How many of you were Cub Scouts and continued into Boy Scouts and maybe even into Eagle Scouting after that? I was in that group of boys. I learned basic skills that I still use today. I learned moral values that I still use today and I most importantly, learned respect, which is something I also use today. This is what I don't understand about the Boy Scouts of America. They teach respect and acceptance, yet they ban atheists, girls and homosexuals.

Since 1975, Boy Scouts of America has been involved in more than 30 lawsuits attacking its values. Until the late 1990s, nearly all of those lawsuits were about membership in and employment by Scouting. The cases challenged Scouting's right to set standards for membership, principally that Scouts are required to believe in God, be male, and not to be openly homosexual.

Boy Scouts won every single one of these cases, either at trial or on appeal. The most well known of the cases is, Boy Scouts of America v. Dale. In that case, a former Scout who had openly declared his homosexuality was denied appointment as an Assistant Scoutmaster.

This litigation takes place against a historical backdrop of cases challenging Boy Scouts' membership and leadership standards.

In the Scout Oath, a Scout promises to be "morally straight," and in the Scout Law he promises to be "clean."

The Boy Scout Handbook (11th ed.) explains "morally straight" as "To be a person of strong character, your relationships with others should be honest and open. You should respect and defend the rights of all people. Be clean in your speech and actions, and remain faithful in your religious beliefs. The values you practice as a Scout will help you shape a life of virtue and self-reliance."

The Handbook explains "clean" as "A Scout keeps his body and mind fit and clean. He chooses the company of those who live by high standards. He helps keep his home and community clean."

Boy Scouts of America believes that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the obligations in the Scout Oath and Law to be morally straight and clean in thought, word, and deed. Scouting's moral position with respect to homosexual conduct accords with the moral positions of many millions of Americans and with religious denominations to which a majority of Americans belong. Because of these views concerning the morality of homosexual conduct, Boy Scouts of America believes that a known or avowed homosexual is not an appropriate role model of the Scout Oath and Law for adolescent boys.

The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.

It really makes you wonder what kinds of choices these troop leaders are preparing your children to make; will they be the right decisions and choices? Well, I'm sure just like us, they'll turn out just fine.