Washington D.C – The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) voted to change its policy, allowing open homosexuality among its youth, while retaining the ban for adult leaders. Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America (CWA), issued the following statement:
“This attempt at a compromise only rouses more questions and concerns. The Boy Scouts have now opened themselves up to promised lawsuits in the years to come, as this new policy is simply unsustainable. A child that has been openly homosexual throughout his scouting life will supposedly not be able to continue to volunteer for any activities once he turns 18. It is simply legally unsustainable.
“The Supreme Court already cleared the Boy Scouts of America of having to make any changes to its previous policy in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000), deciding that the Boy Scouts of America had a constitutionally protected right to its membership policy under the First Amendment. The decision was made heavily on the position that (as the Court summarized it) ‘homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the values it seeks to instill.’
“The Boy Scouts had a very strong footing for their policy. Today, they gave all that away. And it seems it is all for money – not only from sponsors, but from what they save from the use of public facilities, which they are afraid they will continue to lose, as they have in states like California.
“Sex and politics do not belong in the Boy Scouts. Any sort of sexual activity has always been barred from within the Boy Scouts, and now our children are forced to be subject to topics and actions that have nothing to do with scouting. This was a political move at the expense of our children, not born out of the Boy Scouts membership, but out of the desire of a few radicals in leadership who knowingly joined the institution, supposedly agreeing to its core principles, only to turn around and push their own agendas onto a 103-year-old institution. Christian parents have no other choice but to reassess their involvement in the Boy Scouts, who have officially strayed from their original purpose. It is a sad day for children and families.”