By: Mary Mostert, Analyst, Original Sources (www.originalsources.com)
September 29, 2000
When, on June 28, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of the Boy Scouts of America to uphold its decades long standards, as expressed in the Boy Scout Oath and Law, war was declared against the Boy Scouts. Those declaring war were confident of their eventual victory and many in the media were quick to jump on their bandwagon. The Sun-Sentinel of Southern Florida, where communities are being torn apart by the conflict, wrote on July 1st:
NEW YORK - The Boy Scouts of America triumphed in their legal battle over gay scout leaders, but the victory could prove costly.Critics say the Scouts have squandered a reputation for tolerance and face an erosion of public support.
"They're getting left behind where America is going," said Matt Coles, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. "People are going to turn to their local governments and say, 'This is a pack of bigots. Don't give them special treatment.'"
He predicted that a nationwide movement - "church by church, business by business, town by town" - will gradually cut community ties with the Scouts and edge them into the ranks of ideological, right-wing groups.
That showed total confidence that a nation of people who managed to accept oral sex between their president and a young intern wouldn't get upset over a full-scale political attack on the Boy Scouts. It appears their confidence may have been a bit premature.
In fact, before the election is held on November 7th, those seeking votes are probably going to have to take sides where the issue is concerned. It appears, increasingly, that a large and growing percentage of Americans are not willing to stand by and do nothing while the children are attacked and their organizations strangled for lack of funds by people who think like the writer of the Sun-Sentinel article.
Since this issue burst forth at the beginning of July, it has started a REAL culture war. People are not turning to their local governments, or their Congress for that matter, and saying "The Boy Scouts of America is a pack of bigots. Don't give them special treatment." What is happening is that they are beginning to say, "Those trying to hurt the Boy Scouts of America are a bunch of bigots and if you want to stay in office, you better not join them in hurting our kids!"
This was admirably illustrated by the action of one Alderman in Winston-Salem, North Carolina when the local United Way decided to punish the Scouts by cutting their funding. The following story was sent to Gavin Grooms, National Director of Save Our Scouts, who launched a petition on September 1. That petition, which urges the Boy Scouts of America to stand firm in its support of the Boy Scout oath, already has 36,000 signatures. It seems the people support the Scouts "morally straight" stand. The petition, incidentally, can be accessed and signed at: http://www.saveourscouts.com. Save Our Scouts is dedicated to replacing the funds where the United Way and businesses are trying to force them to abandon their principles.)
Black Conservative GOP Alderman Stops Powerful Lobby in Tracks to save Local Boy Scouts United Way drops dispute over homosexuals with local Boy Scouts
(Winston-Salem, NC) - The United Way of Forsyth County, Inc., in a stunning about-face, will issue a joint statement with the Boy Scouts of America reinstating their financial support and repealing their sexual orientation clause now in their member agency agreement.
the statement will admit
1. that the United Way grossly overstepped their mandate;
2. they abused the sensibilities of the community;
3. that their job is not social change, but supporting local agencies doing good works.A full page ad in the Winston-Salem Journal will accompany this announcement. "This is nothing short of extraordinary," said Vernon Robinson, Winston-Salem Alderman, "It is a total victory for the Winston-Salem Forsyth County community, the Boy Scouts of America, and this nation."
The story began in August, when the United Way of Forsyth County, Inc. amended its non-discrimination agreement with member agencies. Fringe elements of the homosexual lobby then used the new wording to cut the Old Hickory Council, Boy Scouts of America off from the $429,000 in support from the United Way.
When the story first broke that the United Way of Forsyth County was planning to pull funding for the Boy Scouts, Vernon Robinson, 44, a black conservative GOP member of the Winston-Salem Board of Aldermen, called a press conference to announce his plans to pass a resolution excluding the United Way campaign from City premises. In addition, the resolution would stop payroll deductions to the United Way unless the United Way continued its funding.
The press coverage resulted in hundreds of outraged phone calls and letters to the editor to the Winston-Salem Journal and the United Way. According to Local Scout Executive Hal Murray, several large employers called in support for Robinson's resolution and promised to discontinue participation in the United Way campaign if its persecution of the Boy Scouts continued.
"As an Eagle Scout, I've been very angry at the public war waged on scouting by the homosexual lobby, the North American Man-Boy Love Association and the American Civil Liberties Union," said Robinson. "This victory is a model for the nation. Hopefully, this will inspire others to demonstrate the courage of their convictions. This is the best birthday present I could ever receive (Robinson turns 45 on Saturday)."
We all owe Vernon Robinson a round of applause. He really HAS created the model, along with Gavin Grooms of Save Our Scouts and others who are now standing up against the arrogant bigotry of those who believe attacking the Boy Scouts' moral principles.
Vernon and Gavin show us what one person can do in fighting to save our culture. Another group, that has just barely put its website on line is the Scouting Legal Defense Fund at http://www.defendscouting.com
The Scouting Legal Defense Fund has been launched by the American Civil Rights Union (ACRU), which was organized by a prestigious group headed by former Reagan Attorney General Edwin Meese. The ACRU plans to provide the legal defense for groups such as the Boy Scouts which have been systematically attacked by the ACLU. Often, because the ACLU seems to have unlimited funding from the far left, others lose in court because they don't have the funds to fight them. ACRU hopes to balance the scales.
Their first major effort is to get a simple question asked at the Presidential Debates, especially of Al Gore. The question is: Mr. Gore, do you support the Supreme Court Court's decision in upholding the First Amendment Rights of the Boy Scouts of America? Specifically, do you support the right of organizations such as the Scouts to exclude homosexuals?
The Court decision upholding the First Amendment rights of the Boy Scouts was 5-4. The next president will appoint perhaps as many as three judges. The next Senate will approve those judges. What happens to not only the Boy Scouts but also to Churches and the Constitution itself will depend on the results on THIS election. If Al Gore or George W. Bush plan to apply ANY philosophical "litmus tests" to prospective Court nominees, would one of them be how likely the nominee would be to vote with the current majority in a future case such as the June 28th decision on whether the Boy Scouts of America should be forced to change their standards and accept homosexuals as scoutmasters?
If this is important to you, go to: http://www.defendscouting.com to send your request to the newspeople that will be asking the questions in the upcoming presidential and vice presidential debates. And, then send an e-mail to everyone you know urging them to do the same. If the ACRU folks could send thousands of requests for that question to be asked in the debate, the question would almost have to be included.
To comment: mmostert@originalsources.com
To Subscribe to the Reagan Monitor, the newsletter that gives you news FACTS you can USE to make your life, and the world, better go to:
Start Your Subscription
