Gov. Perry: Boy Scouts should keep no-gay policy

[TexasTowelie]

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Gov. Rick Perry said emphatically Saturday that the Boy Scouts of America shouldn't soften its strict no-gays membership policy, and suggested that bending the organization to the whims of popular culture is wrong.

Perry is an Eagle Scout and in 2008 he authored the book "On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting For." It detailed the governor's deep love for the organization and explained why it should continue to embrace traditional, conservative values — including excluding openly gay members and scout leaders.

America's longest-serving governor addressed the Texas Scouts' 64th annual Report to State, where hundreds of Scouts from around Texas filled the state House of Representatives to announce their delegation's recent accomplishments.

Perry has addressed the gathering several times before, most recently in 2010, but not since the announcement the Scouts national leadership is mulling scraping the mandatory exclusion of gay members. Instead, the group could allow different religious and civic groups that sponsor Scout units to decide for themselves how to address the issue — either maintaining the exclusion or opening up their membership.

More at http://www.reporternews.com/news/2013/feb/02/gov-perry-boy-scouts-should-keep-no-gay-policy/

Cross-posted in LBN at http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014388660 .

[TexasTowelie]

1. Get this statement from the article:

Society's failure to adhere to the organization's core values was a cause for high rates of teen pregnancy and wayward youth who grow up to be "men joining their fathers in prison."

[NYC_SKP]

3. Texas has trillions of wayward gay pregnancies?

[Flashmann]

2. Absolute

TOOL!!!!

[dballance]

4. Perry Doesn't Get It (no surprise from "OOPs" man). They are Adhering to Their Most Important...

core value - money. This sudden turn about from just over seven months ago seems to be rather coincidental in juxtaposition to the many Non-Profits and corporate foundations that have announced they will no longer fund the BSA because of their discriminatory policy toward gays. Most of the guys in BSA HQ in Dallas probably don't give a rat's ass about the actual scouts. They've had files of sex abusers that rivals the Catholic Church's and I've never heard of any prosecutions. Instead they care about keeping the gravy train rolling. Given the way they are supposedly setting this up - letting the local organizations decide - it still allows them to have troops sponsored by conservative churches and religious organizations that exclude gays and other troops sponsored by more liberal churches and secular organizations to do allow gays.

I guess they think this way they can still solicit funds from the religious organizations who oppose gay membership by saying it's a local issue. Not sure how well that's going to work out for them given the crap-storm that's already happened.

[Thinkingabout]

5. Wonder if he is afraid of running into his old friends.