(Missouri Family Policy Council — Jeff City Update) A coalition of Boy Scouts leaders from across the country has launched a campaign to preserve the core principles of the Boy Scouts of America. The group is called On My Honor, and is fighting to maintain Scouting's central purpose to develop youth with a commitment to God and country. Boy Scout executives are proposing a radical change in the Scouting program which would allow boys who affirm homosexuality to be participants in Boy Scout activities. National administrators of the Boy Scouts of America are also suggesting a change in which adult homosexual men would be "welcomed" to serve as leaders of Boy Scout troops. "On My Honor" is taken from the opening words of the Scout Oath in which a Scout pledges to fulfill his duty to God and country by "helping other people at all times" and by keeping himself "physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight." John Stemberger, an adult Eagle Scout who is the national spokesperson for the group, says the Boy Scout program is a national treasure. "The Boy Scouts are one of the great jewels of American culture...We support the timeless values Scouting represents that have been a tradition for over 100 years." Stemberger says the goal of the coalition is to "keep sex and politics out of Scouting." "We support the current policy of Scouting...which disallows the open and aggressive promotion of homosexuality and political agendas. We believe that is utterly inappropriate where young boys are being trained to be men." The National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America met in early February to consider the policy change advanced by Scouting executives. Under that proposal, individual Scout troops would be allowed to decide whether to incorporate homosexual Scouts and homosexual Scout leaders into their ranks. The Boy Scouts' National Executive Board decided to defer a final decision on the issue to Scouting's National Council, which is composed of the leaders of Boy Scout councils throughout the United States. Scouting administrators are expected to release a recommended resolution later this month, which will then be voted on by the National Council at a meeting in Grapevine, Texas, in late May. Attorneys for the Alliance Defense Fund issued a statement saying the "local option" proposal would create a moral and legal quagmire for Scout troops on the regional level. "Such a policy would expose both the Boy Scouts of America and local troops that choose to adhere to the existing policy to substantial litigation--litigation they cannot afford." "The Boy Scouts of America has taken a brave stand for the right of private associations to adhere to moral values," the statement continues. "Scouting set a national standard that has protected not only the Boy Scouts and its members, but countless other organizations that also require members to affirm and abide by their morals and values." That statement is referring to a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2000 known as Boy Scouts of America v. Dale. In that ruling, the nation's highest court stated that the Boy Scouts of America have a constitutional right to freedom of association with those who share their "expressive message." The sudden move by national Scouting executives to relax the longstanding moral standards of Scouting is the result of intense pressure from corporate donors who have already withdrawn or threatened to withdraw major annual corporate gifts due to Scouting's commitment to train boys to be "morally straight." The pressure also comes from current members of the Board who represent corporations that are in the vanguard of the "gay rights" movement. "For generations, the Boy Scouts have stood firm on certain moral principles that have successfully shaped our nation's boys into leaders," says ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman. "Its leadership should defend the Scouts' honor and stand strong on the principles that have made the Boy Scouts one of America's revered institutions." A decision by the Boy Scouts to abandon the cornerstone principles of the Scout Oath would have disastrous consequences for the culture of character development in Scouting. Nearly 70 percent of the country's 100,000 Scouting units are chartered to religious organizations. The majority of local troops are sponsored by Catholic, Mormon, Southern Baptist, and United Methodist congregations, for whom homosexuality is incompatible with their Scriptural beliefs. The Hollywood elites have ramped up their malevolent attacks on the values of Scouting with even more vicious invectives. Pop singer Madonna delivered an obscene diatribe against the Boy Scouts at the recent awards dinner for GLAAD (the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation). "It's no different than a white supremacist hanging a black man from a tree before the civil rights movement," Madonna outrageously declared. "It's no different than a member of the Taliban shooting a young girl in the head for writing a blog about the importance of getting an education." Former Pennsylvania Congressman Dick Schulze, himself an Eagle Scout, says Scouting must stand up to such bigotry. "What kind of message are we sending to our young people if the very leaders who are teaching Boy Scouts to be brave, cannot find the courage to avoid caving to pressure from Hollywood and political activists?" BSA image