Editorial for August 3, 2006

Support the Scouts

We all know that the Boy Scouts of America do so much for this country, from helping little old ladies cross the street and collecting food and clothing for poor people to preserving our natural resources and building character in the young men of the nation. They are as American as Mom (and Dad!) and apple pie.

And that is why it is so sad to see Mayor John Street picking a fight with the Boy Scouts of America’s local chapter, the Cradle of Liberty Council, by trying to evict them from their city-owned headquarters in Center City, all because of a legal matter that is essentially a non-issue.

The Boy Scouts of America does not allow known homosexuals to serve in leadership positions; the organization asserts in no uncertain terms that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the values that it tries to instill in its members. The organization is 100 percent right — ethically, morally and legally.

Set aside, for a moment, the arguments that there is no constitutional right to be gay and that in the beginning, it was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. They’re valid points, but they’re not really the issue.

The real issue is that the Boy Scouts of America is a private organization that does not discriminate on the basis of race or religion. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, the BSA has the right to exclude homosexuals from leadership roles. It’s an American right, and it’s the law of the land from the highest court in the land. Mr. Street may not like it, but it is what it is, and he is not above the law.

Mr. Street, who is a Seventh-day Adventist, is making a mountain out of a molehill on the Scout issue, perhaps because he thinks it’s the "politically correct" thing to do. Like everybody else, however, the mayor should remember the part of the Scout oath that calls for Scouts to be "morally straight." America might just get back on track if we all adhered to that.
The future, after all, is at stake. ••

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