There is, or there was at least a few years ago, on the grounds of a Catholic church near where they buried their un-baptized babies an old rough-hewn cabin. Boy Scout Troop 181, my troop, met in that cabin. Our leaders instilled ideas of honor, duty to God, and fairness for all in that cabin. I became an Eagle Scout in that cabin, and there I bound myself to a solemn oath – the oath that all Boy Scouts for a hundred years have taken: "On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight."

Homosexuals have constantly challenged the traditional interpretation of the phrase morally straight and, until recently, the Scouts have held to their morality. Several corporate sponsors, however, have withdrawn their monetary support so long as the Boy Scouts maintain a ban forbidding open homosexuals from ranks and leadership roles. Celebrities, Carly Rae Jepsen and Train, refuse to perform at the national jamboree because of this perceived discrimination. Jepsen Tweeted, "As an artist who believes in equality for all people, I will not be participating in the Boy Scouts of America Jamboree this summer."

The charge of discrimination has been heard from private citizens too on the Scouts' FaceBook page. "My gay friend is more moral than most people," and "Stop the discrimination. It's time for equality now" are two that particularly caught my attention.

Many have labored to make homosexuality an equality or civil rights issue. President Obama lashed together the ideas in his second inaugural address saying, "We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall." Stonewall refers to a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village that police raided in 1969. The other places mentioned were focal points of women's suffrage and the civil rights movement.

Despite the volume of the rhetoric homosexuality is not an equality issue. Homosexuals have the same rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that all others have, even in the arena of marriage. What is there to stop a homosexual from marrying? Someone will say, "But they cannot marry the person they love." If I love two people should I be free to marry both? Are polygamists wrongly discriminated against? If I love a nine-year-old should I be free to marry a child? Are pedophiles maliciously discriminated against?

Homosexual defenders do not like the pedophile comparison, but it is legitimate. I even wonder why the LGBT community discriminates against this particular sexual orientation. I am not suggesting that all homosexual men are pedophiles, but if homosexuals can cry discrimination, pedophiles can shout "unfair." What is the difference but popular acceptance? Homosexual defenders tell us to get with the times; it is the twenty-first century after all. Is it so far fetched to think that the next century, if it even takes half that long, will carry with it the mainstreaming of NAMBLA?

The Boy Scouts' national board will soon decide to either drop the ban on gays or continue the fight. And it will be a fight, but the road will be no more peaceful if the Scouts buckle to peer pressure. Atheists will again attack in the courts and the Scouts having given up a core principle will have no ground on which to stand.

There have been several revisions of The Boy Scout Handbook since I inscribed the cover of mine, but a particular explanation of the Scout Law in mine is worth repeating. "A Scout is Brave. . . .It takes bravery to do what is right when others call you a coward or a chicken for doing it. It often takes real courage to speak the truth and nothing but the truth. It takes backbone to admit a mistake and apologize for it. It takes courage to defend a friend when he is under attack by others." The Boy Scouts inscribed on my conscience a conviction to stand up for what is right even where it is unpopular, even when you are called names, even if you are ostracized.

It was only a coincidence, but it seems almost providential now. We met on the outskirts near where un-baptized babies were buried in a no frills log cabin. Our equipment was limited and old. Our tents leaked. And still we were physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

Ray Warfel, Jr
3140 Red Gate Ln.
Youngstown, Ohio 44511
raywarfel@yahoo.com