Scout's honor: We will not cave

Last Saturday, a group of parents and scoutmasters gathered in Orlando, Fla., to announce the debut of OnMyHonor.net, an initiative to keep sex and politics out of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).

According to CitizenLink, representatives from 13 states pledged to oppose any revision to Scout policy that would allow openly homosexual men to hold positions of leadership. Since its founding in 1910, BSA has traditionally excluded gay men because their lifestyle is inconsistent with the Scout oath to be morally straight.

During the rally, John Stemberger, spokesman for OnMyHonor.net and president of the Florida Family Policy Council, clarified that the initiative would continue to allow anyone to participate as Scouts, no matter their sexual orientation. But it would prevent homosexual men from openly promoting their lifestyle and political agenda from positions of leadership.

“When it comes to young boys, parents have the final say on the issues of sex and politics,” Stemberger said.

BSA has been under pressure from gay activists to allow open homosexuals in leadership for more than a decade. Last year, pro-homosexual groups convinced several corporations, including UPS and Intel, to cease funding BSA after its board members unanimously affirmed traditional leadership policies at their annual meeting.

That pressured the financially-frail BSA to announce its willingness to reconsider revising the 100-year-old policy. The announcement met considerable opposition from parents and religious leaders, including The Southern Baptist Convention. Leaders of the largest Protestant denomination in the country warned in a letter to BSA that changing the policy would, “place the Boy Scouts organization at odds with a consistent biblical worldview on matters of human sexuality …” Last month, BSA’s executive board announced it wouldn’t make a final decision on the matter until May.

In the meantime, grassroots efforts such as OnMyHonor.net are rallying together to raise support for the traditional policy. They also are raising awareness about the dangers open homosexuality would present: a decrease in membership, a rise in scandalous sexual misconduct, and overt pro-gay political activism.

During Saturday’s event, former U.S. Congressman Dick Schulze from Pennsylvania urged BSA board members to uphold tradition: “What kind of a message are we sending to our young people if the very leaders who are teaching Boy Scouts to be brave, cannot even find the courage to stand firm and avoid caving to peer pressure from Hollywood and political activists?”