John Stemberger

Religious Right activist John Stemberger is continuing his fight against a proposal to end the Boy Scouts of America's ban on gay members, telling Tim Wildmon of the American Family Association that "anything that has the word 'gay' on it in our culture ... [is] guaranteed to be inappropriate for kids."

Wildmon asked why gay activists don't just start their own Gay Scouts of America program instead of forcing this sort of change on the Boy Scouts, which prompted Stemberger to respond that gay activists want to "flaunt their sexuality [and] promote political, social agenda" to children, which is just utterly inappropriate.

"You look at anything that has the world 'gay' on it in our culture," Stemberger said, "a gay magazine, a gay blog, a gay website, a gay parade, you name it, it's gonna be guaranteed to be inappropriate for kids. And that's what we're talking about; we talking about injecting hyper-sexuality and a leftist political agenda right into the veins of the Boy Scouts and it will utterly devastate it":

Anti-gay activist John Stemberger is continuing to argue that sexual abuse will skyrocket if the Boy Scouts let in openly gay members. As evidence, he sites current statistics on the abuse that happens with the discriminatory ban in place.

While speaking to Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council on Washington Watch, Stemberger predicted that a policy shift in the Boy Scouts of America will “create a wave of boy-on-boy sexual abuse” as straight scouts will “be preyed upon” by their gay peers:

I think the national organization is just kind of winking and nodding, saying, ‘oh yeah, homosexual boys, no big deal, we can influence them for the better, boys are better off in scouting.’ Well wait a second, yeah homosexual boys are better off but what about the other boys who may be preyed upon? You know BSA’s own statistics show, their own youth training program shows that seventy percent of all abuse in scouting takes place by other boys, not by adults. So I’ve been saying from day one that this is going to create a wave of boy-on-boy sexual abuse which is going to contribute future to the scandal that scouting has had in the past and also not to mention the physical, psychological and sexual abuse of countless boys.

John Stemberger of the Florida Family Policy Council and the new group, On My Honor, is out with a new list of the top ten reasons [PDF] to oppose a plan to end the ban on gay youth in the Boy Scouts. He warns that openly gay Scout members will create “further public scandal to the BSA, not to mention the tragedy of countless boys who will experience sexual, physical and psychological abuse” by jeopardizing the sleeping arrangements and safety precautions.

Opening the Boy Scouts to boys who openly proclaim being sexually attracted to other boys and/or openly identify themselves as "gay" will inevitably create an increase of boy-on-boy sexual contact which will result in further public scandal to the BSA, not to mention the tragedy of countless boys who will experience sexual, physical and psychological abuse. BSA’s own Youth Protection videos indicate that “70% of abuse to boys is by teenagers”. Two-deep leadership will have to be at least three-deep for units with homosexual youth. The complexity of sleeping arrangements will create a myriad of social and liability challenges. Sexual awareness and harassment training will be required in all Scouting units. The leaders setting forth the proposed policy clearly did not have the safety and security of the boys in the BSA as their paramount concern.

He also argues that it will lead to a loss in support from major church groups, even though the two largest church sponsors, the United Methodist Church and the Mormon Church, are comfortable with the policy change.

If the proposal is enacted, it will gut a major percentage of human capital in the BSA and utterly devastate the program financially, socially and legally. Of the faith based Scouting units, the vast majority of them are Latter-day Saints, Methodists, Catholics or Southern Baptists. Despite what denominations may decide for political reasons, the majority of local churches that charter Scout units will not be able to embrace this policy without violating their religious convictions. The BSA’s own “Voice of the Scout” surveys provide solid evidence that tens- and possibly hundreds of thousands of parents and Scouts will leave the program if the proposal is adopted. The financial impact from such a significant membership loss would be enormous. Camps will close, executives will be let go and properties will be sold off as a result of the vast loss of finances from major donors, private foundations and declining membership.

Stemberger concludes that a young gay man will only join scouting so he can begin “flaunting his sexuality and promoting a leftist political agenda” and “inject a sensitive and highly-charged political issue into the heart of the BSA”:

The Resolution robs parents of the sole authority to raise issues of sex and sexuality with their kids. Parents should have the exclusive right to raise issues about sex and sexuality with their children in their own time and in their own way, in the privacy of their homes; not brought up by other older boys around a campfire. Allowing open homosexuality would inject a sensitive and highly-charged political issue into the heart of the BSA, against the wishes of the vast majority of parents. Under the longstanding current policy, boys who have a same-sex attraction are not banned or removed from the program unless they act out in a manner that distracts from the mission of the BSA. Under the new policy all Scouting units would be required to accept a 17-year-old gay activist openly flaunting his sexuality and promoting a leftist political agenda.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) defended the Boy Scouts of America’s ban on gay members today by pointing to the scandal surrounding former Republican congressman Mark Foley, who sent sexually explicit messages to several teenage male congressional pages.

Gohmert, who was filling in for Family Research Council president Tony Perkins on the Washington Watch radio program, accused Rep. Nancy Pelosi of hypocrisy because she condemned Foley’s actions but opposes the Boy Scouts’ ban.

Gohmert later agreed with John Stemberger, the Religious Right activist leading the campaign against gay Boy Scouts, when he said that allowing gays in the Boy Scouts would lead to the end of the program and “if scouting dies, part of the fabric of America dies.”

Gohmert: Back when there was a scandal in the House, I guess there was some left-wing group that had found out and then they sat on it for about a year and then right before the election released this story about one of our members from Florida making inappropriate advances toward eight pages, under age. And I heard Representative from San Francisco, Ms. Pelosi, making this speech on the Floor and the thing that really heartened me was because of the things she said I went to the Floor after her and said I am so gratified to know that Ms. Pelosi will now be helping us in maintaining the current position of the Boy Scouts and help us fight off the effort for Boy Scouts based on the things she has said about what’s happened with the page program. But apparently the things she had to say were only to condemn Republicans in an opportune movement that had nothing to do with being consistent when it came to the Boy Scout program…. Any other thoughts or observations, things you would want to encourage our listeners to do after hearing this broadcast?

Stemberger: Yes we have a simulcast coming up right at FRC studios, Sunday, May 5, it’s Stand with Scouts Sunday. We want to get folks all over the country to stand with scouting, especially folks in the program, it’s going to be an hour long program, we want folks to meet a half hour before and a half hour afterwards to organize because we’re going to have rallies around the country. That’s Sunday night, May 5 from 7-8, we want folks to gather at 6:30 and then the meeting will be over by 8:30. It will be a time to meet folks of other like mind. This is our opportunity. Look, scouting is one of the jewels of American culture; if scouting dies, part of the fabric of America dies.

Gohmert: It does.

Stemberger: Those of us who feel passionate about this, we need to fight to make sure we preserve scouting in America.

Gohmert: Yeah.

Later in the show, Gohmert told a listener named Jimmy, who warned the BSA against approving a proposal that would allow openly gay youth to join the Scouts, that homosexuality violates the Ten Commandments and as a result churches that host scout troops won’t go along with the new policy.

Gohmert blamed state and local governments for pressuring BSA to shift on the issue of gay membership. He said they’re accepting of Satanists but punish BSA simply for holding the same belief that “was contained in so many of the references to the lifestyle back among the Founders.”

Scouting has always had people who figured out they were attracted to people of the same-sex but what is being demanded is to be allowed to openly practice this. Jimmy makes the great point that so many of the scout troops, I don’t know what percentage it is but I know in East Texas so many of the troops are sponsored by churches who believe the Ten Commandments and when it says ‘thou shalt not commit adultery’ that means not having relations outside of marriage between a man and a woman. So this would once again be the government—well, government has helped push pressure, there are some state and local governments that have been preventing scouts from using their parks. You can have all kinds of weird beliefs, Satanic or whatever, and you can use the parks but they have made clear if you are a part of the Boy Scouts of America and believe what was contained in so many of the references to the lifestyle back among the Founders then Heaven help you they don’t want you to have anything to do with their parks.

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• Presumably, Michele Bachmann regrets hiring Peter Waldron.
• Regina Griggs of PFOX says that "as the mother of a homosexual child," she understands how Sen. Rob Portman is feeling but "as a responsible parent I must stand firm in my belief that marriage must remain as that of a man and a woman."
• If The Blaze is going to mock President Obama for going 2 for 22 and being bad at basketball, it should at least know something about the sport and not say things like "that means Obama only made about 9 percent of the overall dunks he attempted."
• Robert Spencer has a new book coming out.  Take one guess what it is about.
• The Florida Family Policy Council's John Stemberger has launched a new group called OnMyHonor.net aimed at preventing the Boy Scouts from allowing gay members and troop leaders.
• Finally, Ken Hutcherson is calling on Christians and Republican voters to rise up and demand that RNC Chairman Reince Priebus resign.

In an interview yesterday with John Stemberger of the Florida Family Policy Council, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins alleged that the Boy Scouts of America will “throw the door open” to “sexual predators” by lifting their national ban on gay members and will face more child molestation lawsuits as a result. Stemberger warned that Boy Scouts will now have members who “promote this behavior and promote their personal sexuality.”

Perkins: The national board released about 15,000 pages of documentation on sexual predators and what had taken place in the Scouts from 1960-1995. One lawsuit alone cost the Scouts a settlement of about $20 million. Through the litigation the leading attorney who has litigated for the families of what they called the ‘preyed upon children’ estimates that each predator molested up to twenty-five children, roughly 1,900 predators’ names were revealed. This is under the current policy which forbids those who would be inclined to this from coming in, what’s going to happen when they just throw the door open?

Stemberger: The amazing thing really is that right now there are people that have a same-sex attraction involved with scouting but the rule is, kind of similar to the military, you just can’t be open about it. That’s the difference, there are lots of people who just want to live their lives privately—fine—but for those people who want to come out and promote this behavior and promote their personal sexuality, it’s inappropriate. There’s no place for this whatsoever in scouting and it’s just stunning that they are even considering a decision like this because of financial and political pressure.

Perkins: I imagine it’s going to cost them a lot more if they have any lawsuits along the lines of this.

Stemberger maintained that the admission of openly gay members is “insanity” and could “destroy” the Boy Scouts. He even said the “greatest threat” is not gay troop leaders but gay kids. “The greatest threat immediately is going to be not just adults but it’s going to be the kids,” Stemberger told Perkins. “There are so many young people today in high school and public school especially who are acting out homosexuality just because it’s the popular and cool thing, so you’re going to have lots of crazy stuff happening with boys.”

Perkins: Well obviously this news had to be very disappointing not only to you but your sons who have been involved in scouting as well.

Stemberger: It’s extraordinarily disappointing and if they go ahead with this decision next week I think it’s going to have an extraordinary impact, it’s not going to be good. I think you’re going to see a mass exodus, obviously Catholics, Mormons and Southern Baptists are all going to be very concerned about this. I just hope that they do not cave. The greatest threat immediately is going to be not just adults but it’s going to be the kids. There are so many young people today in high school and public school especially who are acting out homosexuality just because it’s the popular and cool thing, so you’re going to have lots of crazy stuff happening with boys. We’ve been through a whole round of problems that the Scouts have had with improper conduct with adults over the years and this just seems insanity to me that they would open the door and allow openly gay leaders and boys to flourish. Even if it is at a local level, so much of what goes on in scouting is not just local, you have district camporees, you have national jamborees, the order of the arrow involves people and summer camps; you know so much of it is working together with a district or a council or the Scouts nationally. So I think it’s a very negative thing which is going to have long-term repercussions which could destroy the entire program itself.

John Stemberger of the Florida Family Policy Council closed out his groups Prayer Rally for America’s Future last night by warning that non-Christian faiths are incapable of producing ideas like democracy or equality. He lamented that “things that were unthinkable” are now “being promoted as virtuous” and conservatives now being called “hatemonger” “Our country needs God, our country needs us,” Stemberger said, saying that principles like voting, inalienable rights and equality couldn’t have come from faiths like Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism: “No religion on the face of the earth could have created the American experience except for Christianity and no religion can save it except for Christians.”

Watch:

Remember gay-demon-exorcist, Halloween-candy-foe and NAR Apostle Kimberly Daniels? The preacher was elected to the Jacksonville City Council last year despite her claims that “the Jews own everything,” Haiti’s 2010 earthquake was divine punishment and that President Obama is tied to the illuminati. As Jacksonville weighs passing an anti-discrimination ordinance strongly opposed by the Religious Right due to its protections for sexual orientation and gender identity, the freshman councilwoman said that proponents of the ordinance have “discriminated against” her and are “anti-God”:

Councilwoman Kimberly Daniels, who is also a local pastor, took a point of personal privilege to address how some individuals laughed at her and made comments at the May 22 meeting.

“I am a believer; I am a Christian,” Daniels said. “Religion is a protected class. What I experienced last Tuesday night, it was not pro gay; it was anti God.”

“My family is being harassed; my life is being threatened,” Daniels continued. “I have experienced so much hate from the homosexual community…I don’t care who sleeps with who… I love America…I would like not to be discriminated against, too.”

John Stemberger of the Florida Family Policy Council is organizing the opposition to the bill, warning that “this artificial, social construct called gay” is “new” and “dangerous”:

“We have basically exposed this piece of legislation for what it is,” Stemberger said following a June 5 hearing. “And that is an infringement upon religious liberties, the Constitution, and rights of association.”

…

Stemberger put the issue into a larger context.

“Same-sex attraction has always been with us since the beginning of time. That’s nothing new. … What is new, and what is dangerous and what we oppose, is this artificial, social construct called gay,” Stemberger said. “It’s in your face; it’s shoving down your throat; and it’s intimidation. It’s not just, ‘let’s be left alone and let’s just have rights.’ It’s now forcing everyone else to agree—by the force of law and lawsuits with money damages. That’s what we oppose.”

The Freedom Federation – an anti-Obama amalgam of Religious Right groups, "apostolic" ministries, and the corporate-funded astroturf Americans for Prosperity – is holding its third annual Awakening conference in Orlando, Florida this weekend. Here’s how it describes the event:

Uniting our Voices Around Shared Values: Turning Voices into Votes

A war is raging against our shared values. Our faith and freedom are under attack. Silence in the face of this war is not an option. Decisive action is needed. Join with others who share the core values that make America a great nation. Take a stand for righteousness and justice and be part of a new revolution to take back America. The time has come to turn our voices into votes and to change the course of history.

Outreach to the Hispanic community is a major goal of this year’s Awakening and the theme of Friday’s opening night session.  That marks a continuation of the Freedom Federation’s efforts to re-brand the Religious Right as a multiracial and multigenerational movement, and to re-brand the culture war as a “social justice” movement. Last year’s gathering included a major effort to claim a religious grounding for the anti-tax, anti-government agenda of Grover Norquist and the Tea Party.

This year’s conference features Samuel Rodriguez, the head of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, who tries to sell the Religious Right’s culture war to Latinos while trying to get Religious Right leaders to make themselves more palatable to Latinos.  Rodriguez recently said that Latinos are here to “bring panic to the kingdom of darkness” and “make the gospel of Jesus Christ, the church, the most influential institution in America.”  He said God has sent illegal immigrants here to “redeem Christianity” in America.

Also scheduled to address this year’s conference is Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a favorite of Tea Party and Religious Right leaders who describe him as the party’s Latino Ronald Reagan. Rubio is reportedly concocting a hollowed-out version of the DREAM Act that will try to help Romney and the GOP fix their well-earned image as hostile to the aspirations of millions of immigrants.

A new feature at this year’s Awakening is Patriot Camp on Saturday for kids ages 5-15.  Organizers promise that kids will learn about “the Christian principles on which America was founded,” which is important since, “As most Christians know, our true American heritage is not taught in schools, especially not in an objective manner.”

Notably for this Obama-bashing group, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sending a video presentation; senior Likud official Moshe Ya'alon, Vice Premier, Minister of Strategic Affairs, is also listed as a speaker.  Also on the list, some of whom might appear by video: Former GOP presidential candidates Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, and Reps. John Mica and Allen West. West has been warming up for the conference by announcing, McCarthy-style, that dozens of progressive members of the House of Representatives are communists.

The list of speakers is a Who’s Who of the Religious Right and conservative legal movements, including characters like spiritual warrior Lou Engle and Cindy “God kills birds when America supports gays” Jacobs, who once haunted the fringes of the far right but have since been welcomed into a movement seeking to build the broadest political base possible.  Among them:

• John Stemberger: head of the Florida Family Policy Council who chaired the 2008 campaign that outlawed marriage equality in Florida. Awakening organizers say he has “a unique understanding" of law and government. You could say that: He has argued that only Christians are capable of creating a free society. As a lawyer he once sued a rental car company when an Irish customer was involved in a fatal crash; he argued that the company should have known that an Irish customer “would have a high propensity to drink alcohol.” (He later apologized.) 

• Rick Scarborough:birther, self-proclaimed “Christocrat,” and Rick Perry backer who said last year that he refused to endorse Romney in the primary because he is a Mormon. At the 2010 Awakening, Scarborough called Obama a “Marxist president.” Scarborough stated a few months ago that AIDS is God’s judgment for engaging in an immoral act. 

• Frank Gaffney: his infamous anti-Muslim bigotry, including charges that fellow conservatives are Islamist sympathizers, is so virulent that he was denounced by the American Conservative Union.  

• Harry Jackson:  point man for the Religious Right’s anti-gay racial wedge strategies, defender of the National Organization for Marriage’s cynical racial wedge politics, and all-around right-wing activist, who recently called for believers to form a “fifth column” to undermine America’s secularist culture from within.  

• Rick Joyner:  a dominionist and self-proclaimed prophet who recently warned people to get out of California because God is going to punish America for not being sufficiently supportive of Israel,  Joyner heads the Oak Initiative.

• Richard Land:  the primary political spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention, Land supports the criminalization of homosexuality and recently told NPR that “The Bible tells us that socialism and neo-socialism never worked. Confiscatory tax rates never work.” Land was recently pushed into apologizing both for racially inflammatory remarks about the Trayvon Martin case and for having plagiarized them from right-wing columnists. 

• Janet (Folger) Porter: an anti-abortion activist who famously brought fetuses to “testify” for Ohio’s “Heartbeat Bill,” declared during the 2008 GOP primary that God had chosen Mike Huckabee to lead the nation. Her radio show was dropped by a Christian radio network unhappy with her political embrace of Christian dominionists. 

• Mat Staver: heads Liberty Counsel, recently called the “homosexual agenda” a “moral iceberg” that threatens religious freedom.  At the 2010 Awakening, Staver agreed with a questioner that the health care reform law had a provision that gave Obama the power to create an army of brownshirts that could take control of communities. 

• Ryan Sorba: made a name for himself as an anti-gay activist by denouncing organizers of the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference for welcoming conservative gay groups; has become a regular at Awakening. 

Should be more fun than Disney World.  Watch for updates.