Here's my 'toon on the topic (drawn by, yessiree, an Eagle Scout, so dubbed by Mormon Explorer Post 1004, Richardson, TX, age 16, Year of Our Ward, 1970, with an official-seal citation fron the Gov of the Lone Star State at the time, Preston Smith, yeehaw!)
*Go here for a stand-alone image:
http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/8316f84dbe1a6324d52b6bf8571111d1e813557c/c=0-11-3397-2565&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/2015/05/23/Phoenix/Phoenix/635680199259375431-bensonCOLOR--Scoutmasters-05-24-15.jpg*Or here to the website page and click on the image in the upper left-hand corner to enlarge:
http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/steve-benson/2015/05/23/boys-scouts-america-robert-gates-good-turn-daily-turnabout-gay-scoutmasters/27872569/ ()
And here's the commentary (along with reader input) to go along with it:
“'Dear Scouts: Do a Good Turn Daily by Doing a Good Turnabout Now'
Steve Benson,
The Arizona Republic
azcentral.com
23 May 2015
"As former director of the CIA, he had a reputation of speaking "plainly and bluntly."
"As former Secretary of Defense, he approved regulations making it harder to give gay military personnel the boot.
"Now, as president of the Boy Scouts of America, he's telling the organization to find a way to halt its outdated ban on gay scoutmasters.
"Meet Robert Gates.
"The guy's no dummy and, yes, he doesn't mince words. Get a load of what he recently unloaded on adult Scout leaders gathered for their annual meeting in Atlanta.
"He said that the BSA is out of step on the issue of gay Scout leaders and that without a sooner-than-later change in direction, the BSA might soon be out of luck. He warned that if the BSA doesn't straighten up and admit gay adults into its troop-directing ranks, it could mean 'the end of us as a national movement.'
"He said that the times, they are a changin' — meaning that its time to change out the ostrich and replace it with outreach:
"'We cannot ignore the social, political and judicial changes taking place in our country. . . . We are increasingly at odds with the legal landscape at both the state and federal levels. . . . (T)he one thing we cannot do is put our heads in the sand and pretend this challenge will go away or abate. Quite the opposite is happening.'
"He said that the BSA is likely facing serious challenges from both within and without aimed at forcing it to drop its policy of denying gays troop leadership roles on the grounds that such a ban violates employment equality laws already on the books in numerous states.
"Needless to say, Gates got the BSA's full attention, if not yet its full devotion.
"He knows that enlightenment doesn't come overnight--even for Scouters trained in map reading and compass skills.
"As proof, some conservative Christians Scout leaders howled that Gates was placing 'the safety and security' of young troopers at 'risk.' Others were less hysterical, admitting that while they were disappointed with Gates' views, they knew this was coming.
"Others, however, applauded Gates' courageous call for a course change. The group, Scouts for Equality, hailed his foresight, describing it as 'another step forward for the Boy Scouts of America (that is) charting a course towards full equality in the BSA,' and noting that while 'our work won't be done until we see a full end to their ban on gay adults once and for all, his announcement is a significant step in that direction.'
"Gates is calling on the Boy Scouts of America to do its duty to God, Country and Gays.
"On your honor, what do you think?
"--Steve Benson
Eagle Scout"
http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/steve-benson/2015/05/23/boys-scouts-america-robert-gates-good-turn-daily-turnabout-gay-scoutmasters/27872569/_____
Opponents of the satanically-scary idea of gay Scoutmasters are desperately trying to dodge the inconvenient burden of equal treatment under the law by insisting that the BSA is a private organization that has the right to be free of what its hysterical heterosexual hotheads denounce as government intrusion into the exercise of their personal religious beliefs.
Funny. If only they acted like they really believed that.
They don't seem to mind the federal governmentt stepping in to bless them with taxpayer dollars which they then use, in the name of US government endorsement, for promoting and funding their “private” activities.
_____
**Exhibit A: The BSA Has Brought Into Question Its Supposed “Private” Status by Unconstitutionally Relying on Taxpayer Funding
This from the FOX News website:
“ . . . [W]hether the Boy Scouts is private is not clear, and the organization must bear some responsibility for the blurring of lines. That responsibility is also an opportunity. The Boy Scouts can strike a blow for the right of free association by altering its policies. . . .
“Where is the line clearly drawn?
"'. . . A public place or organization is typically tax-funded or subsidized, and no one individual has a right to greater access than any other. National parks are an example.
". . . 'A private place or organization receives no public funding; people become members through invitation or through policies defined by the owners. Your living room is an example.
“Critics of the Boy Scouts, like the American Civil Liberties Union, make one strong argument against the organization's private status. The Boy Scouts enjoys massive and unique tax-funded support from governments both local and federal. On the local level, for example, the city of San Diego was targeted because it allowed the Boy Scouts' headquarters to operate in a city-owned park for $1 per year and to use other city-owned facilities without any rent.
“On the federal level, the Pentagon provided an estimated $6 to $8 million from 1997 to 2001 to assist a Boy Scouts Jamboree -- an event which is traditionally held on military bases.
“Linda Hills of the ACLU aptly states, 'The Boy Scouts can't have it both ways… If they truly are a private religious organization, free to engage in any form of discrimination they choose, then they are not entitled to a government subsidy.'
“On June 22, [2005], U.S. District Judge Blanche Manning (Illinois) agreed. She ruled against continuing the Jamboree's subsidy and, so, refused BSA continued access both to military bases and assistance such as transportation.
“On July 26, in a counter-move, the Senate unanimously voted for military bases to continue hosting Boy Scouts events.. . . .
“The first step in avoiding yet another senseless culture 'war' is to clearly establish the Boy Scouts as a public or private organization.
“The solution is simple. The Boy Scouts should cease to accept tax-funding and cut all official ties to government agencies. The Boy Scouts should live up to its self-declared status as a private organization. This would also be living up to the Boy Scouts' principles: it is the honest and honorable thing to do.'”
(“Is The Boy Scouts of America Public or Private?.” by Wendy McElroy, editor of ifemnisist.com and research fellow for Independent Institute, Oakland, CA, published on FOX News website, 7 August 2005)
_____
**Exhibit B: More Examples of Unconstitutional U.S. Government-Subsidization of the BSA
“While the Boy Scouts claim they can discriminate because they are a private organization, they hold a Congressional Charter and enjoy support and participation from government agencies and officials. . . . 'It is unconscionable that an organization that discriminates against Americans based on religion and sexual orientation is permitted to do so with the support of the taxpayer funding,' said Lauren Anderson Youngblood, Secular Coalition for America communications manager. 'If the Boy Scouts is determined to continue discriminating, it should be stripped of all public funding and support from public agencies.'
“Some of the support the BSA receives from the government are:
-“The US Code authorizes the Secretary of Defense to lend supplies and equipment and transportation for Boy Scout events. All branches of the military issue a promotion (to E2 or E3) for Eagle Scouts, the highest Boy Scout rank. This constitutes discrimination in hiring by the military as well as government approval of the Boy Scouts' discriminatory policies. Equal Opportunity regulations in the military explicitly prohibit support of organizations that discriminate. Yet there is a close collaboration between the military and the Scouts. Department of Defense Instruction 1015.9 directs the Secretary of the Army to the Executive Agent for all components of the DoD to promote scouting among military families as directed by the President.
-“The U.S. President traditionally serves as the honorary President of the Boy Scouts of America, a tradition which President Obama has continued. In early 2005, Congress passed a resolution expressing a sense of the Congress that the Department of Defense should support BSA activities through the use of military personnel, federal land use, and other assistance for their massive Jamborees.
-“The 2005 Jamboree cost taxpayers approximately $8 million. In 2008, Congress voted to pass the 'Boy Scouts of America Centennial Commemorative Coin Act' (H.R. 5872). The bill mandated that the U.S. Mint create and sell as many as 350,000 one dollar coins commemorating the Scouts' centennial in the year 2010. A ten dollar surcharge on each coin goes directly to the Boy Scouts of America, who will net as much as $3.5 million in the deal. 'The Boy Scouts enjoy special privileges from the Department of Defense, including funding, facilities, organization, advertising, and incentives in hiring for their Eagle Scouts,' said Jason Torpy, President of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers. 'The BSA should reject public promotions if they wish to operate as a private organization. If they wish to be quasi-government youth development agency, then the federal government should require they abandon discrimination based on belief and sexual orientation.'
“Anti-discrimination laws as well as the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment should prohibit federal support of the BSA. The courts have allowed the BSA (as a private membership organization) to discriminate, but the U.S. government must not be permitted to aid in such discriminatory behavior.'When Congress gives money to the Boy Scouts, it is implicitly endorsing the religious discrimination practiced by the organization," said Youngblood. 'They are implying to young boys that only those who believe in god can be good citizens-not only is that immoral, but also unconstitutional.”
(“Government Funding of Boys Scouts' Discriminatory Policies Unacceptable,” Secular Coalition for America, 19 July 2012)
**********
Let's see how long it takes for the LDS Church to capitulate to the societally-enlightened idea of gay Scoutmasters leading Mormon troops.
Faithful Mormons say that will never happen.
Uh-huh.
Faithful Mormons also said that abandoning (under godless pressure, of course), the officially-blessed LDS doctrine of macho-male polygamy and the LDS officially-blessed doctrinal ban against Blacks getting the priesthood before everybody else did would never happen.
Time for another godless prediction:
The Mormon God is destined at some point to magically become pro-gay.
If I was still paying, I'd bet my tithing on it.
Edited 11 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2015 12:36AM by steve benson.