Family Research Council Action held the Values Voter Summit, the premier political conference for evangelical Christians, in D.C. Sept. 25- 27, and while many conservative icons and Republican presidential candidates were invited to partake in the festivities, the Boy Scouts of America were deemed too liberal to be asked back, according to Mother Jones.
The Boy Scouts, who for many years were asked to present the American flag as part of the color guard, were replaced by Trail Life USA. This “outdoor adventure and character development group” was created last year as a Christian alternative because of the Boy Scouts inclusion of gay scouts and scoutmasters. Trail Life USA is run by John Stemberger, head of the anti-gay hate group Florida Family Policy Council (part of Focus on the Family).
Trail Life USA was joined by American Heritage Girls, a religious conservative-version of the Girl Scouts created in 1995 by concerned Christian Patti Garibay, to present the flag.
Trail Life USA, according to their website, teaches right alongside hiking, first aid and ropework “that homosexuality is sinful and immoral, as is any sexual activity outside of the sanctity of marriage between a Man and a Woman. Consistent with this belief, we have specific policies that address membership and sin in both youth and adult members.”
Trail Life USA also excludes Mormons and Jews from their troop because they “don’t subscribe to the group’s particular theology.”
Trail Life CEO Mark Hancock, at his booth in the convention hall, said to Mother Jones his group was invited to replace the Boy Scouts color guard because of “the direction the Boy Scouts have taken. They think we’re a better fit.” When asked if it was because of the acceptance of gays, Hancock responded it was simply the Boy Scouts’ “general departure from their traditional values” that prompted their exclusion.
The Values Voter Summit – along with Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and Mike Huckabee (all of whom were in attendance and spoke) – heard from anti-gay invitees Kim Davis and the Oregon bakers who refused to bake a cake for a lesbian wedding and then published their personal information online.
