sponsored Scout units. The BSA, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010, has long excluded both gays and atheists.

Protests over the no-gays policy gained momentum in 2000, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the BSA’s right to exclude gays. Scout units lost sponsorships by public schools and other entities that adhered to nondiscrimination policies, and several local Scout councils made public their displeasure with the policy. source – AP


Should the Boy Scouts now accept gay scout leaders?


The national council of the Boy Scouts of America voted yesterday to accept gays into its ranks, but the BSA will continue to bar gays and lesbians from adult leadership positions. (AP photo)

By The Jersey Journal on May 24, 2013 at 6:15 AM, updated May 24, 2013 at 6:17 AM

Should the Boy Scouts now accept gay scout leaders?


YesNo

Vote View Results

In Grapevine, Texas yesterday, the roughly 1,400 voting members of the Boy Scouts of America voted 61 percent to accept openly gay scouts into its ranks.

The new policy takes effect Jan. 1.

"This has been a challenging chapter in our history," the BSA chief executive, Wayne Brock, said after the vote. "While people have differing opinions on this policy, kids are better off when they're in Scouting."

However, the outcome will not end the bitter debate over the Scouts' membership policy.

Liberal Scout leaders — while supporting the proposal to accept gay youth — have made clear they want the ban on gay adults lifted as well, the Associated Press reported.

"I'm so proud of how far we've come, but until there's a place for everyone in Scouting, my work will continue," said Jennifer Tyrrell, whose ouster as a Cub Scout den leader in Ohio because she is lesbian launched a national protest movement.

[vector7]

Preparing your boys to openly serve...

[vector7]

Boy Scouts Approve Policy Accepting Openly Gay Boys


A member of Scouts for Equality holds an unofficial knot patch incorporating the colors of the rainbow, a symbol for gay rights, during a rally to call for equality and inclusion for gays in the Boy Scouts on May 22 in Washington, D.C.

Thursday, 23 May 2013 04:49 PM

By DAVID CRARY

In one of their most dramatic choices in a century, local leaders of the Boy Scouts of America voted Thursday to ease a divisive ban and allow openly gay boys to be accepted into the nation's leading youth organization.

While the organization has upheld a ban on gay scout leaders, the result is likely to bitterly disappoint many. The decision could trigger defections among those on the losing side.

Casting ballots were about 1,400 voting members of BSA's National Council who were attending their annual meeting at a conference center not far from BSA headquarters in suburban Dallas.

The proposal was drafted by the BSA's governing executive committee and says boys can no longer be excluded from scouting solely on the basis of sexual orientation. A longstanding ban on gay adult leaders would remain in place.

The vote ia not likely to end the wrenching debate over the Scouts' membership policy.

Some conservative churches that sponsor Scout units want to continue excluding gay youths, and in some cases had threatened to leave the BSA if the ban were lifted.

More liberal Scout leaders — while supporting the proposal to accept gay youth — have made clear they want the ban on gay adults lifted as well. If the full no-gays policy is maintained, some units in liberal areas may consider either leaving the Scouts or openly defying the ban.

The BSA could also take a hit financially. Many Scout units in conservative areas fear their local donors will likely stop giving now that the ban on gay youth has been lifted, while many major corporate donors would have been likely to withhold donations had the ban been upheld.

The proposal was drafted after BSA leaders sent out surveys starting in February to members of the Scouting community nationwide.

Of the more than 200,000 leaders, parents and youth members who responded, 61 percent supported the current policy of excluding gays, while 34 percent opposed it. However, most parents of young Scouts, as while as youth members themselves, opposed the ban.

In the weeks leading up to the vote, and on Wednesday as National Council members arrived in Grapevine, advocacy groups on both sides of the debate organized news conferences, photo opportunities and forums to make their case.

Two conservative groups opposed to any easing of the ban — the Family Research Council and OnMyHonor.net — placed an ad Thursday in the Dallas Morning News warning that lifting the ban on gay youth would trigger lawsuits that could force the BSA to admit gay adults as well as youth. It said lifting the ban on gay boys could drive out as many as 400,000 of the Scouts' youth members.

The BSA's overall "traditional youth membership" — Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Venturers — is now about 2.6 million, compared with more than 4 million in peak years of the past. It also has about 1 million adult leaders and volunteers.

Of the more than 100,000 scouting units in the U.S., 70 percent are chartered by religious institutions. Those include liberal churches opposed to any ban on gays, but some of the largest sponsors are relatively conservative denominations that have previously supported the broad ban — notably the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Southern Baptist churches.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced in April that it supports the new proposal, and the National Catholic Committee on Scouting has not opposed it.

However, 50 leaders of other conservative religious groups have issued a statement imploring the National Council to retain the full ban, warning that easing it "would open the Scouts to a wide range of open sexual expressions."

The signatories included the leaders of the Assemblies of God, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

The BSA, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010, has long excluded both gays and atheists.

Protests over the no-gays policy gained momentum in 2000, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the BSA's right to exclude gays. Scout units lost sponsorships by public schools and other entities that adhered to nondiscrimination policies, and several local Scout councils made public their displeasure with the policy.

[Phil Fiord]

Obviously the issue over sexuality is an emotion and sometimes divided one. From my point of view, I do not care what orientation one feels they are. There is no need for any person to be in anothers face though, no matter the orientation. Sure, I admire what I see as a pleasing female physique, but being straight, thats what I do. The thing is, I do not do cat calls or rib a buddy and say, look at dat azz etc. At most a subtle gesture I suppose. The point is, the marches of in your face stuff are more divisive than anything.

[American Patriot]

Might as well get used to it.....

/shrug

[vector7]

The Communist Takeover of America: 45 Declared Goals (Congressional Record, 1963)

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”

[/QUOTE]Yep...time to get the boys indoctrinated early.

Children's Network Launches Transsexual Superhero Show



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by Ben Shapiro 28 May 2013, 10:40 AM PDT post a comment
Nothing says “child-appropriate material” quite like gender-bending underage superheroes. At least that’s the theory over at the Hub, the network co-owned by Discovery and Hasbro, which is trotting out its latest soon-to-be-dud, SheZow. That show follows the adventures of a 12-year-old boy named Guy who uses a magic ring to transform himself into a crime-fighting girl. Yes, you read that correctly. When Guy says the magic words – “You go girl!” – he becomes SheZow, wearing a purple skirt and cape, as well as pink gloves and white boots.

The chief executive of the Hub, who may or may not have been high (and leftist) when she greenlit this project, is Margaret Loesch. Loesch commented, “When I first heard about the show, my reaction was ‘Are you out of your minds?’ Then I looked at it and I thought, ‘This is just funny.’”

The target audience for the Hub is children aged two to eleven.

Ben Shapiro is Editor-At-Large of Breitbart News and author of the New York Times bestseller “Bullies: How the Left’s Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences America” (Threshold Editions, January 8, 2013).


Kids' cable channel Hub hopes 'SheZow' has magic touch on ratings

Owned by Discovery and Hasbro, the Hub has struggled to find viewers; it aims to lift ratings with superhero cartoon 'SheZow.' Does Hasbro have too much sway?

Margaret Loesch, chief executive of the Hub. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) By Joe Flint, Los Angeles Times

May 28, 2013, 5:00 a.m.

Television's latest animated superhero sports a purple skirt and cape, pink gloves and white go-go boots.

She is also a he.

Meet SheZow, the star of a cartoon debuting Saturday on the Hub, a kids' cable channel co-owned by cable programming giant Discovery Communications and toy manufacturer Hasbro Inc.

In "SheZow," a 12-year-old boy — named Guy — uses a magic ring to transform himself into a legendary crime fighter. When evil lurks, Guy says, "You go girl!" and becomes SheZow.

PHOTOS: Celebrities by The Times

"When I first heard about the show, my reaction was 'Are you out of your minds?'" said Margaret Loesch, chief executive of the Hub. "Then I looked at it and I thought, 'This is just funny.'"

The Hub is hoping some of SheZow's magic powers rub off on it so it can better battle the giants of children's television: Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network.

Launched in October 2010, the Hub has barely registered a blip in the highly competitive kids' TV marketplace. It has a few minor successes including "My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic" and "Transformers," but overall its ratings are tiny. Among kids 2 to 11, the Hub's primary target, it averages 56,000 viewers a day, according to Nielsen. Disney and Nickelodeon each average 934,000 kids in that group.

"Obviously they have not grown as fast as we'd hoped," said Darcy Bowe, a media director at Starcom, an advertising firm whose clients include kid-friendly brands like Kellogg Co., Kraft Foods Group Inc. and Crayola. "They have a long way to go."

Executives counter that although the ratings are small, they are on the rise. Its ratings among kids 2 to 11 is up 45% from last year and 75% from launch. The Hub is even within striking distance of Nicktoons, which averages 80,000 kids 2 to 11.

"We're making a lot of progress," said Discovery Communications Chief Executive David Zaslav. "Launching a cable channel in America is never a sprint."

PHOTOS: Hollywood Backlot moments

Speaking from her toy- and memorabilia-filled Burbank office, the well-regarded Loesch, who headed Fox's kids' programming unit during its "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" and "X-Men" heyday, acknowledged that the Hub is not where she wants it to be.

"It is harder than I ever envisioned to rise above all the competition," she said. "Kids have access to so much content from so many sources."

Another problem for all networks targeting kids is a decline in spending by advertisers. According to Nielsen, advertisers spent just under $900 million in 2012 on kids' TV, a dip of almost 25% from 2010.

Advertising has dropped in large part because kids' networks, concerned about being accused of aiding and abetting childhood obesity, have become much more restrictive about accepting food-related commercials.

To make up for those dollars, the Hub has started running family fare and movies such as "Ice Age" at night, which has broadened its audience and brought advertising aimed at families, such as vacation spots and cars.

But the Hub also faces its own unique advertising challenge. The Hasbro co-ownership keeps some big toy advertisers, including giants Mattel and Lego, from buying commercials on the network.

"There is a lot of sensitivity with toy manufacturers supporting a network that is half-owned by Hasbro," Bowe said.

Loesch countered that the Hub has more than 250 advertisers and only a couple of holdouts.

Rival toy companies aren't the only ones leery of the Hub because of Hasbro. Several former Hub and Hasbro executives, who declined to speak publicly because of the sensitivity of the matter, charge that shows that performed well for the Hub but weren't in line with Hasbro's toy sales objectives have been canceled or had their episode orders reduced.

PHOTOS: Celebrities by The Times

Those shows include the cartoon "G.I. Joe Renegades" and "Family Game Night," a program in which kids and parents play life-sized versions of Hasbro games. The former was canceled because Hasbro did not have a doll that went with the show on the shelves of stores, these people said. The latter had its episode order cut when board games became less of a Hasbro priority.

Hasbro President and Chief Executive Brian Goldner denied those assertions, saying programming decisions are "up to Margaret and the team." Loesch said those moves were made for "business and budget considerations" and not because of pressure from Hasbro.

"They do not tell us how to run the business," Loesch said. "They of course share with me which of the properties they think would tie in best with their strategy, which is a win-win for us."

Another source of tension between Hasbro and the Hub has been the network's website, initially controlled by Hasbro. There were immediate concerns that the programming was getting the short shrift in favor of Hasbro products. After much debate, Hasbro relented and turned over control of the site to the Hub.

"We felt and they ultimately agreed that we need to make the site more about marketing and public relations support for the Hub," Loesch said.

Hasbro's watchful eye is not surprising given how much it has at stake. The toy company shelled out $300 million for 50% of the channel and has pumped an additional $150 million to $200 million into beefing up its Hasbro Studios, which supplies much of the Hub's programming.

Last year, Hasbro's loss on the Hub narrowed to $6 million, from $7.3 million in 2011. Goldner indicated he's pleased with the channel and pointed to the merchandising success of "My Little Pony" as proof of synergy between Hasbro and the Hub.

PHOTOS: Hollywood Backlot moments

"We believe the value of the Hub has grown, we are absolutely on track and have very positive momentum," Goldner said, adding that he had anticipated it taking up to five years for the Hub to be competitive and that it doesn't need to be in first place to be a winner.

"We always said we didn't have to be No. 1 to be successful," Goldner said.

Not all analysts are convinced that getting into the TV business was a smart move for Hasbro.

"The real concern is, are they trying to run a business they don't know how to run," said Jaime Katz, an analyst at Morningstar. "I'm on the fence with it."

Loesch points to the 14 Emmy nominations it recently received and its ratings growth as proof that the Hub is building momentum. "We just keep chugging," she said.

And who knows, maybe if "SheZow" is a hit, Hasbro can start merchandising her white go-go boots, and her ring.

"We'll see, won't we?" Loesch said.

joe.flint@latimes.com

[American Patriot]

Wasn't that like some porn movie or something?

/chuckles

[Ryan Ruck]

[vector7]

Boy Scouts of America will officially welcome gay members on New Year's Day as they grapple with questions about group showers and tentmates

• Under the new policy, youth members cannot be barred from Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts or coed Venturers because they're gay
• Gay Scouts won't be allowed to march in gay pride parades in their uniforms or engage in advocacy
  
• Units are being urged to move away from group showers to give Scouts more privacy
  
• Parents will have the option to request not to tent their child with another Scout
• BSA's biggest sponsor the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints praised the organization for the policy change
• Trail Life USA in Texas has emerged as Christian conservative alternative to the BSA

By Associated Press Reporter
PUBLISHED: 15:06 EST, 28 December 2013 | UPDATED: 17:28 EST, 28 December 2013

The Boy Scouts of America will accept openly gay youths starting New Year's Day, marking a historic shift that spells major changes to policies on tentmates and showers.

Yet despite their be-prepared approach, BSA leaders are rooting for the change to be a non-event, comparable to another New Year's Day in 2000 when widespread fears of digital-clock chaos to start the new millennium proved unfounded.

‘My hope is there will be the same effect this Jan. 1 as the Y2K scare,’ said Brad Haddock, a BSA national executive board member who chairs the policy implementation committee. ‘It's business as usual, nothing happens and we move forward.’


Historic change: The Boy Scouts of America will accept openly gay youths starting on New Year's Day following a vote in May


Some churches are dropping their sponsorship of Scout units because of the new policy and some families are switching to a new conservative alternative called Trail Life USA. But massive defections haven't materialized and most major sponsors, including the Roman Catholic and Mormon churches, are maintaining ties.

‘There hasn't been a whole lot of fallout,’ said Haddock, a lawyer from Wichita, Kan. ‘If a church said they wouldn't work with us, we'd have a church right down the street say, `We'll take the troop.'‘

The new inclusive policy was approved in May, with support from 60 per cent of the 1,400 voting members of the BSA's National Council. The vote followed acrimonious nationwide debate, and was accompanied by an announcement that the BSA would continue to exclude openly gay adults from leadership positions.

Under the new membership policy, youths can no longer be barred from the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts or coed Venturers program solely on the basis of sexual orientation. However, gay Scouts will face some limitations.

‘Any sexual conduct, whether heterosexual or homosexual, by youth of Scouting age is contrary to the virtues of Scouting,’ says one BSA document. ‘No member may use Scouting to promote or advance any social or political position or agenda, including on the matter of sexual orientation.’
Trying to anticipate potential friction, the BSA has distributed extensive explanations and question-and-answer documents related to the policy.

Under the BSA’s rules, a Scout could not march in uniform in a gay-pride parade or engage in advocacy, promotion, or the distribution of information of a sexual nature.

A frequently-asked-questions document anticipates that some objections might surface from parents - or Scouts themselves - in cases where a unit includes an openly gay boy.


Restrictions: Under the BSA¿s rules, a Scout could not march in uniform in a gay-pride parade or engage in advocacy


Regarding shower and toilet facilities, the BSA says it is encouraging units to provide greater individual privacy, including moving away from the tradition of group showers.

‘The adult leaders have the discretion to arrange private showering times and locations,’ the BSA says.

Sleeping arrangements also are addressed, with specific decisions left to unit leaders.

‘If a Scout or parent of a Scout makes a request to not tent with another Scout, their wishes should be honored,’ says the BSA.

Haddock says ‘isolated pockets’ of problems are likely to surface, but overall he expects adult leaders will have the skills to defuse potential conflicts.

There are about 1 million adult leaders and 2.6 million youth members in Scouting in the U.S. Of the roughly 110,000 Scout units, 70 per cent are sponsored by religious organizations, including several conservative denominations that had long supported the BSA's exclusion of gay youth and gay adults.


National movement: There are about 1 million adult leaders and 2.6 million youth members in Scouting in the U.S.


Among the major sponsors, the Southern Baptist Convention made clear its disappointment with the new youth policy, but left the decision on whether to cut ties up to local churches.

An SBC spokesman, Sing Oldham, said it was not known how many churches have done so.

The biggest sponsor of Scout units - the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - commended the BSA for a ‘thoughtful, good-faith effort’ to address a challenging issue, and said it would stay engaged in Scouting.


Keeping an open mind: Bill Helfand, the scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 55 in Houston, said he'd never considered sexual orientation when accepting members


John Gailey of the Utah National Parks Council, the nation's largest council, said its youth membership had increased from 74,148 in December 2012 to 75,863 this month.
Like the Mormons, the Roman Catholic Church has generally accepted the new policy. Many parishes will continue to sponsor Scout units, though a few have considered cutting ties.
The National Catholic Committee on Scouting posted a question-and-answer document on its website, delving into the intersection of Scouting policy and Catholic teaching.
‘The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that individuals who disclose a same-sex attraction are to be treated with the same dignity due all human beings ... and also teaches that engaging in sexual activity outside of marriage is always immoral,’ says the Q-and-A, concluding that the new BSA policy does not contradict Catholic teaching.

The ultimate decision on whether parishes would maintain or cut ties with the BSA was left to individual bishops. Several expressed cautious support for continuing in Scouting.

‘As the new policy currently stands, I see no reason to prohibit our parishes from sponsoring Boy Scout troops,’ said Rev. Kevin Rhoades, bishop of Indiana's Fort Wayne-South Bend diocese. ‘At the same time, it is critical that we be vigilant on how this new policy is interpreted and implemented.’

One likely target of such scrutiny will be former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, scheduled to take over in the spring as the BSA's next president.

As leader of the Pentagon, Gates helped change the military's ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell’ policy banning openly gay soldiers, and gay-rights groups hope he will try to end the BSA's ban on gay adult leaders.

The new youth policy was approved during a BSA meeting in May in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, near the Scouts' national headquarters in Irving, Texas.


Bigotry: A protestor is pictured April 6 2000, in Washington, DC, as Boy Scouts of America were on trial against gay Scoutmaster James Dale


Texas has a long heritage of Scouting, with tens of thousands of youth members and many families claiming generations of Eagle Scouts. Among them is Gov. Rick Perry, who achieved Scouting's highest rank growing up in the small town of Paint Creek.

The membership debate was closely followed by local Scouts on both sides; some carried signs and held rallies outside the meeting place. But in subsequent months, the debate has quieted.

Bill Helfand, scoutmaster of Troop 55 in Houston, said membership in his troop has remained steady at about 225 boys.
‘We never considered sexual orientation, and I don't think many troops really did,’ Helfand said. ‘I don't know whether we had Scouts who are homosexual. I don't inquire ... It's not a matter of concern.’


Opting out: Former Boy Scout and Scoutmaster Ron Orr is signing up local units for a new conservative alternative to the Boy Scouts of America called Trail Life USA

Helfand said the membership debate, while closely covered in the media, did not extend into his meetings with leaders and parents, besides occasional discussion of the policy at camp-outs. He says he hasn't talked to any Scout about his sexual orientation and doesn't intend to.
‘I know that this is something that people felt was a momentous turning point for Scouting,’ Helfand said. ‘Everybody I know has made Scouting available to every boy who wants it, and that's what we continue to do.’
However, some Texas parents and leaders have decided to switch to Trail Life USA, an alternative which declares itself ‘a Christian adventure, character, and leadership program for young men.’

Among them is Ron Orr, a business consultant from the Fort Worth area who is signing up local units for the group.

So far, he said he has 25 groups ‘pre-chartered’ for a January 1 launch date in the territory covered by the BSA's Circle Ten and Longhorn councils. That's modest compared to the 39,000 Scouts served by the Circle Ten council alone.

Orr is part of a family with four generations of Eagle Scouts. His older son recently earned his Eagle rank and his younger son was on the verge of doing likewise. But Orr said he could not stand by after the policy change.

‘As Christians, from a scriptural basis, we love all folks, but the scripture is very clear that being homosexual is a sin,’ Orr said. ‘We've got to be able to hold a strong line and set a consistent example for our young men.’

Orr said his decision to cut ties with the BSA rested in part on the Scout Oath, which includes the admonition to remain ‘morally straight.’

Scott Scarborough of Lubbock, Texas, is helping Orr recruit Trail Life members in the Texas Panhandle, a mostly rural, conservative region. Scarborough said he offered to let his 14-year-old son stay in Boy Scouts and achieve his Eagle rank, but the boy elected to join him in Trail Life.

Orr and Scarborough said they didn't consider themselves rivals to the Boy Scouts, though they've chosen a different path.

‘Our tradition comes out of Boy Scouts,’ Scarborough said. ‘We'll never not honor that heritage.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...tentmates.html

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Helping the West rot from within as it falls apart under the 45 Communist Goals laid out decades ago, but Russia will not allow these tactics from their 'Useful Idiots' to disrupt the fabric of their nation.

As Russia is rebuilding their society they will be sure to have morality and character of what a man's role is in the home and more importantly on the battlefield.




Russian police detain dozens after clashes during gay rights march
Marchers in Saint Petersburg against new anti-gay law confronted by opponents throwing eggs, flares and stones




Police officers push a gay rights activist away from the scene of a Pride event in Saint Petersburg
Russian police push gay rights activists away from the march in Saint Petersburg to prevent clashes with anti-gay protesters. Photograph: Anatoly Maltsev/EPA


Russian paratroopers attack lone LGBT activist for protesting anti-gay law

[American Patriot]

and why NOT? Restrictions: Under the BSA¿s rules, a Scout could not march in uniform in a gay-pride parade or engage in advocacy

the military has the same restriction.

[MinutemanCO]

BSA caved. It's very close to the end for our society. We have been compromised almost completely.

[American Patriot]

Pretty much, yeah.

Today I was talking in the lunch room to the lady at the register... she thinks America is doomed because of Obamacare. She was all for it - until she figured out that none of her people (all kids according to her) can afford it.

She said, "We all DESERVE good health care, and companies OUGHT to pay".

When I said - "Really? How about we BAN insurance companies and we fend for ourselves awhile. Guess what, when Doctors figure out they aren't getting paid by insurance, they will HAVE to start dropping prices to get customers, won't they!"

She said "Wow... yeah, that is a brilliant idea!"

I told her I wish I could claim it was my idea, but it's how capitalism works. She told me never believed in that crap "until now".

Welcome to Reality, eh? LOL

[vector7]

One likely target of such scrutiny will be former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, scheduled to take over in the spring as the BSA's next president.

As leader of the Pentagon, Gates helped change the military's ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell’ policy banning openly gay soldiers, and gay-rights groups hope he will try to end the BSA's ban on gay adult leaders.

So Robert Gates is going to oversee the integration of gays in the BSA in hopes adult gay scout leaders can be allowed to supervise and mentor gay youths.

I can see where this is going.

Gates Hails Soldier Snapped in Pink Boxer Shorts

Friday, May 22, 2009


AP

May 11: Spc. Zachery Boyd, far left, wore 'I love NY' boxer shorts in a fire fight with Taliban militants after rushing out of bed to join his fellow platoon members.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday praised an Army soldier in eastern Afghanistan who drew media attention this month after rushing to defend his post from attack while wearing pink boxer shorts and flip-flops, Reuters reported.

Gates said in prepared remarks that he wants to meet the soldier and shake his hand the next time he visits Afghanistan.

"Any soldier who goes into battle against the Taliban in pink boxers and flip-flops has a special kind of courage," Gates said in a speech to be delivered in New York.

Now the useful idiots have aimed it at America's last line of defense; toward the core of our fighting men and women in uniform.

Activist will exploit any charge of discrimination.

The social engineering consequences are by design to destroy, tear down, indict and court martial ANYONE from grunts to CO's for 'Hate Crimes' and 'Discrimination' against homosexuals. It will destroy the unit cohesion that made our troops the most effective in the world.

Barney Frank: Straight Soldiers Must Shower With Gays, But Not Women With Men

Tuesday, December 21, 2010
By Nicholas Ballasy


House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass.

(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Barney Frank (D.-Mass.) says he agrees with the recommendation of a Department of Defense (DOD) working group that straight and gay military personnel of the same gender should be required to shower together when the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law goes into effect.

Frank, however, said Armed Forces personnel of opposite sexes should not shower together.

Senate Approves Bill that Legalizes Sodomy and Bestiality in U.S. Military

Click here to read about the Far Left plan to DESTROY the American Military system….

The Senate on Thursday evening voted 93-7 to approve a defense authorization bill that includes a provision which not only repeals the military law on sodomy, it also repeals the military ban on sex with animals–or bestiality.



And now this is an added concern, that sodomy has been removed, and as we have discovered, that bestiality--the prohibition against it--has been removed from the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So yes, the House will have problems with this bill.

On Nov. 15, the Senate Armed Services Committee had unanimously approved S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act, which includes a provision to repeal Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

Article 125 of the UCMJ makes it illegal to engage in both sodomy with humans and sex with animals.

It states: “(a) Any person subject to this chapter who engages in unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the offense. (b) Any person found guilty of sodomy shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said the effort to remove sodomy from military law stems from liberal Senate Democrats’ and President Obama’s support for removing the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.

“It’s all about using the military to advance this administration’s radical social agenda,” Perkins told CNSNews.com. “Not only did they overturn Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, but they had another problem, and that is, under military law sodomy is illegal, just as adultery is illegal, so they had to remove that prohibition against sodomy.”

Military indoctrinated on gays kissing, behavior

Materials offer scenarios on gays

By Rowan ScarboroughThe Washington Times

Updated: 6:26 a.m. on Wednesday, March 23,
2011


Joint Chief Vice Chairman Gen. James E. Cartwright, right, accompanied by Defense Undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness Clifford Stanley, conduct a media briefing at the Pentagon to discuss the progress of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal implementation effort. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Four branches of the military have begun sending training material to 2.2 million active and reserve troops as a prelude to opening the ranks to gays, with instructions on, for example, what to do if an officer sees two male Marines kissing in a shopping mall.

Key themes are that sexual orientation will no longer be a bar to service, that all service members must respect each other, and that the partners of gay troops will not receive the benefits of heterosexual spouses.

"We are going to make [gay ban] repeal training expeditiously," said Maj. Joel Harper, an Air Force spokesman at the Pentagon. "It's great training."

Obama Orders Military 'Gay Pride' Celebrations

CinC Using Armed Forces for Political Fodder

By Mark Alexander · June 21, 2012

805 Comments

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indespensible supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism who should labor to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness -- these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. ... [L]et us with caution indulge the opposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." --George Washington (1796)

Just when you thought the Left's campaign of cultural degradation couldn't become any worse, Barack Hussein Obama, ostensibly the Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces, sent down a decree that the Service Branches must celebrate "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month." The purpose of this mandate is to affirm the minuscule number of homosexuals (2-3 percent) serving in the military ranks -- mostly in rear echelon positions.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta dutifully carried out the order, saying, "During Pride Month, and every month, let us celebrate our rich diversity and renew our enduring commitment to equality for all."

Obama's declaration came during the same week the DoD announced it would comply with atheist group demands that all military editions of the Bible be removed from Base Exchange centers. The complainant had prepped a lawsuit based on the errant notion that "separation of church and state" is enshrined in our Constitution. Naturally, the Obama administration accepted their objection without a fight, based upon the Left's adherence to a so-called "living constitution."

Apparently, Panetta's "enduring commitment to equality for all" applies to sexual preference but not faith. Oh, wait ... maybe it doesn't even apply to sexual preference. After all, when was the last time any Leftist celebrated "Heterosexual Pride Month"?

Make no mistake, Obama's Gay Political Play is a keystone in the Left's macro agenda to undermine the most critical pillar of Liberty, the family. However, there's nothing "gay" about Gender-Disorientation Pathology, and "affirming homosexuals" in any context not only poses a threat to natural families and good military order, but disregards the welfare of millions who manifest this destructive pathology -- merely using them as political pawns.

Rather than provide one lone opinion about Obama's military "Gay Pride Month" mandate, I asked 20 career military officers, five from each of the service branches, to give me their opinions about this mandate. While I value the opinions of many young friends who are among the enlisted ranks, I chose to ask officers, in order to provide a more strategic perspective on this issue.

The responses I received came from those who ranked from O-2 to O-9. Each reported that their sentiments were echoed by virtually all of their colleagues. Each agreed to provide their "personal perspective" without attribution, because the military PC police (Lefty lawyers in the JAG and IG offices) are very persistent at prosecuting Obama dissenters, and these respondents expressed an interest in completing their military careers, abiding by their oaths as military officers, and endeavoring to maintain history's best fighting force in defense of Liberty -- despite assaults from the CinC to the contrary.

What follows are representative amalgamations of comments from members in each service branch, all of whom are combat veterans.

USA:
Clinton accelerated the practice of using the military as a political test platform for social policy, pandering to its electoral constituencies. The Obama regime put it in warp speed. ... I will retire soon, and it pains me to see this political crap manifest itself in the ranks of fine young men and women. ... Military service requires a solid foundation in moral virtue because war destroys the societal safeguards that aid civilized society and civilized people in staying grounded. When we remove morality from military service, such as the moral imperatives behind the UCMJ regulations against homosexual behavior and adultery, we risk dislodging the moral compass from its true north bearing. ... This has nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with political expedience. ... The requirement for even more "sensitivity training," which we already endure for Equal Opportunity (EO) and Sexual Harassment, Assault, and Rape Prevention (SHARP), and resulting UCMJ changes, all detract from the real aim and purpose of training our soldiers to fight and win, wasting his most precious resource, time. ... This mandate is irresponsible and rains down from politicos who are not even remotely acquainted with the reality of ground combat.

USN:
I have had to do few things more distasteful in my 36 years than train (read "indoctrinate") my unit members on the new post-Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell (DADT) rules. ... Those of us who have been brought up with legitimate, closely held religious convictions have to bite our tongues and accept the unacceptable. ... We all know it's a load of horse dung, and are just holding our breath for a real CinC to replace the phony one now at the head of the table. ... If being a Christian makes me a bigot, as our Commander-in-Chief indicated (in his reference to people "clinging to their guns and Bibles",) then I willingly wear that title. ... Next up will no doubt be affirmative action for homosexuals to increase their numbers in our ranks. ... When one group, for whatever reason, is given preferential treatment over another, it is ultimately destructive to the command, or the service, or the military writ large. ... Yet to meet one in the fighter community! ... When you consider that the average junior sailor (E6 and below) lives separated from family and friends for months at a time and in worse conditions than the majority of our federal prisoners in order to serve and protect our nation, you'd think that they would be the last people who would have these political mandates imposed upon them by our civilian "leaders." ... Typical of an administration that can't differentiate between equality and Liberty!

USAF:
There is no evidence that decisively links genetics to homosexuality -- and this lack of a genetic link totally separates this issue from race and gender ... except for political expedience. ... When will the pandering politicians please get their social agenda out of my way so we can do the job we came here to do? ... Everyone who has candidly spoken to me about the issue thinks the DoD's policy towards homosexual conduct is wrong, period, and contributes to a degradation of unit cohesion and effectiveness. The fact that the DoD would then not only allow the conduct, but now endorse it is absolute anathema to anyone with a moral compass. ... Now that we've opened Pandora's box by legalizing homosexual behavior, we are now challenged to figure out exactly what kind of status and rights we are going to bestow on it. As a commander, I would be content if we could simply acknowledge it as a permissible lifestyle and not celebrate it as some kind of panacea that will give our military a tipping-point advantage that will allow us to defeat our enemies. ... Despite the "re-education classes," I will likely continue to hear humorous comments loaded with gay innuendo, all followed by the standard disclaimer, "not that there's anything wrong with that!"

USMC:
I read Panetta's order ... and it sickened me. Panetta is not part of the "military ranks." Unfortunately his "leadership" of the DoD defines, in part, where the military ranks are, and where we will go. ... I'm not a fan of Hispanic Heritage Month, African-American Whatever, Women's History Month, etc. The posters produced, ceremonies, seminars and luncheons held, and messages that are promulgated are presented under the guise of bringing us all together when, in fact, they mostly define and divide by differences. ... Celebrating one's heritage or behavior is fine as long as it's your celebration, not the DoD's, or the Nation's. ... Lord, please send us a real CinC! ... In my opinion DADT was a very workable solution. If folks did their job and kept their homosexual behavior a private matter, I was OK with that. ... I knew fellow Marines who cheated on their wives, who lied and who stole, but I was never required to celebrate those sins. I could still voice my rejection of those behaviors, and get my fellow Marines to straighten up and fly right. But now I would be dishonorably discharged for such action. ... Numerous studies/surveys of our Marines conclude that the youngsters, who almost exclusively make up front-line combat troops, don't fight for God or country or freedom. They fight for the guys on their left and right. By dividing along the lines of our differences, we erode the foundation of military success. ... Contrary to Panetta's statement, the military doesn't exist to provide opportunities or make people feel good.


Unit Cohesion?

Two comments really sum up the thousands of words I received in response to the Obama "GLBT" mandate.

Shock report: 10,700 men raped in the US military



5,200 used child porn in Pentagon

May 15, 2013
by Dr. Judith Reisman

By Judith A. Reisman, Ph.D., and Thomas R. Hampson

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Brian Lewis and several military female victims testified to harrowing sexual abuse at a U.S. Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, March 13, 2013. Lewis stated he “was raped by a senior petty officer … told by a commander not to report it, and later was diagnosed with a personality disorder and discharged.”

Lewis says, “As I demonstrated, men are a majority of the victims in the military. DoD’s infamous ‘Ask her when she’s sober’ marginalizes male survivors and sends a message that men cannot be raped and therefore are not real survivors.”

Why is the best-kept military secret that most soldierly sexual assaults are now definitively homo, not heterosexual, male-on-male sexual exploitation?

Homosexual Assaults Becoming a Problem in U.S. Military, DoD Survey Finds

The New American
23 May 2013

A Defense Department survey has found a dramatic increase in sexual assault among the troops — including homosexual assaults perpetrated by male military personnel.

A little over a year after the “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” (DADT) ban on homosexuals in the military was officially dropped, the Department of Defense has admitted that it has a problem with sexual assault by male soldiers on other men. The Washington Times noted that, according to an anonymous survey conducted by the Defense Department among military personnel, more men than women are sexually abused in the military each year, with assaults overwhelmingly perpetrated by other men.

Results of the survey show that of the estimated 26,000 service members who were victims of sexual assault in 2012, roughly 14,000 of the victims were men, while some 12,000 were women, according to a scientific survey sample released by the Pentagon.

Obama Military Invites Drag Queens To Perform On Air Base

August 20, 2013


Drag queens Jewels & the Brunchettes

President Lucifer’s destruction of the U.S. military continues.

The military doesn’t have money for July 4th Independence Day celebrations this year because of budget cuts. (Those celebrations were canceled at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Georgia, and the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base and the Army’s Fort Bragg in North Carolina.)

But on August 8, 2013, the Los Angeles Air Force Base (LAAFB) invited a drag queen musical group, Jewels and the Brunchettes, to perform as part of its celebration of Diversity Day.



Todd Starnes reports for Fox News Radio that military personnel at LAAFB were treated to a Diversity Day musical performance featuring three individuals dressed in drag.

The drag queen performance sparked outrage among some airmen who called the performance “totally offensive and inappropriate.”

[MinutemanCO]

This is becoming surreal.

[American Patriot]

Gates Hails Soldier Snapped in Pink Boxer Shorts

Friday, May 22, 2009


AP

Didn't work for Klinger either.....