Crosstalk: February 9, 2017

Courts have affirmed that the Boy Scouts of America could be an organization exclusively for boys with policies acknowledging God, requiring boys to be morally straight, while not allowing open homosexual boys.

Due to pressure from homosexual activists, some corporations and municipalities, the leadership of the Scouts held a news conference on May 23rd 2013, indicating that they had reevaluated their position and that effective January 1st, 2014, they would allow boys who are open homosexuals but would not allow adults of the same persuasion. Unfortunately, on July 27th, 2015, the Scouts changed their court-protected policies and began allowing openly homosexual men to begin working with the young boys.

The moral slide has continued as on January 30th of this year, the Scouts decided to allow girls who desire to identify as boys.

Joining Jim to discuss this issue was John Stemberger. John is an Eagle Scout and a former Scoutmaster. He was founder of On My Honor movement and became the chairman of the board for Trail Life USA in 2013, an alternative to the Boy Scouts. Professionally, John is an Orlando attorney with a civil trial and business law private practice. He's been a marriage and family advocate for over 30 years. He became the president of the Florida Family Policy Council in 2004 and was the chairman of the 2008 campaign to amend Florida's constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman which was later adopted by Florida voters. His law firm represented Rifqa Bary, the Muslim teenager from Columbus, Ohio, who fled to Orlando after she was threatened to be killed by her father for not renouncing her faith after her conversion from Islam to Christianity.

The program began with audio of the official, January 30th statement from Mike Surbaugh, Chief Scout Executive. After hearing the statement that mentions inclusion of girls who identify as boys, John believes Mike is wrong legally, morally and from the standpoint of child protection. He noted how we just don't let boys and girls shower together. That is a youth protection issue and when as parents we trust our children during overnight activities in a private setting, you expect to have the utmost concern for the protection of children. Instead, John believes the Scouts have caved and are more interested in whether gays, lesbians and transgenders are yelling at them than for what's in the best interest of children that have been entrusted to them by parents.

John feels this is a sad situation. Gender-confused children need our help, council and compassion because this is a form of deception and bondage. The research is clear that most children can be helped out of this. However, if we treat them as special and dress them up and give life to this deceptive thought, then the child ends up living a life of deception and unhealthy behavior that's not in accordance with what Scripture teaches.

John's concern is based on the fact that gender disphoria is a legitimate mental disorder and many kids will be exposed to this.

What he also finds sad is that the actual mission of the Boy Scouts is to teach young people how to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetime. Instead they talk about character development. It's embarrassing because they couldn't even mention the mission statement because it flies in the face of what they're doing.

John indicated that the only step the Boy Scouts have left is transgendered and cross-dressing adult leaders. That's the picture that parents need to understand awaits their boys if they choose the Scouts.