WHEREAS, Non-discrimination laws and policies concerning race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, and disability are now being expanded to include lifestyle preferences and immoral sexual behavior; and
WHEREAS, This expansive redefinition of non-discrimination is being used to compel even private, self-governing bodies to adopt membership and leadership policies which violate deeply held moral and religious beliefs; and
WHEREAS, The pro-homosexual and atheist movements are among the primary purveyors of this radically expansive redefinition; and
WHEREAS, The Boy Scouts of America has been under relentless assault by those who decry the traditional moral and spiritual standards of this venerable American institution; and
WHEREAS, The Boy Scouts of America requires scouts to pledge, “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country” and “to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight”; and
WHEREAS, The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that the Boy Scouts of America is not a private organization but a “public accommodation,” thereby opening the door to the judicial oppression of a privately-held service organization, subjecting it to non-discrimination statutes redefined to include sexual orientation; and
WHEREAS, If this form of judicial imperialism is allowed to stand, it would mean that churches and other religious institutions would be threatened by an overweening government intrusion into their right of self-governance.
Therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in Orlando, Florida, June 13-14, 2000, affirm the right of the Boy Scouts of America to define and delimit its own membership and leadership criteria; and
Be it further RESOLVED, That we encourage the Boy Scouts of America to hold fast to its traditional ideals; and
Be it finally RESOLVED, That we urge our public officials to defend the Boy Scouts of America against all efforts to undermine its Constitutional freedoms.