Freedom Of Choice

As if the Boy Scouts did not have enough problems with the gay community, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation is now assisting the Justice Department in taking a closer look at the Boy Scouts to see if they are violating one of Bill Clinton’s Executive Orders (13160) when it comes to allegations of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. They are pushing to have this report on the desk at Justice by the end of this week or next.

From what I have heard and been able to put together, the Boy Scouts are the ONLY organization being targeted for a possible violation of the Executive Order in this fashion. This is clearly a case of the Administration not only kowtowing to one of their special interests and forcing a private organization to comply with their demands, but of going after them from a legal standpoint, despite the fact that the legality of the whole matter may be called into question.

Earlier this year, the Supremes ruled 5-4 that the Boy Scouts were within their rights as a private organization to deny homosexuals the right to serve as troop leaders. Given that part of the Scout oath is to be mentally awake and morally straight, this makes good sense. Why the gay community is putting up such a stink is beyond me. Can’t they see that since they are not ‘straight’, they do not qualify?

Of course not. Like a petulant brat, they want it their way or no way at all. If these wolves cannot get in and destroy the flock themselves from within, then it is their intention to destroy the Scouts through court challenges and now the illegal Executive Order that Clinton rammed through as a means of circumventing Congress.

Executive Order 13160 prohibits discrimination on the basis of "race, sex, color, national origin, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation and status as a parent in federally conducted education and training programs." Clearly, this is a means of circumventing the Supreme Court ruling on this matter. Clinton signed the Order five days before the ruling was made. It is more than likely that Clinton knew that the Supremes were going to rule the way they did.

Everybody knows that Clinton and Gore owe the gay community big-time for their assistance in both the 1992 and 1996 elections. Clinton and Gore have also gone out of their way to repay these people for their help in making sure they get their way in just about everything they ask for. It does not seem that the administration is willing to give Scouting a break. There is even talk in Congress of repealing the federal charter given the Boy Scouts back in 1916.

When it comes to Scouting, there are some things that need to be remembered. First of all, churches or synagogues sponsor the overwhelming majority of Scout troops. The largest church sponsorship of Scouting nationwide is by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons or the LDS Church.

LDS Church officials in Salt Lake City have indicated that if Scouting is forced to admit gays into the ranks of their troop leaders, then they will drop their sponsorship of Scouting and in all likelihood, they will take their young men and financial support with them. It could either severely cripple or effectively kill Scouting in the United States as we know it.

For the gay community, it does not seem to be enough for them to just respect the rights of others and leave them alone. They demand others respect their right to free expression, but are not willing to let others have it in return if it interferes with their agenda of forced and unwanted integration into areas of society in which they are not welcome. Not all places are meant to accommodate all people.

They are not willing to leave the Scouts alone or start up their own Scouting programs as an alternative. They can go to major corporations and ask for assistance in much the same manner as they are getting Chase Manhattan Bank, the United Way and other major corporate sponsors to withdraw financial support from the Scouting program because of the Scouts’ refusal to endorse perversion as a way of life.

In addition, the Scouts are having to deal with problems from within their own ranks. A 34-year old Scout administrator is being held in the San Diego (California) County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond for 33 counts of sexual molestation. Prosecutors expect the filing of more charges soon. To make matters worse, a former Scout leader in Oklahoma is serving a 200-year prison sentence for molesting a number of Scouts there.

It is the belief of the Boy Scouts that homosexuals as troop leaders present a clear and present danger to the safety, well being and good order of the troop. As such, they were able to successfully argue before the Supremes of the need to be able to select the criteria by which they admit their members, particularly troop leaders with whom the safety of children is entrusted.

It is grossly unfair, not to mention intolerant on the part of the gays to go to corporate America and municipalities like San Francisco, San Jose and the State of Connecticut and have them pull the plug on their sponsorship of Scouting just because an organization stands by its principles. Again, the gay community shows that they want it their way or no way at all. Even the Supreme Court said in its ruling that the Boy Scouts’ accepting homosexuals would, in their words, "derogate from the organization’s expressive message."

The gay community - or at least radically vocal elements within it are seeking to usurp the right of any and all people to associate or not to associate with whomever they choose. The next thing you know, the Clinton Administration will come after churches that refuse to grant full privileges to practicing homosexuals and lesbians, despite the First Amendment right to freedom of religion and worship. How could they do that, you ask? By threatening their tax-exempt status, for openers. With this administration, I would not put it past them. After all, they still have a little less than five months left in office.

Executive Order 13160 is just another in a string of Executive Orders that Clinton has used to get around Congress and accomplish what he could not do through the legal and proper way. Many of his Executive Orders would never make it past Congress as legislation, so he resorts to the stroke of the pen that Paul Begala so fondly referred to a couple of years ago.

The saddest part of all this is that nobody in Congress has had the courage to say "Enough!" For that reason, American society has slipped closer and closer towards depravity while on Bill Clinton’s watch.

Let us hope the next President can do better.

You can e-mail your comments to Timothy at trollins@idirect.com.

Copyright © 2000 by Timothy Rollins.
All Rights Reserved.

-Published with permission