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A few weeks ago, I was surprised when my dad told me that my dog, Trooper, was in the local newspaper. I said, "Trooper? Why in the world is he in the paper?" But when I saw the picture, I was delighted to see that it was a photograph from an Eagle Scout ceremony for Ben Whittington, a scout who has been helping me with Trooper's training for many years. Ben posed with Trooper for a few photos after the ceremony.

SALT LAKE CITY -- When the Boy Scouts of America began a discussion earlier this year about lifting its ban on gays, some speculated it could lead to the severing of ties with the Mormon church that goes back 100 years. Those predictions ended up being off the mark. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints threw its support behind the new policy voted on Thursday by the Boy Scouts of America that opens the door for gay youth to join the ranks, while continuing to ban gay adult Scout leaders.

Yesterday was a dark day for America. Delegates to a national Boy Scouts of America (BSA) meeting in Texas apparently voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to validate homosexuality among boys. We are outraged. This is a betrayal of the highest magnitude. It's a betrayal of the boys in the Scouts' care. It's a betrayal of trusting parents. It's a betrayal of a 103-year-old institution that has molded millions of boys into men. It's a betrayal of truth and honor. Finally, it's a betrayal of God, in Whose name the organization furthered the priceless worth of being morally straight. The immoral campaign...

As counterintuitive as it may sound for an organization with such a wholesome and all-American reputation, it seems that secrecy and heavy-handed tactics are the order of the day at the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) meeting that will decide whether the BSA will change its century-old policy to expand its membership to include open and avowed homosexuals.

It comes as no surprise that, during a CBS interview in February, President Obama supported having the Boy Scouts of America open its membership to gays and, presumably, those who lead scout troops as well. “My attitude, the President said “is that gays and lesbians should have access and opportunity the same way everybody else does, in every institution and walk of life.” Spoken like a good Communist hiding the true intent of debasing the cultural and moral life of America.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry will be among the speakers at the "Stand with Scouts Sunday" nationwide simulcast event to support Boy Scouts of America's membership policies on homosexuality. Perry, a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, will be joined by Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, the organization that's hosting the Stand with Scouts Sunday event, along with John Stemberger, Eagle Scout and founder of OnMyHonor.Net, a coalition of BSA parents and scouting leaders, who are asking members of the national council to vote "No" on the BSA's resolution to lift the ban on openly gay membership.

The results of a Boy Scouts of America (BSA) survey shows that a majority of members support keeping in place the policy that prohibits homosexuals from joining or leading the organization. Ahead of a May 23 vote on whether to change its policies to allow openly homosexual scout members and/or gay scout leaders, the BSA has provided CNSNews with the results of survey conducted in February of BSA members, parents, donors and other interested parties. The survey’s executive summary describes it as “the most comprehensive listing exercise in [BSA] history.” The survey shows that of the 200,000 adult members who...

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...