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Conservatively Speaking
State Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) represents parts of four counties: Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, and Walworth. Her Senate District 28 includes New Berlin, Franklin, Greendale, Hales Corners, Muskego, Waterford, Big Bend and parts of Greenfield, East Troy, and Mukwonago. Senator Lazich has been in the Legislature for more than a decade. She considers herself a tireless crusader for lower taxes, reduced spending and smaller government.
Defending the Boy Scouts
By Mary Lazich
Thursday, Feb 14 2008, 06:08 AM
One of the most rewarding and gratifying duties as a state Senator is presenting special state plaques of recognition to young men achieving the honor of Eagle Scout. The Eagle Scout ceremonies I attend are a wonderful testament to the caliber of fine young people.
The Boy Scouts of America is a terrific organization that sadly has become an unfair target. That’s why I was pleased to see that Texas Governor Rick Perry utilized a good portion of his speech Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington D.C. to defend this noble group.
I echo Governor Perry’s thoughts and share his remarks with you, from rickperry.org:
“Before I leave here, I would be remiss if I did not touch on the running gun battle being waged by the ACLU and the secular forces on the left.
As this often quiet war of attrition has raged for 40-plus years, a group of sentinels has stood their post, protecting, defending and promoting American values and the values of everyone in this room, bearing the brunt of liberal attacks.
I am referring to the Boy Scouts of America.
The venerable institution of the Boy Scouts of America, with its clearly-stated belief in God, adherence to a strict moral code and steadfast focus on shaping young men, is the trophy buck that the ACLU and their friends would like to hang above their fireplace.
Because of their clarity of mission, the Boy Scouts are, in effect, a listening post for those of us who believe in the conservative philosophy. As they stand watch on the perimeter of our culture, they are the first and most visible target for the forces who would undercut the moral foundations of our country.
As the Scouts go now, so goes the rest of our culture in the days to come. Because of this, we must rally to their support and help them hold that line.
To bring attention to this struggle, I have written a book about it, the first book I’ve ever written. The book hits the shelves in a matter of days, its available here in the Exhibit Hall and you can get additional copies on line at www.onmyhonorthebook.com.
As an Eagle Scout and the father of an Eagle Scout, I wrote it for two primary reasons. First, because the 12 Scout laws have worked in the lives of millions of young men and still apply, even in our fast-changing, modern society. The second reason is that those values and specifically the organization that teaches them - the Boy Scouts of America - are under attack.
For years the Scouts have won lawsuits protecting the “duty to God” element of their credo and keeping the issue of sex and sexuality from being forced upon the scout agenda. But now the secular left has shifted its attacks to public entities that have sponsored scout events at city parks, public schools, even the Department of Defense.
They have gone after anyone with access to public funds to prevent them from providing space to the Boy Scouts. And friends it saddens me to say they are winning some of these lawsuits.
In some instances, just the threat of a lawsuit has compelled certain public organizations to close their doors to the Scouts. In other instances, city officials sympathetic to the secular agenda are creating new policies that ban access to city facilities for scouts.
This is what happened in Philadelphia. After using a city facility for nearly a century, paying only a dollar a year in rent, the Scouts were told they would now have to pay fair market value. Citing a 25-year old "fair practices" law, the city solicitor said the Scouts must renounce their policy on excluding openly homosexual scoutmasters or leave the Beaux-Arts building it has rented from the city since 1928.
Know what is amazing about that? The Scouts actually built that facility more than 80 years ago and gave it to the city for free. We have to protect the Scouts.
We want it to be around for another hundred years teaching young men the value of being trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. They are our future leaders, husbands, and fathers. We’ll need their influence then, so we need to rally to their defense now.”
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