Boy Scouts of America go on Offense...
And it's very offensive indeed. They don't just continue to
defend, but actively restate their desire to discriminate on the grounds of
religion, gender, and sexual orientation
NEWS Release
February 6th, 2002
BSA Board Affirms Traditional Leadership Standards
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Irving, Texas - The national executive board of the Boy Scouts of America has
reaffirmed its traditional leadership standards, as recommended by its
appropriate committees.
The board received three resolutions suggesting changes in leadership standards
in order to permit avowed homosexuals to serve as Boy Scout leaders. The board
referred the resolutions to the appropriate committee, which formed a diverse
task force composed of chartered organization representatives to consider the
resolutions.
The BSA reaffirmed its view that an avowed homosexual cannot serve as a role
model for the traditional moral values espoused in the Scout Oath and Law and
that these values cannot be subject to "local option" choices.
In affirming its existing standards of leadership, the board also agreed that
duty to God is not a mere ideal for those choosing to associate with Boy Scouts
of America; it is an obligation, which has defined good character throughout the
BSA's 92-year history.
The board, the relationships committee, and the special task force are all
comprised of volunteer members of the BSA.
The BSA is one of the largest youth-serving organizations in America, serving
over five million young people between 7 and 20 years of age.
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Here is the Resolution:
February 6, 2002
Boy Scouts of America Resolution
WHEREAS the Resolutions Committee of the Boy Scouts of America (on behalf of the
Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America) on June 1, 2001, assigned the
Relationships Committee of the Boy Scouts of America with he responsibility for
considering and making recommendations to the Executive Board with respect to
various resolutions submitted by members of the National Council at the Annual
Meeting concerning the appropriate flexibility to be employed by the Boy Scouts
of America in establishing standards for leadership, and
WHEREAS the Relationships Committee duly formed a Task Force on Resolutions,
composed of a cross section of representatives from the religious and civic
chartered organizations and others represented in Scouting, to consider these
resolutions and make recommendations to the Relationships Committee, and
WHEREAS the Task Force has reported the results of its thoughtful and extensive
deliberations to the Relationships Committee which submitted the report to the
Relationships/Marketing Group Committee, both of these committees having
approved and adopted the Report of the Task Force on Resolutions as their own,
and
WHEREAS the national officers, having received and considered the Report,
unanimously adopt the recommendations of the Report without reservation, and
WHEREAS the national officers agree with the report that "duty to God is
not a mere ideal for those choosing to associate with the Boy Scouts of America;
it is an obligation" which has defined good character for youth of Scouting
age throughout Scouting's 92 year history and that the Boy Scouts of America has
made a commitment "to provide faith-based values to its constituency in a
respectful manner," and
WHEREAS the national officers agree that "conduct of both Scouts and
Scouters must be in compliance with the Scout Oath and Law" and that
"membership is contingent upon one's willingness to accept the values and
standards espoused by the Boy Scouts of America," and
WHEREAS, the national officers further agree that homosexual conduct is
inconsistent with the traditional values espoused in the Scout Oath and Law and
that an avowed homosexual could not serve as a role model for the values of the
Oath and Law, and
WHEREAS the national officers reaffirm that, as a national organization whose
very reason for existence is to instill and reinforce values in youth, BSA's
values cannot be subject to "local option" choices, but must be the
same in every unit, and
WHEREAS the Boy Scouts of America respects the right of persons and individuals
to hold values and standards different than the Boy Scouts of America, the
national officers also agree that Boy Scouts of America is entitled to expect
that persons and organizations with different values and standards will
nevertheless respect those of the Boy Scouts of America, and
THEREFORE, the national officers recommend that the National Executive Board
affirm that the Boy Scouts of America shall continue to follow its traditional
values and standards of leadership.
The Boy Scouts of America http://www.scouting.org
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