(My note: If the Boy Scouts lose funding because of Godly values, Christians should take up their cause and replace the funding).
Penn Pro-Family Leader Says Scouts' Policy Protects Young Boys
by Jim Brown
August 11, 2004
(AgapePress) - A Pennsylvania pro-family group says a recent rash of sexual assaults on young men in the state proves, once again, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is right, and the City of Philadelphia is dead wrong, on the issue of homosexual scout leaders.
Philadelphia Mayor John Street has been insistent that the Cradle of Liberty Scout Council be ousted from its headquarters because of its adherence to the BSA policy banning homosexual troop leaders. But Diane Gramley, who heads the American Family Association of Pennsylvania, feels the city of Philadelphia is simply refusing to acknowledge the strong link between homosexuals and sexual assaults on young men.
Gramley believes the BSA has made the right decision in prohibiting open homosexuals from serving as troop leaders. Obviously, she says, "anyone who has a sexual attraction to a young man ... should not be involved with the Scouts, period. How many parents would want a man to be their daughter's Girl Scout leader? It's the same idea."
The recent spate of incidents involving homosexual men molesting young boys throughout Pennsylvania indicates to Gramley that the BSA's policy toward homosexuals is appropriate. However, she says the City of Philadelphia is still discriminating against the scouting organization.
The pro-family advocate says homosexual activists and other critics of the BSA's stance are "hoping to pressure this scout council in Philadelphia to change their policy, to go against the national policy and to permit open homosexuals as scout leaders."
These activists have forced organizations such as the Southeastern Pennsylvania United Way to pull its substantial financial backing from the scouting organization, Gramley says. And the Pew Charitable Trust, once a major supporter, has also cut hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding to the Scouts.
The AFA of Pennsylvania spokeswoman says municipalities like Philadelphia that have added "sexual orientation" as a protected category to their ordinances "are apparently seeking to discriminate against [the Boy Scouts], simply because it wants to protect the young men in their charge."
Gramley is encouraging the "City of Brotherly Love" to rethink its decision to kick the Cradle of Liberty Boy Scout Council out of its city headquarters, as Philadelphia officials intend to do soon.
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