Scouting, Volume 80, Number 4, September 1992 Page: 12
98 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Maintaining BSA Standards
Recently, the boy
Scouts of America has been at-
tacked by special interest
groups who claim that we will
not allow them to participate in the
BSA because of their differences with
our long-held standards.
They're absolutely correct.
Yet, these same individuals claim
that we are infringing upon their per-
sonal Tights by maintaining this posi-
tion. On this count, they're absolutely
wrong.
For more than 82 years, the BSA
has taken a strong stand for the teach-
ing of traditional American family
values. The Scout Oath and Law have
served as guideposts for more than 88
million young people as they traveled
the challenging trail of life.
Atheists, homosexuals, and others
who challenge the very core spirit of
our organization say we won't allow
them to come in and change our stan-
dards. Again, they're correct. But say-
ing that we're violating their rights is
pure fantasy. Scouting has never de-
nied the rights of homosexuals to their
life style, never said that atheists could
not maintain their viewpoints. We
have always acknowledged, and
taught, that the rights of all are to be
respected.
The BSA is committed to maintain-
ing its rights under the Constitution of
the United States. It is in fact our
rights as a private membership organi-
zation that have been challenged. But
we have become even more committed
to upholding the values that have made
both the BSA and our country strong.
In the early '80s, Timothy Curran,
an acknowledged homosexual, applied
for a leadership position in a Scout
troop. His application for leadership
was rejected. More than 10 years later,
the California Superior Court in Los
Angeles County upheld our right to
maintain our standards, saying that
these standards were important to
communicate our values.
In two separate court cases, three
boys petitioned the court to force the
BSA to admit atheists into the Cub
Scout program. The state Superior
Court judge listening to the case in
California found in favor of twin boys, a
decision that we are appealing. Yet, in
Federal District Court in Chicago, the
judge upheld Scouting's right to main-
tain its values in the case of the third
youth.
Over our history, we've been chal-
lenged eight times on the issue of girls
joining Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. All
eight cases were found in favor of the
BSA.
These special interest groups, the
very ones that claim to want involve-
ment in Scouting, are intent on de-
stroying the BSA this nation has come
to expect and count upon. Just as athe-
ist and homosexual activists have
sought to use the. BSA as a platform
for their own sociopolitical agenda,
they have used other organizations to
do their bidding. A look at the recent
history of their challenges is very tell-
ing.
As early as 1987, homosexuals
began targeting United Way of the
Bay Area, questioning that organiza-
tion's policies and practices. While un-
successful at effecting change at that
time, they did begin a slow process of
gaining involvement in the United
Way organization.
Next, the United Way of the Bay
Area gave us an ultimatum to change
our standards or they would defund
the six local Scout councils that they
had been supporting for nearly 75
years. The result? We did not cave in.
The BSA lost more than one million
dollars, primarily impacting young
people from inner-city areas around
San Francisco and Oakland. In an age
when everything seemingly is for sale,
we said, "Our values are not for sale at
any price...We will not negotiate the
Scout Oath and Law."
Buoyed by what they perceived as a
"win," homosexual activists and the
Bay Area United Way have placed
pressure on a number of Bay Area cor-
porations. As a result, Levi Strauss
and Company notified us of their intent
to defund our program.
On May 31, 1992, the Associated
Press initiated an article stating that
the Bank of America and Wells Fargo
Bank had decided to discontinue their
financial support of the BSA. Again on
June 2 more articles quoted bank offi-
cials that this was in fact the bank's
policy. Less publicized were similar de-
cisions from Lotus Development and
Recreational Equipment, Inc., and
several other businesses are currently
considering taking action. But many
other companies have already stated
support of our position, as well.
On June 4 we held a press confer-
ence in San Francisco and informed
our supporters about the bank action.
We sent letters to our nearly 400 local
councils and to our national executive
board asking them to contact the
boards of these companies and express
their concern.
To date, we have received wide-
spread and supportive response.
Beyond simple expression of disap-
pointment, numerous individuals, com-
panies, and organizations have said
they would stop doing business with
these companies.
Though the BSA has been most ex-
plicit in all our communications not to
recommend, endorse, or condone any
boycott activity, such actions have oc-
curred and tend to demonstrate the
pent-up frustration felt by so many
mainstream Americans for the deep
erosion of our country's moral fiber.
We want to make it clear that Scout-
ing is not at war with any corporation.
To the contrary, our organization has
long enjoyed the generous support of
our nation's business community.
However, when a decision is made to
defund the Boy Scouts because of pres-
sure from those intent on tearing down
rather than building up, and these
companies choose to go public to get
others to join them, we must and will
take a strong stand. The Scout Oath
and Law are not up for negotiation.
Our values are not for sale. The Boy
Scouts of America did not start this
confrontation, but, unfortunately, has
been placed in a position of defending
its commitment to upholding family
values.
Parents and youth become active in
Scouting because they know what the
BSA stands for, and they want these
values for their families. We pledge to
you and them that we will continue to
fight for these principles. ■
12
Scouting September 1992
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 80, Number 4, September 1992, periodical, September 1992; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353640/m1/12/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.