Free Republic

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has given tacit approval to the Boy Scouts’ proposal to allow gay youth to join, saying they “appreciate the positive things” included in the plan to end the organization's controversial ban on gay boys. The Boy Scouts of America last week proposed allowing gay youth – but not adults – to participate in the private youth organization. That came two months after they floated the idea of allowing gays and lesbians of all ages to join, a proposal that was denounced by the conservative religious groups that make up a bulk of...

There’s deception going on in the front office of the Boy Scouts. It includes deliberate misrepresentation of polling data, and threats to pack an upcoming meeting with anonymous and unqualified voters so that the Boy Scout policy on homosexuality gets forced on the majority of Scouts and parents who don’t want it.The Boy Scouts are considering changing their policy of not allowing open homosexuality in either their Scout or leadership ranks. The policy has placed the Boy Scouts in the buzz saw of the zeitgeist and up until recently they have resisted. There are some weak-kneed leaders who want...

The Boy Scouts are one of the great jewels of American culture. The success of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is a result in no small part of the organization’s commitment to a set of ideas and principles that have guided the program for more than 100 years. Until recently, the BSA was unwavering in its conviction that these values and principles were “timeless.” But now those values are under attack. The Boy Scouts are the victims of an aggressive, well-funded and relentless campaign to inject sex and politics into Scouting. Homosexual-rights activists have aggressively pushed a handful of...

The Boy Scouts of America called to end a long-standing ban on openly gay members, a spokesman said on Friday, but the organization's board must still vote in May on whether to ratify the resolution. If the vote is approved, "no youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone," Deron Smith, the organization's spokesman, told Reuters. Smith noted that the decision drew from three months of research, surveys and discussions and was "among the most complex and challenging issues facing the BSA and society today." The deliberations over...

A former local Scout leader was sentenced to eight years in prison this afternoon for sexually assaulting three scouts. Provincial court Judge Ray Wyant said Stuart Garret Young’s actions were "reprehensible, degrading and disgusting and abhorrent." Court was told that Young, 40, was trusted and admired by the boys, and that he singled them out, grooming them to become his victims. Young had been a volunteer with a Southdale Scout troop. The boys were subjected to a program Young had developed that they were told was to build up their self-confidence but instead the boys were "brainwashed" while Young subjected...

It begins.There is no question that rank-and-file gay couples of all political stripes are sincere in their desire to enjoy the benefits and status that come with marriage. There is no sinister agenda at work in the issue of same-sex marriage among the masses. But the same cannot be said of the organized left who have always intended to use the issue of gay marriage as a vehicle to destroy the Christian Church and marginalize Christians. Faithfulness to the Bible and the Christian faith will very soon be declared bigotry by the media and a de facto civil rights violation...

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — More than four out of five Boy Scout leaders in the Salt Lake City area say they are opposed to Boy Scouts of America lifting its ban on gays, a new survey shows. Nearly half said they would quit the Boy Scouts if the ban on gays is lifted, according to results of a survey of 4,700 adults involved in the Boy Scouts' Great Salt Lake Council. The respondents included leaders and parents. The council is one of the largest in the country, with 5,500 troops and 73,400 youth members. Nearly all of the troops,...

As the Boy Scouts of America ponder whether to allow gays to be Scout leaders, a number Scouting officials debated the issue Saturday morning in downtown Orlando. At the end of that session, dozens of Scout leaders and parents staged a news conference to announce the formation of a Scout group opposed to allowing "open homosexuality" by adults in the Boy Scouts. "The Boy Scouts are one of the great jewels of American culture," said John Stemberger, Eagle Scout and founder of OnMyHonor.net. "We support the current policy of scouting, which is backed by over 100 years of tradition and...

<p>Madonna has never been a stranger to controversy, and she once again dipped her toe into those waters at last night’s GLAAD Awards, where she was presenting an award to Anderson Cooper.</p> <p>Dressed in an oversized Boy Scout uniform, Madonna took the organization to task for its policy that bans gay people from joining. “I wanted to be a Boy Scout, but they wouldn’t let me join,” she said during a 10-minute speech. “I think that’s (messed) up. I know how to build a fire. I can pitch a tent … most importantly, I know how to scout for boys.”</p>

IRVING, TX, March 11, 2013, (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Boy Scouts of America are asking for citizens across the country to express their opinion about the BSA's policy barring open homosexuals from joining the group as members or scoutmasters. In a tiny link at the top of their website, the Scouts announced their review of the policy. A second link simply asks readers, “Share your feedback.” Last July, the 100-year-old outdoor group announced it would maintain its moral standards for members and leaders. However, in January the national scouting organization bowed to pressure to reconsider the policy. A decision was expected...

AMHERST — An Amherst church that promotes tolerance and is led by a gay pastor has become the new chartering organization for a local Boy Scout troop whose national organization has retained a policy excluding homosexuals. But for the Immanuel Lutheran Church, the Rev. Steven Wilco and Troop 504, which will be partners, the long-term objectives are the same: giving boys a place to grow and learn leadership skills, teaching them an appreciation for the outdoors and advocating for a change in the national Boy Scout policy. Wilco, pastor of the church at 867 North Pleasant St., said there is...

By John Crewdson, Tribune senior correspondent. Reporting and research assistance was provided by Drew Crosby in Madrid MADRID -- The most sweeping criminal indictment to arise thus far from the Sept. 11 attacks reflects a quiet but dramatic change in understanding by investigators here and across Europe of the terrorist organization known as Al Qaeda, and the international Islamic radical-terrorist network of which, they now agree, it is merely a part. As laid out in the indictment, the defendants' alleged activities--from arranging travel and providing introductions to procuring false documents and, especially, moving money--provide the first detailed look at one...

For most of the last century, leftists have been infiltrating positions of power in our local, state and federal governments, our schools and every major institution. They have done this in order to promote godless, communist ideology and to subvert traditional American values based on true freedom (not to be confused with immoral license) and common-sense morality that ultimately stems from God’s Word. The result of this long-running invasion of our culture is a degeneracy of the soul and conscience of our nation. Some of the most aggressive tools of the Left in our nation are the members of the...

Chart to the left from the Center for Disease Control proves anal sex is disgusting in more ways than one with or without a condom. These stats reveal that those who are against anal sex may have a legitimate phobia for their children in schools and society in general if homosexuality is normalized via same sex marriage and it is not homophobia. In the name of civil rights for maybe the first time sexual lifestyles are trying to make it in. And a very unhealthy one at that. Maybe there is a good reason why we should stick with nature...

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...

Imagine that a group of girls is going on a long camping trip, supervised by adult volunteers who are young men you barely know. Would you let your 15-year-old daughter go? Nearly every parent, I think, would recognize the folly, even though the men might well be models of good behavior. Why should our common-sense response be any different if the 15-year-old is a boy and the possible, even if not-likely-to-be-acted-on, sexual attraction of the adult supervisors is homosexual rather than heterosexual?

I received the Weekly Scouting Update from the Catalina Council which encompasses southern Arizona. This policy letter and my reply are relevant to all who love scouting.

Decades of confidential sexual abuse allegations from within the Boy Scouts of America will spill into public view later today when more than 1,200 of the organization’s “perversion files” are released by order of the Oregon Supreme Court. The files will offer the public an unprecedented look at how suspected molestations were handled by one of the nation’s leading youth organizations from the early 1960s through 1985, a time when awareness of sexual abuse was evolving rapidly. ~snip~ The abuse reports to be released today played a key role as evidence in a landmark Oregon lawsuit in 2010 that resulted...

United Way of Greater Cleveland moves to pull funding in 2013 for Boy Scouts over group's prohibition of gay members CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Officials with United Way of Greater Cleveland announced Tuesday they are moving to pull their funding next year from the Boy Scouts of America after the group recently reaffirmed its prohibition of openly gay youth and adults. At issue is nearly $100,000 that goes to the Boy Scouts of America Greater Cleveland Council for Scoutreach, a program that brings scouting to about 1,600 inner-city youth with an eye on physical fitness and citizenship. United Way is just...

Secret files kept by the Boy Scouts of America reveal the organization's leaders may have helped hundreds of suspected child molesters "cover their tracks" by often hiding the allegations from parents, the public and police, according to a Los Angeles Times investigation. Documents obtained by the newspaper detail a paper trail of abuse where volunteers and staff were sometimes allowed to quietly resign to spare their reputation and that of the Scouts. "We are making no accusations and will not release this information to anyone, so our action in no way will affect your standing in the community," stated a...