Boy Scouts Leaders Meet As More Texas Officials Sign Support Letter
Boy Scouts Leaders Meet As Growing List of State Leaders Urge Boy Scouts To Stand Firm, Uphold Homosexuality Policy
Austin, TX, March 1, 2013 – As reports surface that leaders of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) are meeting today at the Grand Hyatt DFW to discuss membership standards, a growing group of over 60 Texas elected officials have signed on to an open letter encouraging the BSA to hold true to their long-standing support of family values and traditional moral principles. They join with Governor Rick Perry, who has previously announced his strong support for the Boy Scouts traditional values, calling on the BSA to not rescind its currently policy on homosexuality.
Last month, due to growing concern across the country, the National Executive Board of the BSA announced that a decision on changing its homosexuality policy would be delayed until the May 2013 National Annual Meeting in Grapevine, TX. It had been expected that the Board would announce the BSA was abandoning their long-standing policy against openly homosexual scout leaders and members at their February meeting.
“The public support for the Boy Scouts’ current policy is growing every day. Countless concerned citizens, elected officials and Boy Scouts members are making it clear that the Boy Scouts should continue to stand strong for their timeless values and principles,” said Jonathan Saenz, President of Texas Values.
Since the announcement earlier this month that the policy would be up for a vote in May, concern among scouts, scout leaders, parents, churches, and elected officials has grown as thousands of phone calls and emails have flooded the BSA, encouraging the Boy Scouts to leave in place their current policy on homosexuality. Today, a petition has been launched urging the BSA to continue its constitutional, time-test policy.