Texas Governor Rick Perry earned the rank of Eagle Scout, as did his son Griffin. The Boy Scouts of America Organization honored Rick Perry with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.

With the announcement yesterday that the Boy Scouts of America Organization has voted to open their membership to openly gay boys for the first time in history, Gov. Perry issued a statement.

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today issued the following statement regarding the vote to admit openly gay Boy Scouts:

Eric Gay/The Associated Press

 The Boys Scouts of America has been built upon the values of faith and family for more than 100 years and today’s decision contradicts generations of tradition in the name of political correctness. While I will always cherish my time as a scout and the life lessons I learned, I am greatly disappointed with this decision.

That was the early 1970s. I lived in the city streets of Boston, before it was cool to live in a city like that, by the waterfront, before there were such things as condos. I joined the Cub Scouts probably because my mom (a single mom) thought it would be good for me to get into the woods see what real trees and grass looked like, and so I would have strong male role models.

When we moved to live close to my cousins, my new Cub Scout den leader also happened to be my aunt. Eww! A girl was leading the boys. How could that be?

It was very different. I was a little boy who needed guidance, and I needed a man to teach me how to be a man. A plumber can’t teach you how to be a jeweler any more than a woman can teach a boy to be a man or a man can teach a little girl to be a woman.

The Boy Scouts of America recently decided, after years of pressure, to allow gays to be Scout leaders. The decision was based largely on corporate pressure applied by pro-gay companies that threatened to pull funding (which they have every right to do). As a result, the Boy Scouts are “re-thinking” their rules.

The BSA decided not to force local chapters to accept gays (which they also have every right to do). Good for them, for now. It’s only a matter of time.

Religious groups that have always supported the Boy Scouts in a big way are now re-thinking their involvement with the group as a result of this change.

President Obama recently said he thinks the Boy Scouts should allow gays at every level in the organization. Once again, the president thinks, then speaks, and the damage begins.

Is anything sacred? Is any group allowed to have its own set of rules and way of doing things?

Now, don’t get radical on me, I’m not talking the KKK; the last I heard, the Boy Scouts aren’t burning crosses on lawns.

Maybe we should disband the Girl Scouts, Boys Scouts, Eagle Scouts, Brownies, Cubs Scouts, Weebelos and just make one big “Gender Neutral Scouts” or just “Scouts.” Do you see how ridiculous this gets?

Leave the Boy Scouts alone. Leave the Girl Scouts alone. If you want to show strength and diversity the American way, start the LGBT Scouts or any other kind of “Scouting” you want. Because they are different – as different as boys are different from girls, and as men are different from women.

We should continue to have the freedom to allow clubs, groups and churches the ability to serve specific subsets of people with common interests and beliefs without government intervention.

Just because the president thinks the Boy Scouts should allow gays at all levels, that doesn’t mean it’s the way things should be. This is a private organization. The government should be concerned with jobs and the economy, not interfering with the mission and goals of an organization it “feels” is not being fair to all human beings.

What’s next? Do Asian-American clubs now have to grant membership to those with Italian, Greek or whatever heritage? Will Hooters be forced to have male waitresses? I could fill up one of those T-shirts, but there wouldn’t be any people at my tables.

The government has no business getting involved in every aspect of our lives, every club, every organization or business. And the president doesn’t have all of the answers. Otherwise, we wouldn’t continue to be sinking deeper into the mess we’re in as a nation.

Joe Messina is host of The Real Side (TheRealSide.com),
a nationally syndicated talk show

Resolution:
In April, a single individual submitted a resolution asking the Boy Scouts to consider amending its policy on not granting membership to open or avowed homosexuals. The resolution asked that the policy be amended to allow local units to determine their own standards.

Scouting’s voting members may submit resolutions, which represent that individual’s personal viewpoint, for consideration at the national annual business meeting. As directed by its bylaws, on May 31, the BSA assigned the resolution to a committee that will consider the resolution and present a report to the National Executive Board.

Resolutions and petitions on this subject are not unique and go back as far as 2000, when the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed this matter, and have been widely covered in the media since that time. In addition, in the past individuals have submitted resolutions asking the BSA to reaffirm its current policy. Those resolutions were handled in the same manner.

The introduction of a resolution is procedural and handled with respect but does not indicate the organization is “reviewing a policy” or signal a change in direction.

Petition:
Completely unrelated to the introduction of this resolution, on May 27, an online petition asked the Boy Scouts to meet with a spokesperson from the group circulating the petition and accept signatures generated from the online petition, which asked the BSA to change its policy.

While it was not on the Boy Scouts’ national business meeting agenda, out of courtesy and respect for differing viewpoints, the BSA accepted the petition during a private meeting. This meeting to accept the petition was not related in any way to the introduction of the resolution.

BSA Policy:
The BSA policy is: “While the BSA does not proactively inquire about the sexual orientation of employees, volunteers, or members, we do not grant membership to individuals who are open or avowed homosexuals or who engage in behavior that would become a distraction to the mission of the BSA.”

Scouting believes same-sex attraction should be introduced and discussed outside of its program with parents, caregivers, or spiritual advisers, at the appropriate time and in the right setting. The vast majority of parents we serve value this right and do not sign their children up for Scouting for it to introduce or discuss, in any way, these topics.

The BSA is a voluntary, private organization that sets policies that are best for the organization. The BSA welcomes all who share its beliefs but does not criticize or condemn those who wish to follow a different path.

Requirements for achieving the chess merit badge include such things as learning scorekeeping using the algebraic system of chess notation and explaining the four rules for castling. Additionally, Scouts must teach someone else how to play chess, play in a chess tournament, or organize a competition.

“The chess community is excited about this new merit badge from the Boy Scouts of America,” statedBill Hall, Executive Director of the United States Chess Federation (USCF). “We believe that chess has the potential to positively impact young people from every background.”

The Chess merit badge requirements, along with the pamphlet, emerged through a cooperative effort between the organizations and members of the USCF, led by committee chair Ralph Bowman. The USCF offers annual national competitions that attract thousands of students involved in local chess programs.

The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis will host the official launch of the merit badge in conjunction with the grand opening of the World Chess Hall of Fame. To kick off the launch, Scouts will play in a live human chess match on Sept. 10.  Anyone can join the fun by clicking on the link between1:05-1:25 pm CST on 9/10 to view the live link for the Human Chess match at: www.livestream.com/uschess

“The BSA has had a long history related to the game of chess. Noted chess champion Bobby Fischerwrote articles for Boys’ Life magazine for several years during the early 70s,” said Bob Mazzuca, Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America. “I can think of no better way to introduce the new Chess merit badge to the world than through the activities planned during the World Chess Hall of Fame.”

The United States Chess Federation (USCF), founded in 1939, serves as the governing body for chess inthe United States and is now headquartered in Crossville, Tennessee. The USCF is devoted to extending the role of chess in American society. It promotes the study and knowledge of chess, for its own sake as an art and enjoyment, and as a means for the improvement of society. The USCF is a not-for-profit membership organization with more than 80,000 members. For additional information on the USCF, see http://www.uschess.org.

The Boy Scouts have a long standing program that has helped to produce many great leaders over its long history – the Eagle Scout. Neil Armstrong, Willie Banks, Rear Admiral Eugene B. Fluckey (WWII Submarine Commander, Medal of Honor recipient), President Gerald Ford (first Eagle to be President), Texas Governor Rick Perry, Sam Walton (Wal-Mart founder) and even “Ozzie” Nelson, to name just a few who have made Eagle and continued on to lead in different fields.

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has taken on the issues of atheism and homosexuality and come out with legal decisions in their favor.

Unfortunately, one issue the BSA has faltered on is disrespect for our American Flag in Texas no less.

A friend of mine (and Boy Scout leader) told me of an incident at the summer camp his troop attended. Like he said, “boys will be boys”, but this included the leaders. He went on to tell me about the actions of Troop 758 out of Carrollton, Texas.

“They were the most disrespectful troop I have ever seen.”

During the course of one meal, the Scoutmaster from his troop confronted one boy from troop 758 about his actions and the boy gave him a rude hand gesture and went on his way. The scoutmaster followed the boy to his table and spoke with the leaders of troop 758, but they showed no concern for the boy’s actions and for the most part ignored the concerns of a fellow scout leader.

All indications were that troop 758 was not living up to the honor and traditions of the Boy Scouts of America. The straw that broke the camel’s back was at the Flag Ceremony Friday evening while family members were in attendance.

I could tell by the look on his face that he was about to tell me something that made his blood boil. He continued,

“..while the Flag Lowering Ceremony was in progress, and the rest of the troops were at attention, eyes front, troop 758 was on the porch talking loudly, in their native tongue, Arabic from what I could tell. It wasn’t just the boys but also the leaders, many in class A uniform. Luckily about the time I was just opening my mouth to holler at them another leader from another troop that was standing closer got them quieted down with more tact than I could have mustered at that moment.”

The Boy Scout oath:

Where was the duty to country? It does not matter where you were born or were your family hails from, once you or your family moves to another country to live, you have duties to that country. The duty to respect the symbols and ceremonies of the country applies to all that enter any country, no matter how you personally feel about said country.

Some who read this article will say he just being “racist.” That is not the case at all. He also told me of another troop that was in attendance at this summer camp.

“Troop 810, which was made up mostly of Arabics, from what I could tell, was your standard run of the mill troop. I held conversations with a couple of their leaders at different times and enjoyed talking to them; they displayed the qualities instilled by true scouts.”

The scout leader who experienced the disrespectful actions in question first contacted the Longhorn Council, the local Boy Scout Council for the area that the camp serves, and reported the problems. A week went by and he received no response. He escalated.

He fired off an email to David Burke, who is in public relations with the national headquarters for Boy Scouts of America. Mr. Burke responded promptly that he had forwarded the issue to the proper people. Interestingly enough, my friend received a phone call from Longhorn Council that very afternoon. It turns out that troop 758 was from the Circle Ten Council and the information had been sent to Scott Ferguson, Director of Support Services for Circle Ten Council.

“Mr. Ferguson sent me an email stating that he would be speaking to the leadership of troop 758. A week went by without hearing from Mr. Ferguson, so I shot him another email asking what had been done to rectify the situation. When Mr. Ferguson got back with me he stated, that he has ‘spoken with the Troop Leadership of 758 and they were very sad to receive negative complaints’. The email went on, ‘They would like to apologize if they did anything wrong to offend you and your troop.’”

This is when I thought I might have to give my friend some blood pressure medicine or something stronger to calm him down.

“IF they did anything to offend me!? They disrespected my country and can’t understand why I’m pissed! The email stated that the Camp Director felt that no further action was needed. Mr. Ferguson closed the email with, ‘I believe this brings this situation to a conclusion.’ I believe troop 758 owes a public apology to every scout, leader, staff, and family member that was in attendance. I love being involved in scouting but I could not deal with the lack of action on this incident. We truly have reached the end of a time-honored tradition if the Boy Scouts are now politically correct!”

For those of you that are skeptical of the incidents my friend shared for this article, let me assure you that I would not doubt his word. Not only have I known him for long time but he is also an active leader in both Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and attained the rank of Eagle when he was a Boy Scout. I am not calling for a boycott or anything of that nature but I do think that we need to send a clear message to all organizations in this great nation- we WILL stand up for our country whether it is politically correct or not!

July 20, 2011: Update- CDN has obtained the actual email correspondence between James Allen, the friend and contact that Benjamin Wallace wrote of and quoted in this article. This is all of the emails, in their entirety, with only the personal email address and phone number of Mr. Allen being redacted.

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For those of you that own firearms, train hard and well and teach those that do not know how.
 Be good stewards of the right to bear arms, for we are the last line of defense against tyranny.

-Benjamin Wallace