Nearly 19,000 Americans, most of whom are past or current members of Boy Scouts families or are former Scouts, have signed a petition, which was delivered to the Boy Scouts of America, urging the organization to keep its century-old policies and not allow gay members to serve as members or leaders.
"The Boy Scouts should once again stand firm on moral principles that have successfully shaped our nation's boys into leaders for generations," said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel David Cortman, whose group delivered the petition.
"This is the expressed desire of thousands of Scouts and their families who have signed this petition. The Constitution protects the Boy Scouts' freedom to promote the values that have defined the organization and to ensure that its leaders and members adhere to those values." more >>
The Federal Communications Commission, the government institution which regulates content on U.S. television, has been proposing changes to its guidelines which would allow more sex, vulgarity and profanity during earlier hours when children are more likely to be watching, which family groups have increasingly opposed.
Fox News reported on Tuesday that since last month, the FCC has been discussing whether to end the prohibition of expletives and certain images of nudity on television. It is allowing the public until June 19 to share their thoughts on the issue.
Pro-family groups, which often complain about the amount of vulgarity already on TV, have said that many parents find the proposed changes to be unacceptable. more >>
A Gallup poll shows that a majority of Americans now believe that sexual relations between two men or two women, and unmarried women having a baby, are morally acceptable.
In the new survey, 59 percent of American adults answered that gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable, a 19 percentage point increase since 2001 when only 40 percent said it was morally acceptable.
Sixty percent of respondents said that having a baby outside of marriage was morally acceptable, a 15 percentage point increase since 2002 when only 45 percent said it was morally acceptable. more >>
Break the cycle of fatherlessness, set high standards for yourself, serve those in need, and stop using racism as an excuse for lack of excellence, President Barack Obama told the graduates of Morehouse College, an all-black male college in Atlanta, Ga.
The tradition at Morehouse, Obama said in his Sunday commencement address, is not just to produce smart graduates, but men of strong character.
He began with a quote from former Morehouse President Benjamin Mays: "It will not be sufficient for Morehouse College, for any college, for that matter, to produce clever graduates … but rather honest men, men who can be trusted in public and private life – men who are sensitive to the wrongs, the sufferings, and the injustices of society and who are willing to accept responsibility for correcting [those] ills." more >>
A well-known conservative values organization is advising Christians against joining the AARP, a nonprofit dedicated to the needs of retired people, arguing that the interest group caters to the "homosexual agenda."
Buddy Smith, executive vice president of the American Family Association, self-described Christian, pro-family nonprofit, said in a recent interview that he believes part of AARP's membership fees and profits are used to promote the legalization of same-sex marriage on a federal level, as well as same-sex couple adoption.
Smith warned retired Christians ages 50 and over who are planning to become a member of the AARP. more >>
John Mark and Pamela Crawford are suing the state of South Carolina for performing sex assignment surgery on their adoptive infant three months prior to having legal custody of the child. This is the first lawsuit of its kind in the nation.
Their child, known as M.C., was born with both male and female reproductive organs, otherwise known as a special needs child that has an intersex condition. When M.C. was 16 months old and a ward of the state, under the care of the South Carolina Department of Social Services, doctors and department officials decided that M.C. should undergo sex assignment surgery to make M.C. a girl. The child's biological mother was deemed unfit and the biological father was considered to have abandoned the child. The decision about the child's sexuality was left to the state.
M.C. is now 8 years old, identifies as a boy, dresses as a boy, and refuses to be called a girl. M.C.'s surgery is irreversible. Left with female genitalia, his parents say that he feels like he has always been a boy and he has announced to his school and church community that he is a boy. more >>