Traditional Values Coalition Opinion Editorial

For Immediate Release June 19, 2001

A Time To Choose: Sodomy As A Family Value? - Or The Boy Scouts?

By Rev. Louis P. Sheldon Chairman, Traditional Values Coalition Washington, DC - On Tuesday evening, the Public Broadcasting System aired "Scouts Honor," a pro-homosexual documentary that tells the story of Boy Scout Steven Cozza and his Scoutmaster David Rice. Cozza and Rice founded "Scouting for All," an organization dedicated to forcing the Boy Scouts of America to admit open homosexuals into its ranks.

Last week, in a narrow vote of 51-49, the U.S. Senate voted for the Helms amendment to Senate Bill 1, the education bill. The Helms amendment was designed to protect the Scouts from being banned from using public facilities. All over America, the Boy Scouts of America is under attack for its policy of excluding homosexuals from membership or leadership positions. Energized by homosexual activists, organizations like the United Way and numerous cities have chosen to defund the Scouts.

There seems to be little public outrage over these attacks against the Scouts. Instead, newspapers all over the United States are joining in the chorus of vilification against one of the finest organizations in the United States. The mantra of "tolerance" has apparently been repeated so often that it has put the American public to sleep over this moral conflict.

Homosexuals want to destroy the Boy Scouts because its leadership refuses to admit men who have anal intercourse with other men. The Scouts' leadership rightfully fears putting boys under the authority of homosexuals. Not a week passes without a news story about a homosexual Scout leader who has been arrested for molesting boys. Just recently, a Scout leader in Muncie, Indiana was charged with molesting as many as five boys.

The clash between the Boy Scouts and homosexuals is not simply over the potential for molestation. There is a moral element as well. The Scouts view homosexuality as incompatible with the Scout oath, which maintains that a person must be morally straight. This means a boy swears to be chaste before marriage and faithful in marriage. Yet a typical homosexual devotes an inordinate amount of time seeking out the next orgasm through oral or anal sodomy. Homosexuals openly admit that they have multiple sex partners-many of them anonymous encounters in parks and sex clubs. The homosexual lifestyle is characterized by irresponsible sexual behaviors that spread sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.

There is also the issue of freedom of association at stake here. Homosexuals are not content with a "live and let live" philosophy. They want forced approval of their lifestyle-and they will force others to associate with them under penalty of law. According to the Supreme Court, a private group like the Boy Scouts has the right to set its own membership standards. Yet homosexuals want to force young boys to be exposed to homosexuality in the Scouts. Should a Jewish group be forced by law to admit Muslims? Of course, not. Then why force a group to violate its standards of morality by admitting homosexuals?

Homosexuals engage in sexual behaviors that are shocking to most people, yet we are told we must be tolerant of these behaviors and must welcome homosexuals into the Boy Scouts. The American people need to understand a simple truth: Sodomy is not a family value-and the homosexual lifestyle is not something we should tolerate, celebrate, or force upon our children.

Regrettably, the spirit of "tolerance" seems to have a strong grip upon the American psyche. It may take a family tragedy to awaken parents to the reality of what is happening to their sons. Will parents have to endure the trauma of discovering their son has been molested by a homosexual Scout leader or infected with AIDS before they realize that "tolerance" of homosexuality leads to death?

Traditional Values Coalition is an inter-denominational public policy organization comprising over 43,000 member churches. For more information call Steve Aiken at (202) 547-8570. TVC, 139 C Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003. Web address: www.traditionalvalues.org.

Last Update: 06/25/01
Web Author: Don Hundt