Boy Scouts

Meeting Thursday in Grapevine, Texas, the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America will decide whether it will retain or revise its historic membership policy on the issue of homosexuality.

Next Thursday, some 1,400 members of Boy Scouts of America's national council are expected to vote on the resolution seeking to revise the organization's membership policy on homosexuality at their annual meeting in Grapevine, Texas.

They have pledges. They have merit badges. And they may go camping. But they're not the Boy Scouts.

On April 19, the national BSA leadership announced a proposed change to its current policy of banning openly homosexual men and boys from participating in Scouting. The proposed policy would walk a tightrope by banning homosexual adult leaders but welcoming boys who identify as gay, while affirming that "Scouting is a youth program, and any sexual conduct, whether homosexual or heterosexual, by youth of Scouting age is contrary to the virtues of Scouting."

Conservative and liberal religious leaders may not agree on much, but both are expressing displeasure with the Boy Scouts' proposal to accept gay members but reject gay leaders.

There has been, over the past 40 years or so, a growing detachment of human sexuality from morality.

Under increasing pressure over its longstanding ban on gays, the Boy Scouts of America is proposing to lift the ban for youth members. The Scouts plan to continue to exclude gays as adult leaders.

The General Commission on United Methodist Men has joined conservative voices urging the Boy Scouts of America not to open its membership to homosexuals.

The nation's largest Protestant group on Feb. 19 added its voice to the growing chorus urging the Boy Scouts of America to maintain its ban on openly gay members and leaders.

A bill proposed in the California legislature seeks to punish the local chapters of the Boy Scouts of America for prohibiting homosexual leaders and members from joining the organization.

A decision on whether the Boy Scouts of America will end its ban on gay members and leaders will not be voted on until the organization's annual meeting in May, the national executive board said Wednesday.

The Scout oath requires boys (and leaders) to be "morally straight." Putting openly homosexual men and boys into Scout troops would be a direct violation of that oath.

President Barack Obama said in a pre-Super Bowl interview that gays should be allowed in the Boy Scouts of America, .

I’m not sure if my sons will ever make Eagle Scout, although that’s long been a cherished goal. Why? Because I’m not sure we’ll stay in Scouts. That breaks my heart, but better that than compromise the moral law of God, which is fixed in heaven forever.

Pressure from corporate sponsors may be the critical factor in a decision by the Boy Scouts of America to change its policy to allow homosexual scouts, volunteers and leaders.

A top atheist wants the Boy Scouts of America to lift its ban on atheists as well as homosexuals.

The policy change concerning homosexuals is a bad decision, not just for the Scouts, but for our country and our culture.

Those who believe that homosexual conduct is sin cannot endorse the new local option policy, and Scouting units that hold to this position will inevitably be marginalized. Those who celebrate and demand the normalization of homosexuality, on the other hand, cannot and will not be satisfied with a half-measure like a local option.

To the shock and disappointment of many of us, the Boy Scouts of America released a statement indicating the possibility of changing its policy that prevents the participation of openly practicing homosexuals.

The Southern Baptist Convention expressed extreme disappointment to news that the Boy Scouts of America will likely end a longtime ban on gay members, with SBC officials predicting a mass exodus out of Scouting by Baptist churches.