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to Save Boy Scouts from Gays Deplores Erosion of Financial Support Since High Court Ruling Scouting for All, Corporations and the U.S. Government Blamed |
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Compiled By GayToday
Addressing his Southern Baptist followers, Falwell warned again about the "radical political agenda of the militant homosexual lobby" about which he says that "the Christian community should be extremely concerned." Also blaming corporate America and the Clinton Administration, Falwell singled out Scott Cozza (the father of 15-year old Steven Cozza) and the national movement, Scouting for All, both he and his heterosexually-inclined son have founded,. Falwell expressed his alarm over Scouting for All's activist approach:
According to Falwell, the "High Court ruling now appears to be just the beginning of a ferocious effort by homosexuals, corporate America and even the federal government to force the Scouts to re-evaluate their 87-year morality requirement for leaders--a requirement that forbids homosexuality. "If America's new social order cannot compel the Scouts to change, they will do everything in their power to demonize the venerable organization in the eyes of our fellow Americans. Homosexual-rights groups are already attempting to financially damage the organization by encouraging American corporations to eliminate funding of the Scouts. So far, their plan appears to be working." The Falwell statement continued: " Homosexual-rights leaders are urging the United Way, which contributed more than $83 million to Scouting programs in 1996, to reconsider its funding of the organization. While United Way funding is determined at the local level, widespread decisions by the organization's 1,400 municipal leaders to withdraw funding to the Scouts would be devastating. "Published reports indicate that United Way chapters have already cut off millions of dollars in support for the organization. The Scouts recently reported that donations and support for the group has indeed dropped following the Supreme Court ruling. On the corporate level, The New York Times reported that companies such as Chase Manhattan Bank and Textron Inc. have withdrawn hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions. The Scouts have also seen the financial support from companies such as Levi Strauss & Co. and Wells Fargo disappear. "Other organizations are said to be considering similar action. Merrill Lynch & Co., which gives more than $100,000 a year to the Scouts, has said it is 'actively reviewing' its relationship with the group. And Knight Ridder has requested that funds it gives to the United Way not be directed to the Boy Scouts. As we've recently seen with advertisers withdrawing support from Dr. Laura Schlessinger's radio and TV broadcasts, this corporate withdrawal of funds could quickly escalate against the Scouts." Falwell's message to his followers is rife with references to recent triumphs over the Boy Scouts' official bias: "Additionally, the cities of Chicago, San Francisco and San Jose, California have barred Scout troops from holding meetings in public parks, schools and other municipal sites, the Times said. "This is an all-out effort to hurt the Boy Scouts. It is also the equivalent of a modern-day witch hunt and it is a shocking thing to behold. The Boy Scouts have trained countless young men to honor their country, to live above reproach and to become leaders in their communities. However, that positive legacy is absolutely irrelevant and insignificant to the single-minded barons of the politically- correct dogma of our day. "Even more disturbing than corporate America's growing betrayal of the Scouts is the fact that the Clinton administration appears to be joining in this effort to disparage and debilitate the Scouts. The Washington Times reported on Thursday that a division of the Department of Interior has been gathering information on its ties to the Boy Scouts to determine whether such ties violate President Clinton's executive order banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. "A recent memo, written by Nattie Silva, assistant director of the Bureau of Reclamation's Diversity and Equal Opportunity office, has instructed employees to 'identify and explain all activities, events, or programs that each of your Bureaus has with the Boy Scouts of America ....' " Falwell's alleged concern about the Scouts masks his own real fears about a possible future withdrawal of funds from his own political-religious scheming: "The most troubling factor in this entire debacle is the fact that, should the Boy Scouts ultimately be financially devastated or forced to change their morality clause, religious-based institutions that receive federal funds could be the next victims of this radical assault on traditional values and free speech. With the shocking successes the homosexual-rights community is having against the Boy Scouts and Dr. Schlessinger, I believe the Christian community should be extremely concerned." |
