Boy Scouts of America Considering Changing Century-Long Policy pb

STATEMENT COULD BE ISSUED ON WEDNESDAY

by Sharon Rondeau

(Feb. 5, 2013) — Last Thursday, The Post & Email reported that the main reason the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) are considering a shift in policy regarding membership of homosexuals resulted from pressure exerted by local sponsors who disagree with its current policy banning such individuals.  The information was provided to us by Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III, who conversed with a scouting professional for approximately 90 minutes.

Fitzpatrick, who received his Eagle Scout designation in June 1969, was told by the professional scouter with whom he spoke that the impact of corporate sponsors withdrawing their support is currently not as great a challenge as the pressure from churches and other sponsoring organizations at the local level.  Almost 70% of charter groups of the BSA consists of religious organizations, according to the BSA’s website, with community organizations and private schools and groups also extending sponsorships.

National meetings  of the Boy Scouts began on Monday and are expected to culminate in a public statement on the matter on Wednesday.

WorldNetDaily recently reported that dwindling corporate funds are the main reason, with previously generous donors such as UPS and Intel ceasing to support the Scouts altogether.  Current corporate sponsors include ATT, BassProShops, and others.

Since the Boy Scouts were founded in 1910, the President of the United States has been designated its “honorary president.”  In an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Obama opined that the BSA should accept homosexuals.    In 2010, upon the organization’s 100th birthday, Obama gave a “video address” to the Boy Scouts which said, in part, “Congratulations on your first hundred years. I’m sure the next hundred will be even better.”

In a 2000 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Boy Scouts were not prohibited from excluding men and women based on the trait of homosexuality.  The case had been brought by a New Jersey man, James Dale, who was expelled from the Scouts after the Scouts discovered that  that he was a homosexual.  On July 17, 2012, the same day that a law enforcement investigation in Maricopa County, AZ pronounced the BSA’s honorary president to have a “definitely forged” birth certificate, the Boy Scouts of America reaffirmed its ban on homosexuals.

At that time, a panel of Scout leaders concluded that “this policy is absolutely the best policy for the Boy Scouts,” as announced by spokesman Deron Smith.

The following day, it was reported that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is funded by taxpayer dollars, renewed a complaint against the Boulder, CO Valley School District for giving the Boy Scouts a discounted rate to use its facilities.  Two years ago, the ACLU filed a lawsuit over its objections to “religiously infused” birth control instruction reportedly delivered by USAID, a government agency.

Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, where the Boy Scouts are based, supports the Boy Scouts’ policy.

Advertisements and petitions expressing both sides of the argument have been presented to the BSA, and phones have not been answered for this writer on Friday, Monday or Tuesday.  Some media coverage emphasized the pressure coming from those who advocate a change in the Boy Scouts’ policy and denounced those in favor of current BSA policy.

BSA spokesman Deron Smith, indicating the consideration of a shift from a blanket national policy to local decision-making, stated that “Under this proposed policy, the BSA would not require any chartered organization to act in ways inconsistent with that organization’s mission, principles or religious beliefs.”

The Boy Scouts currently exclude self-described atheists.

A writer at The Washington Times compared the overturning of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in place over the U.S. military since the Clinton years to the potential of the Boy Scouts reversing its 113-year policy of barring openly homosexuals.

Two corporate CEOs have reportedly been attempting to “work from within the organization to change the membership policy.”

Before the birth of Christ, writer, statesman and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero warned of the “the enemy within the gates” and “the traitor:”

A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself.

For the traitor appears not a traitor – he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.

On Tuesday, The Post & Email sent the following media inquiry to the Boy Scouts of America:

Hello, I operate an electronic newspaper and have been following the BSA in the news.

Last week I was given information through a third party who had spoken with one of your paid staff about the need for the BSA to reconsider its position on homosexuals.  I published a story here, accessible with a free subscription:  http://www.thepostemail.com/2013/01/31/breaking-exclusive-boy-scouts-pressured-to-change-position-on-homosexuality-by-church-sponsors-pb/

Another media outlet has indicated that the withdrawal of corporate sponsorship is the cause for you to reconsider:  http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/scout-leaders-vow-to-quit-if-gay-policy-reversed/

Could I obtain clarification on what is causing you to reconsider your position?

Thank you very much.

Sharon Rondeau, Editor
The Post & Email
www.thepostemail.com
203-987-7948

As this article was going to press, the following response was received from Deron Smith:

BSA policies, regardless of the topic, are a result of an internal dialogue within the Scouting family.

Sent from my iPhone

The “media” tab on the Boy Scouts’ website states:

Welcome to the Boy Scouts of America’s Media Center; we look forward to working with your media outlets. At the national office of the BSA and at nearly 300 councils across the country, we have staff ready to help tell the story of Scouting. If you represent a media outlet with regional, national, or international reach, we want to tell you about Scouting . . . our mission, our programs, our history. If your story calls for a certain area of expertise, we can also arrange interviews with subject matter experts.

Contacts for reporters working on national stories: PR@scouting.org .

Contacts for reporters working on local stories: Please contact your local Boy Scout council.

The Post & Email had utilized the media email address provided in making its inquiry.