Congressman on Boy Scouts: Gay Rights Being 'Crammed Down Their Throat' - VIDEO

Another guest on the 'Stand with Scouts Sunday' webcast was Rep. Steve Palazzo (R-MS), who called for the removal of "the agitators" trying to "corrupt" the Boy Scouts.

Said Palazzo:

“The Boy Scouts are actually being bullied worse than any group or organization that has ever been bullied before. They've been intimidate, they're being extorted...they're being harassed. At the end of the day they're also being ridiculed... If America cannot support the Boy Scouts...then what do we stand for as a country? [The Scouts must] “remove the agitators who are trying to corrupt the Boy Scouts of America and bend to popular culture.”

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Rick Perry: Boy Scouts Must Not Allow Gays, 'The Flavor of the Month', to Destroy Them — VIDEO

The Family Research council yesterday held a webcast yesterday called 'Stand with Scouts Sunday' on which Texas Governor Rick Perry appeared, warning viewers that the "pop culture" of homosexuality threatened to "tear apart" the Boy Scouts' value system, Right Wing Watch reports.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Boy Scouts to Vacate Philadelphia Headquarters in Settlement of Long Legal Battle: VIDEO

A long-running battle over the Philadelphia property that the Boy Scouts have been occupying rent-free since 2008 has been settled, ABC6 reports:

A Boy Scouts of America group will vacate its city-owned Philadelphia headquarters in return for $825,000 under an agreement that settles a long legal battle over the organization's ban on gays, Mayor Michael Nutter's office said Friday.

The Boy Scouts Cradle of Liberty Council staff will leave its downtown Philadelphia headquarters of 85 years by June 30 and the retail store in the building will close by Oct. 31. In exchange, the city will reimburse the Boy Scouts for improvements made to the building, Nutter's office said.

The group's rent-free use of the building came under fire after the Boy Scouts of America barred gays from membership. The city unsuccessfully sought to have the chapter evicted for violation of Philadelphia's anti-discrimination policies.

Watch their report, AFTER THE JUMP...

Father and Son Soldiers to Bike 1,800 Miles to Boy Scouts HQ to Protest Gay Ban: VIDEO

Army Spc. Joe McGrath, who came home April 15 from a year-long deployment in Kuwait, and his father Dave, a former Army Airborne Ranger, are taking on the Boy Scouts, Idaho's Local8 News reports:

These two warriors are home now, in Idaho Falls together. Now, father and son are about to fight one of those wars that don't look like war. "I have six sons, two of whom are gay," said Dave McGrath. "I have an identical twin brother who is an Eagle Scout, and he's gay."

Thinking about his family, a typically talkative Dave McGrath edges on with a quieter tone. "I love the Boy Scouts," he said. "I wish them all the best, and yet they discriminate against people I love." 

Dave McGrath is a lifetime scout -- but right now the honor weighs heavy on his shoulders He knows not everybody can be one. "Some of us have gay people that we love," he said.

Father and son will bike 1,800 miles to Boy Scout headquarters so McGrath can pin his "95 objections to their stupid policy" on the door.

Watch a report on their amazing mission, AFTER THE JUMP...

Mormon Church Approves of Boy Scouts' New, Unimproved Gay Ban

The Mormon Church has given its seal of approval to the new Boy Scout proposal to allow gay scouts but continue to ban gay scout leaders, the L.A. Times reports:

In their statement Thursday, Mormon officials gave their OK to the compromise -- without ever mentioning sexual orientation.

"While the church has not launched any campaign either to effect or prevent a policy change, we have followed the discussion and are satisfied that BSA has made a thoughtful, good-faith effort to address issues that, as they have said, remain ‘among the most complex and challenging issues facing the BSA and society today,' " the statement said.

The statement, noting the strong ties the church has kept with the Scouts for the past century, added, "We appreciate the positive things contained in this current proposal that will help build and strengthen the moral character and leadership skills of youth as we work together in the future."

Recently...
Eagle Scout Zach Wahls Speaks Out Against Boy Scout Gay Ban: VIDEO [tlrd]
The Boy Scouts Made it Worse [tlrd]

The Boy Scouts Made It Worse

By ARI EZRA WALDMAN

The headline, "Boy Scouts Move to Allow Gay Members," read with such promise. Including gays in the Boy Scouts has been a goal of our community for decades, most notably since James Dale challenged the Scouts' discriminatory policies in the 1990s. A sharply divided Supreme Court rejected Mr. Dale's challenge, but more recently, an avalanche of factors -- demographic shifts; concerted activism from Boy Scouts themselves and their families; rapid change in the acceptance of gays and marriage equality; and, strong pro-equality support from President Obama, his Democratic allies, and even some Republicans, to name just a few -- has forced the Boy Scouts to reconsider its exclusionary policies. Last week, the Scouts did change its policy... for the worse.

"No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone," say the Scouts. This change comes after reminding us that "youth are still developing, learning about themselves and who they are, developing their sense of right and wrong, and understanding their duty to God to live a moral life." The youth proviso means that gay kids are ok, but gay men cannot serve in any leadership positions. So, if you stick around the Scouts for long enough and refuse to "understand [your] duty to God to live a moral life," i.e., stop being gay, you're out of the Scouts. 

Allowing gay scouts seems like a step forward. But the exclusive focus on gay youth proves that this "step forward" is anything but a good thing. In fact, it's the worst possible result and shows the Scouts' true anti-gay colors. Gay kids are being let into the Boy Scouts not because the Scouts recognize the inherent equality of all American youth, but rather to more directly implement the organization's anti-gay dogma. This begs the question: Is the new Boy Scout policy both unjust and unconstitutional? The Scouts' policy was always unconstitutional, despite what the Supreme Court has said. Let's discuss why.

Continued, AFTER THE JUMP...

Follow me at @ariezrawaldman.