I wouldn't necessarily confuse the issue here between a private school and the boy scouts. The Boy Scouts do enjoy special privileges and guarantees conferred on them by the government.

I wouldn't necessarily confuse the issue here between a private school and the boy scouts. The Boy Scouts do enjoy special privileges and guarantees conferred on them by the government.

 

The issue is a private group being able to set membership standards for their group. That is what allows all of that, and is something I agree with. As with many things, there are unintended consequences both negative and positive.

 

The BSA debate is how "private" they are, and what access to public facilities should they enjoy. I believe in a consistent ethic in life. If a group is a private group, and sets their own membership standards, they have to take the good with the bad. So if they are excluded from groups that do not share those values, they have to accept that. For example if a private school opened for children of gay and lesbian couples, I would not expect them to allow any BSA advertising or for that matter, could deny school enrollment to straight parents and those that choose to join gay unfriendly groups like BSA. I supported the United Way, Levi Strauss Foundation, and other organizations that stopped donations to BSA after the Dale Ruling. I feel that those people who whined about it as unjust were the height of hypocrisy.

The school views homosexuality as an immoral act. The government should stay out of the issue of what is or is not immoral behavior. That should be left to the community in which someone resides. The government should only be concerned with what is criminal behavior.

 

Discrimination on the basis of immoral behavior is NOT the same thing as discrimination on the basis of sex, race, or creed. A person can control their immoral behavior. If their happiness is dependant on it then they will likely be less happy in doing so but it doesn't change the fact that they can exercise restraint. Likewise immoral behavior resulting from a creed would follow the same logic.