Obama honorary Boy Scout president?

March 5, 9:37 AMAtheism ExaminerTrina Hoaks

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It has been on the top of the talk list of many activist groups for some time. I have written about it briefly expressing my thoughts on the topic. Several groups joined together to urge President Obama not to accept the position of honorary Boy Scout president.

Again, the topic has made its way to the news front. This week, several boy scouts traveled to Washington, DC to meet with the president to present him with their annual report. While there has been no official announcement that I can find, it is suspected that President Obama was offered the honorary position. And of course, the question arises, did he accept?

I ran across one story that suggested that the honorary position was bestowed upon the president. The story was about one of the scouts, Tory Green, who attended the meeting. The 17-year-old scout said he "presented the president with a basketball on behalf of the Boy Scouts, the annual scouting report and a membership card making the president an honorary Scout."

According to a report on Fox News, "[a] Boy Scouts spokesman said Obama has indicated he will accept the title of honorary president."

So why do people care? Many people believe that the Boy Scouts of America is a bigoted group that openly discriminates against gays and atheists. And, although many people feel that the organization is well within its rights to exclude some children because they are a private organization, there are some who disagree.

The Boy Scouts of America reportedly receives funding from the US government via taxpayers and there are many people who are bothered that their tax dollars are being used to support a group that openly discriminates. It was reported that "[t]axpayers... fund Boy Scout activities with several millions of dollars through military personnel, federal land use and other assistance. Taxpayers doled out roughly $8 million for the 2005 Jamboree...."

According to a press release issued by the American Humanist Association (AHA), Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the AHA said:

If President Obama does this, it will send an implicit message to nontheists that discrimination against them is permissible.

He went on to say:

"We're disappointed that it seems Obama won't do the right thing and break with tradition by declining the honorary presidency of the Boy Scouts. Discrimination against nontheists should never be condoned in a society that values pluralism--and it's especially important that our leaders send that message by living through example. Obama will send the wrong message today if he tacitly endorses such discrimination."

AHA President David Niose was also quoted in the press release as having said:

"We're particularly disappointed because President Obama understands that secular Americans can be model citizens. In fact, he was raised without theistic belief by a secular humanist mother. How can he endorse a group that stands for policies that discriminate against the same values with which he was raised?

"We had high hopes that America's new president would courageously stand up for what is right, but it looks like he's going to let us down. By accepting the BSA honorary presidency he will have turned his back not only on the secular community but on his own upbringing."