On Monday afternoon, the Boy Scouts of America released a statement indicating that the organization is considering ending its longstanding policy on homosexuality. A recent Gallup survey found that only 42 percent of Americans support changing the current policy. Tony Perkins is reponding to the news:
The Boy Scouts of America board would be making a serious mistake to bow to the strong–arm tactics of LGBT activists and open the organization to homosexuality. What has changed in terms of the Boy Scouts’ concern for the well-being of the boys under their care? Or is this not about the well-being of the Scouts, but the funding for the organization?
The Boy Scouts has for decades been a force for moral integrity and leadership in the United States. Sadly, their principled stances have marked them as a target for harassment by homosexual activists and corporations such as UPS which are working to pressure the Boy Scouts into abandoning their historic values.
The mission of the Boy Scouts is “to instill values in young people” and “prepare them to make ethical choices,” and the Scout’s oath includes a pledge “to do my duty to God” and keep himself “morally straight.” It is entirely reasonable and not at all unusual for those passages to be interpreted as requiring abstinence from homosexual conduct.
If the board capitulates to the bullying of homosexual activists, the Boy Scouts’ legacy of producing great leaders will become yet another casualty of moral compromise. The Boy Scouts should stand firm in their timeless values and respect the right of parents to discuss these sexual topics with their children.
Tony Perkins is president of the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council.
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