The Boy Scouts in the cross hairs

ebrown_p wrote:

But anyway, now we agree, but you are no fun when you are being reasonable.

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So now you are equating the Boy Scouts with the Klan and Hitler.

Only on issues in which they display similar values.

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You just have NO clue what Scouting stands for.

I suppose not. I only know I can't support them personally because of this issue. But then, I'm opposed to what seems to me to be mindless bigotry. Others don't see it that way.

As far as I know, no one is preventing those of you who do believe in discrimination (oops, I mean "traditional family values") from making large financial contributions -perhaps out of the vast surpluses accumulated under the Bush administration's tax cuts?- to the Scouts to replace funds that have been lost due to their expulsion from the CFC in some localities.

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This is idiotic. The boy scouts organization argued that they were a religious organization rather than a public government funded one in order to be able to discriminate against homosexuals.

Religious organizations by definition can't be funded by the government directly or indirectly. It's a little line in the constitution called seperation of church and state.

The boy scouts can't have it both ways. Either they aren't a government funded organization and thus can discriminate against homosexuals, or they are a private one in which case they can't recieve govt. aid.

This is their decision to make but they can't have it both ways unless we decide to repeal the constituion.

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It is possible to be an organization made up of religious believers without being a religion or a church, as the Scouts are arguing in a countersuit in San Diego. California's liberal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has held: "First, a religion addresses fundamental and ultimate questions having to do with deep and imponderable matters. Second, a religion is comprehensive in nature; it consists of a belief system as opposed to an isolated teaching. Third, a religion often can be recognized by the presence of certain formal and external signs."

Does this describe the Scouts? The Boy Scouts ask members to do their duty to country and God, but the "imponderables" usually don't go much deeper than how to tie a figure-eight knot. Christians, Jews, Muslims, anyone who believes in God qualifies as a member, which makes the organization an odd sort of religion. The Scout Law provides that a scout be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent -- a laundry list of virtues that is thoroughly nonsectarian and nonobjectionable.

I find that distinction a reasonable rebuttal to your statements, Centroles.

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The Boy Scouts in the cross hairs

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