“Let me be very clear, SB323 is alive and well,” said Lara in a statement released by his office. “As this is the first year to a two year legislative session, we will be taking the next few months to work closely with all parties involved to address and refine this legislation.”

SB323 was moved to the inactive file, which will allow it to be considered again next January. The bill, once tweaked, is likely to pass both chambers.

It’s unknown whether Gov. Jerry Brown will sign it. As a former attorney general, he likely is aware that the bill would generate lawsuits along the lines of the First Amendment “right of the people peaceably to assemble,” which also is incorporated into the California Constitution.

Another First Amendment entanglement would be that many scout troops are sponsored by churches, which explicitly are protected by the First Amendment guarantee of “the free exercise” of religion.

Momentum

The bill had significant momentum behind it. From Sen. Lara’s press release:

“The bill, authored by Senator Ricardo Lara and sponsored by Equality California, passed the Assembly Tax and Revenue Committee with a vote of 6-3, and the Judiciary by a vote of 6-3. In June, the Youth Equality Act received a two-thirds vote in the Senate — the first time an LGBT bill received a two-thirds vote in the state’s history.”

Specifically, the legislation would have removed the tax-exempt status of “an organization that is a public charity youth organization that discriminates on the basis of gender identity, race, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or religious affiliation,” according of the text of the bill.

The bill would have only affected state sales and corporate taxes.

Although the bill, also known as the Youth Equality Act, broadly targeted every nonprofit that doesn’t allow gay members, it was primarily being directed at the Boy Scouts of America, which has received criticism from various groups in recent years for its ban on gays and atheists joining the organization.

Until earlier this year, the Boy Scouts of America did not allow openly gay scouts to participate in the organization. The change in policy, which was praised by gay-rights proponents, was not enough to stave off criticism, as openly gay adults still cannot serve as leaders in the organization.

The Boy Scouts of America stood potentially to lose millions of dollars.

Boy Scouts of America spokesman Deron Smith told the Los Angeles Times:

“More than ever, California’s youth need scouting and we are focused on the goals that unite us. Scouting remains undeterred in its belief that together we can accomplish incredible things for the youth we serve.”

Despite the bill’s financial ramifications for the Boy Scouts, the organization, which has over 2.7 million Scouts and 1 million adults nationwide, has not indicated that it will alter its membership requirements in response to the legislation.

By Katy Grimes

The Boy Scouts of America are under attack again, and this time, at the state Capitol.

The Boy Scouts have been under attack for many years by homosexual special interest groups–apparently being a volunteer “boy” scout displeases against some liberals.

Tuesday, Assemblyman Mike Morrell, R-Rancho Cucamonga, touched off a surprise controversy when he introduced a bill to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Boy Scouts at the Capitol.

Is nothing sacred anymore? Boys can’t be scouts without politics and the agendas of adults interfering?

At the behest of parents several decades ago, the Boy Scouts now have policies in place that prohibit gays from holding leadership positions within the organization. But this has brought the historic scouting organization under attack from special interest groups–despite the ten decades of positive influences on boys. Outdoor activities, camping, leadership training, fellowship, and man-building and bonding has occurred thanks to the Boy Scouts.

My son was a scout. From Cub Scouts through Eagle Scout, 1st grade through high school graduation, he benefitted in ways I cannot enumerate and could not have provided for him. The Boy Scouts do not discriminate –they invite all boys to participate. It’s only the parents with political agendas who make the scouts political, and distasteful.

For many years I even vociferously opposed the participation of moms in scouting, other than den mothers. We moms are women, and should not have much influence in how the Boy Scouts operate. It’s a guy thing and needs to remain so.

In fact, I often wonder why moms get involved at all in the older boy scouting. There are so few activities that allow sons to just hang out with other boys and do guy things… things that often make women say “ew.”

A long history of Boy Scouts

The Boy Scouts of America is a private, non-profit organization and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with 2.7 million youth members and more than 1 million adult volunteers. Founded in 1910 as part of the international Scout Movement, more than 110 million Americans have been members of the BSA.

The Boy Scouts of America goal is to train youth in responsible citizenship, character development, and self-reliance through participation in a wide range of outdoor activities, educational programs, and, at older age levels, career-oriented programs in partnership with community organizations.

The apparent danger of achieving this goal is mind boggling lest the boys have too much fun, and along the way become productive, responsible members of American society.

Scouting values include trustworthiness, good citizenship, and outdoors skills, all taught through activities including camping, water sports, all levels of hiking and many other activities. And respect and leadership skills are always a part of the activities.

The Controversy

In 1998, the Scouts fired any troop leader who announced his homosexuality, a decision that was upheld by the Supreme Court. But this was only after a legal nightmare which followed the discovery of Jerrold Schwartz, a 42-year old scoutmaster of a New York scout troop, who repeatedly sodomized a young teen in his troop over the course of a three-year period during the mid-nineties.

But this case was not the only issue of scout leaders and homosexuality. “Ex-scoutmasters from Massachusetts and Iowa to Oklahoma and Utah have recently faced charges on such offenses,” City Journal wrote in 2002. “Cases of sexual abuse in the Scouts have been rising, going from 70 a year two decades ago to roughly 200 a year by the late 1990s.”

Activism and attacks

The Boy Scouts was the perfect organization for the homosexual community to attack–it’s all about the development of boys into men, and purely a guy thing.

But the gay agenda issue was unable to hold muster. And fortunately the scouts fought back. With support from millions of parents across the country who just wanted their kids to be able to participate in an organization that hadn’t been politicized, and had remained true to it’s historical mission, the thought of activists and politicians infiltrating and taking advantage of a few abusive leadership positioms sickened most families involved in scouting.

State Capitol Antics

Tuesday, state Democrats demanded that Assemblyman Morrell’s resolution include wording urging the Boy Scouts to stop discriminating against homosexual Scout leaders. As if that was not enough, Assemblyman Mike Feurer, D-Los Angeles, introduced his own resolution including the offensive and controversial language. Feurer’s resolution was passed by the Assembly proving that the selfish political agendas of liberals is far more important than the millions of boys and men who have benefitted so greatly because of the Boy Scouts.

However, if any of the Assembly Democrats had bothered to read the Boy Scout Oath, Law, Motto, Slogan and Outdoor Code, they’d have seen that the Boy Scouts teach values that progressives and liberals claim to care about.

Scout Oath

Scout Law

Scout Motto

Be Prepared

Scout Slogan

Do a good turn daily

Outdoor Code

As an American, I will do my best, to be clean in my outdoor manners, to be careful with fire, to be considerate in the outdoors, and to be conservation minded.

I’ve got news for the perpetually self-absorbed Democrats in the Assembly – everything is not about you… a little daily reverence, kindness and courteousness would be refreshing.