“The court said its seven justices unanimously voted to heed a recommendation by its ethics advisory committee barring judges’ affiliation with the organization,” the Associated Press reports. Eleven years ago, the AP observes, the court barred judges from joining discriminatory organizations, but reserved an exemption for nonprofit youth groups. With the demise of that carve-out, the court has brought onto itself a swift and predictable political backlash.

Legal questions

Within the legal community, a group including Stanford law professor Michael McConnell filed a brief in opposition to the change to the state judicial code. As Ed Whelan reports at National Review Online, the brief argued the California Supreme Court could well have fallen afoul of the U.S. Constitution’s rules on religious tests and childrearing:

“Prohibiting a judge who is a member of a religious congregation from participating in its scout troop (or cub scout pack) prevents the judge from fully participating in the life of his or her religious congregation, and in that congregation’s ministry. It comes close to a religious disqualification based on the judge’s religious activities (and could even be a form of attainder or ‘black-listing,’ a practice with a very unfortunate history). The United States Constitution explicitly prohibits religious tests for any public office. The prohibition also runs afoul of the protection of religious rights of parents with regard to the building of character of their children, see Wisconsin v. Yoder, supra, which is a key purpose of the Boy Scouts.”

What’s more, the court’s 1996 decision to preserve the youth organization carve-out was justified in terms that explicitly referred to the state code barring judges from discriminatory group membership. As The Daily Signal notes, the California Code of Judicial Ethics required the accommodation of “individual rights of intimate association and free expression” — a tenet that the bar on Boy Scout involvement would seem to plainly violate.

Questions are already being raised as to whether the new rules would bar judges, for instance, from participating in the Catholic Church or the Church of Latter-Day Saints.

Cultural pushback

Nevertheless, defenders of the court’s decision emphasize the damage to the state judiciary’s reputation if judges are allowed to participate in Boy Scout activities. Although, according to the Los Angeles Times, California judges and attorneys warned against indulging in political correctness, the court advisory committee that reviewed judicial ethics concluded that eliminating the youth group exception would “promote the integrity of the judiciary,” in keeping with the purpose of the code.

As the Times notes, that issue resonates strongly with Californians who don’t see any rational basis for the Boy Scouts’ rules against non-heterosexual staff or volunteer leaders. James Humes, an openly gay justice on the state’s Court of Appeal, told the Times the carve-out protecting judge affiliations with the Scouts “incites distrust in judicial impartiality, demeans gay and lesbian judges and is offensive and harmful.”

The issue boils down to what interpretation of that phrase is more reasonable — one where the judiciary’s integrity really is damaged in California by judges’ association with the Boy Scouts, and one where it is not. Because large numbers of Californians agree stridently with the first interpretation, but large numbers of other Californians agree instead with the second, the debate over the court’s decision is set to sharpen even further.

‘Perversion files’

Complicating the matter further is the unflattering reputation the Scouts have acquired for doing too little to address internal abuse.

The organization recently settled a sex abuse case brought by a plaintiff who alleged he was molested by a Boy Scouts volunteer eight years ago.

As the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports, the deal “will keep years’ worth of ‘perversion’ files detailing sex abuse allegations secret from the public.”

The “Youth Equality Bill,” SB323 by Lara, targeted Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Little League, YMCA, YWCA, Future Farmers of America, 4-H and Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs are all listed in Lara’s bill, in addition to the Boy Scouts. Even Special Olympics, American Youth Soccer and Pop Warner football were included.

Despite claiming SB 323 was “alive and well,” the bill stalled on the Assembly floor during voting, and was transferred to the Legislature’s inactive file, which is usually a signal the bill was dead in the water.

However, the inactive file will allow Lara to bring SB 323 back next year.

“As session reconvenes in January, the passage of this bill and fighting against the discrimination of California’s LGBT community continues to be of paramount importance,” Lara said.

Youth organizations are substitute parents

Throughout the year, Lara never once acknowledged the harm SB 323 would do to all of the targeted youth organizations.

It’s ironic a lawmaker from Bell Gardens in Los Angeles was targeting youth organizations, which are often the only parental influence some inner city kids have.

The Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs and YMCA offer important after school programs for kids whose parents work. The opportunities kids have in the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are endless — camping, hiking, building, survival skills, fellowship, the importance of charity and giving, and morals and ethics.

Youth programs aren’t just tax-exempt babysitters.

But the Boy Scouts aren’t the only group targeted. Any youth organization would be stripped of its tax-exempt status if the group does not open to all gender identities, races, sexual orientations, nationalities or religious affiliations.

Girl Scouts, Little League, YMCA, YWCA, Future Farmers of America, 4-H and Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs are all listed in Lara’s bill, in addition to the Boy Scouts.  Even Special Olympics, American Youth Soccer and Pop Warner football are named.

SB 323 threatens these kid-focused nonprofit organizations with being stripped of current tax exemptions if they do not embrace the state’s policies on sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill requires the state’s policies be incorporated into the organizations’ hiring, practices, membership, objectives and activities.

Critics contend that, if this bill becomes law, it will be only a matter of time before churches are faced with this same dilemma.

Many of these nonprofit organizations provide important services to their community. By stripping them of their tax-exemption, California would be harming the very people lawmakers claim to support.

Supporters of SB323 contend they are not dictating the views of a nonprofit organization, only seeking to align it with state policies.

The controversy

The Scouts long have fired any troop leader who announced his homosexuality, a decision that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000. The Scouts cited 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.

City Journal wrote in 2002, “Ex-scoutmasters from Massachusetts and Iowa to Oklahoma and Utah have recently faced charges on such offenses. 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.”

The ban still is on for troop leaders. But in May this year, the Boy Scouts of America’s National Council modified its policy for the scouts themselves, and now allows them to be of any “sexual orientation or preference.”

Last year, the California Assembly refused to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Boy Scouts by rejecting a bill by Assemblyman Mike Morell, R-Rancho Cucamonga.

Lara

Lara is a member of the Legislature’s LGBT Caucus. When SB323 was introduced in the Senate, he said, “They [Boy Scouts] are out of line with the values of California and should be ineligible for a tax benefit paid for by all Californians. SB323 brings our laws into line with our values.”

Lara’s own career has been in the insulated state political community. His bio lists previous jobs as “community activist,” “political aid” and “longtime Assembly staffer.” Prior to running for Assembly, Lara was  appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to the powerful Los Angeles Planning Commission. Lara worked for Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Sen. Kevin de Leon, before finally mounting his own run for Assembly.

The bill has passed the California Senate and four Assembly legislative committees, with votes along party lines. SB323 will be voted on in the Assembly this week.

If SB323 does become law, it inevitably will be challenged on First Amendment grounds as violating the “right of the people peaceably to assemble.” And given that many of the groups affected are affiliated with religious organizations, the law also will be attacked for violating the First Amendment right to religious freedom.

Civil rights groups will maintain that Americans’ “values” should be determined, not by lifelong political operatives, but by the people themselves.

By Katy Grimes

Government should not be in the business of dictating the policies and religious convictions of private groups and charities. But that is exactly what one California lawmaker is attempting.

Senate Bill 323 by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, would strip organizations like the Boy Scouts of their tax-exempt status if they don’t abandon their long-held values, regardless of the fact that boys and parents voluntarily sign up for Boy Scouts.

Supporters of SB 323 contend they are not dictating the views of a nonprofit organization. But that’s exactly what they are trying to do by  rewarding only nonprofits that adopt their viewpoint on sexual orientation and gender identity with tax-exempt status.

But SB 323 doesn’t just take aim at the Boy Scouts. Girl Scouts, Little League, YMCA, Future Farmers of America, 4-H, and Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs are all on Lara’s hit list.  Even Special Olympics, American Youth Soccer and Pop Warner football are named.

This bill, named the “Youth Equality Act,” threatens these wholesome kid-focused nonprofit organizations with being taxed and stripped of current tax exemptions if they do not embrace the state’s policies on sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill requires the state’s policies be incorporated  into the organizations’ hiring, practices, membership, objectives and activities — the very definition of statism.

What happened to the freedom to choose?

Hatred of Boy Scouts hits a new high

Last year, the California Assembly refused to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Boy Scouts by rejecting a bill by Assemblyman Mike Morell, R-Rancho Cucamonga.

This year, Sen. Lara has taken the left’s hatred of the Boy Scouts to a higher level of government punishment.

“They [Boy Scouts] are out of line with the values of California and should be ineligible for a tax benefit paid for by all Californians,” Lara said when he introduced SB 323 in the Senate. “SB 323 brings our laws into line with our values.”

But Lara wasn’t talking to the people of California when he made that statement; he was addressing his liberal colleagues in the Senate.

This way of thinking by the far left supposes that any and all tax benefits a person or group receives in California are “paid for by all Californians.” This requires the belief that what we earn is not ours in the first place, and instead belongs to everyone.

Lara’s “values” are not the same as most taxpaying California residents — his bio lists his previous jobs as “community activist,” “political aid” and “longtime Assembly staffer.” Prior to running for Assembly, Lara was  appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to the powerful Los Angeles Planning Commission. Lara worked for Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and  Sen. Kevin De Leon before finally mounting his own run for Assembly.

Boy Scouts’ huge concession isn’t enough

The Boy Scouts of America’s National Council recently modified its longstanding policy to now allow Scouts to be of any “sexual orientation or preference.” Whether you agree with the decision or not, in doing so, the century-old Boy Scouts gave up its freedom to practice the values the organization was built on. It was these leadership values which helped shape millions of boys — all of whom voluntarily joined.

With its new guidelines allowing homosexual-identifying youths to become members, the Boy Scouts’ policy still prohibits openly homosexual adults from serving as leaders, a policy created at the behest of parents several decades ago.

For decades, the Scouts fought the membership policy change. 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 its historical mission, the thought of activists and politicians infiltrating and taking advantage of a few abusive leadership positions infuriated most families involved in scouting.

Same-sex schools and other institutions imperiled

There is also criticism of the bill because the language leaves open the meaning of gender identity.

“An expansive definition of gender identity could have unintended (or possibly intended) consequences on nonprofit schools and institutions that have traditionally been all-boys or all-girls,” the bill analysis said.

The Alliance Defending Freedom is fighting SB 323 and sent a letter to the Legislature explaining that if the bill is passed, many nonprofit youth organizations will be forced “to choose between following their core values and beliefs and losing their tax exemptions or abandoning their beliefs to comply with the law.”

“Freedom of association would prove an empty guarantee if associations could not limit control over their decisions to those who share the interests and persuasions that underlie the association’s being,” the Alliance Defending Freedom letter said. “The First Amendment protects the freedom of youth organizations to associate with members and leaders who share their values. Our youth deserve to continue to benefit from these groups, and bills like SB 323 severely threaten their ability to do so.”

SB 323 was passed by the Senate on a thin margin in May, (27-9, with 3 abstaining) and now awaits a hearing in the Assembly Revenue and Tax Committee. The bill requires a two-thirds vote for passage.

By Chris Reed

As a libertarian who supports gay marriage, I’m not a social conservative cultural warrior. That said, I still think there’s something extremely troubling about government power being used to punish those whose views are different than the California political mainstream. That’s just what state Sen. Ricardo Lara wants to do, AP reports:

“SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California lawmakers are considering taking some tax exemptions away from youth groups that do not accept gay, transgender or atheist members — a move intended to pressure the Boy Scouts of America to lift its ban on gay Scouts and troop leaders.

“Some cities have withdrawn free rent and other subsidies from the Boy Scouts over the years, but legislation introduced by state Sen. Ricardo Lara would make California the first state to target the Scouts for its anti-gay policy.

“The Long Beach Democrat’s bill, SB 323, is scheduled for its first committee hearing on Wednesday. …

“The legislation, also known as the Youth Equality Act, would deny tax-exempt status to nonprofit youth groups that discriminate on the basis of gender identity, race, sexual orientation, nationality, religion or religious affiliation.

“As a result, it would require those organizations to pay corporate taxes on donations, membership dues, camp fees and other sources of income, and to obtain sellers permits and pay sales taxes on food, beverages and homemade items sold at fundraisers. Because all tax returns are private in California, supporters do not know how big a tax hit the Boy Scouts would take if the proposal passes.

“Churches that sponsor Boy Scouts troops would not lose their underlying tax-exempt status, but an array of nonprofits, ranging from the Young Men’s Christian Association and Pop Warner football to the American Youth Soccer Association and 4-H clubs would have their tax returns and membership policies scrutinized by the state Franchise Tax Board, according to an analysis by the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.”

So much for tolerance of divergent views. The authoritarian impulse on the left seems to grow stronger by the day. The left knows what’s best, and you’d better agree — or else.

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.