{"id":5428,"date":"2013-02-09T13:39:16","date_gmt":"2013-02-09T13:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/?p=5428"},"modified":"2013-02-09T13:41:48","modified_gmt":"2013-02-09T13:41:48","slug":"2013feb09","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/2013feb09\/","title":{"rendered":"Boy Scouts of America delay ‘gay’ vote"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BoyScoutsAmerica\"<\/a>Boy Scout Homosexuality Vote Delayed<\/b><\/p>\n

From Family Watch International<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Over past 10 days, a major controversy has erupted in the <\/b>U.S.<\/b> involving the Boy Scouts of <\/b>America<\/b> (BSA).<\/b>\u00a0 A few members of their board are attempting to change the scout\u2019s century old policy that excludes openly homosexual men and boys from participating as leaders and members in the scout program.\u00a0\u00a0 The proposed policy would have allowed each local BSA Council to determine its own policy with regard to homosexuals.<\/p>\n

Since BSA is the largest member of the World Organization of Scouting, any major policy change like the one being considered would likely reverberate throughout the scouting world.<\/p>\n

Understandably this proposed policy change, initiated under pressure by the LGBT lobby, set off a firestorm of opposition from scout supporters across the U.S. \u00a0As a result, the board has decided to postpone a final decision until their meeting in May.<\/p>\n

We applaud the BSA board for taking this action<\/b>.\u00a0 In our letter to the board<\/a><\/b>, we urged them to delay the vote so they could have the time needed to thoroughly evaluate the health impacts the proposed policy could have on scouts.<\/p>\n

Factions on both sides of the issue have a lot at stake. For the LGBT lobby, overturning the current BSA policy would mean they had conquered one of America\u2019s major protectors of moral values\u2014the Boy Scouts.\u00a0 For religious groups, many were calling for a mass exodus\u00a0 from the Boy Scouts if the new policy was implemented, saying they could not\u00a0 support an organization that has changed its core moral value of helping boys to be \u201cmorally straight.\u201d<\/p>\n

When an effort is made to base decisions on the facts, it is often easy to identify the best policy. <\/b><\/p>\n

As we stated in our letter to the BSA board<\/a><\/b>, \u201cThe most important fact that should be driving this debate is the science and clinical experience showing that homosexuality is not innate and immutable.\u201d\u00a0 Homosexual individuals are not \u2018born that way.\u2019\u00a0 Rather, we know that homosexuality is the result of a complex interaction of some likely genetic predisposition (often referred to as the \u201cnature\u201d component<\/i>) and a variety of environmental and experiential factors (often categorized as the \u201cnurture\u201d component<\/i>).\u00a0 Solid research shows that environmental factors play a major role in the development of same-sex attraction. \u201c<\/p>\n

In evaluating this proposed policy change we also urged the board to keep in mind that it is normal for adolescents to question their sexual orientation as a part of the maturation process.<\/b>\u00a0 For those who may be troubled by developing but unwanted same-sex attraction, or are otherwise vulnerable to developing homosexuality, the \u201cnurture\u201d aspect of scouting can be a significant factor in whether they do in fact become homosexual.<\/p>\n

Scouting has been successful for over a century precisely because the nurturing environment it provides has proven effective in molding boys into responsible and successful men.\u00a0 So permitting BSA Councils to allow openly homosexual scout leaders and fellow scouts into the program could be a very significant factor in the personal development of young men who are vulnerable to developing same gender orientation.<\/b>\u00a0 Such an influence easily could become one of the significant \u201cnurture\u201d factors that contribute to sexually confused youth actually becoming homosexual.<\/p>\n

The final key fact is that there are well documented and significant mental and physical health risks\u00a0 associated with the homosexual lifestyle.\u00a0 We cited several studies in our letter: \u201cFor example, after reviewing more than 125 years of scientific research and clinical experience, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) concluded that as a group homosexuals suffer about three times more physical and mental health problems than the heterosexual population.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on these basic facts, it becomes quite obvious that continuing the current policy is in the best interest of all the young men in the scouting program and particularly those who are vulnerable to developing same-gender sexual orientations. <\/b><\/p>\n

In recent months we have seen other examples where ideology and political correctness seem to be driving major social policy decisions even in the face of facts and experience that strongly suggest that adopting these policies would be harmful.<\/p>\n

In France, for example, the new Socialist government is trying to ram through legalizing same-sex marriage and allowing same-sex individuals to adopt children.\u00a0 It is doing this in the face of clear recommendations against doing that made just eight years ago by a commission created by the French National Assembly.\u00a0 This commission based its recommendations on extensive hearings and a review of all the available scientific research. \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

A similar situation is also occurring in Britain, where on Tuesday the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly to legalize same-sex marriage.\u00a0 Again, the government appears to be pushing this almost exclusively for ideological reasons.\u00a0 There has been virtually no serious consideration of the available science and legal scholarship on this issue.\u00a0\u00a0But anyone familiar with relevant data can predict with considerable certainty that if same-sex marriage ultimately becomes law,\u00a0<\/b>Britain<\/b>\u00a0will find it far more difficult to deal with the burgeoning social problems that country already is facing.<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Sharon<\/a>
Sharon Slater (right) at the World Congress of Families<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We will be continuing our efforts to ensure that these kinds of policy debates are fact based.\u00a0 We will also continue to alert you to the opportunities where you can help achieve this goal and give you the tools to be more effective in your efforts.<\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

Sharon Slater
\nPresident
\nFamily Watch International<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Boy Scout Homosexuality Vote Delayed From Family Watch International\u00a0 Over past 10 days, a major controversy has erupted in the U.S. involving the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).\u00a0 A few members of their board are attempting to change the scout\u2019s century old policy that excludes openly homosexual men and boys from participating as leaders and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[728,730,729],"class_list":["post-5428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homosexuality-trans","tag-boy-scouts-of-america","tag-family-watch-international","tag-sharon-slater"],"aioseo_notices":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Stephen","author_link":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/author\/stephen\/"},"rttpg_comment":17,"rttpg_category":"Homosexuality & Trans<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Boy Scout Homosexuality Vote Delayed From Family Watch International\u00a0 Over past 10 days, a major controversy has erupted in the U.S. involving the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).\u00a0 A few members of their board are attempting to change the scout\u2019s century old policy that excludes openly homosexual men and boys from participating as leaders and…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5428\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}