The Religious Right continues to push back against the Boy Scouts of America’s decision to reconsider their sweeping ban on gay members, many resorting to unfounded claims that homosexuality is tied to child abuse.

Talk show host Janet Mefferd pointed to a major sex scandal and cover-up in the BSA as a reason to maintain the prohibition on gay membership, and then agreed with a caller who compared letting gays serve as troop leaders to “letting the fox watch the hen house.”

Later, Mefferd attacked LGBT rights advocates for “trying to silence and trying to shame” supporters of the anti-gay policy and said that any shift in position will “decimate the Boy Scouts.”

WorldNetDaily’s David Kupelian wrote that “a little bit of America will die” if the Boy Scouts rescind their sweeping ban on gay members, and warned that the Scouts will lose the trust of the public and God. He also pointed to the Catholic Church as an example of how open homosexuality leads to sexual abuse, which is an odd choice seeing that the church, like the BSA, already has a prohibition gays in positions of authority.

Now the big question in all this, of course, is the following: With these sex-abuse cases within the Boy Scouting organization, just as those within the Catholic Church, are we dealing with actual “pedophiles” or with predatory homosexuals? … America is in a time of great crisis on many fronts, and much that is good we are in danger of permanently losing. The Boy Scouts of America is one of the most important and loved and truly valuable organizations in American history. It is literally a sacred trust between one generation and the next. The Supreme Court is on their side. Public opinion is on their side. God is on their side. Why on earth would they trade all this away by giving in to pressure from people who detest them and everything they stand for? A little bit of America will die if the Boy Scouts organization gives in to the pressure and makes this decision. You might want to let them know how you feel. You can reach the Boy Scouts of America at 972-580-2000. Tell them how much you appreciate them – and tell them to stand strong.

Peter LaBarbera of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality accused the Boy Scouts of “capitulating to immorality” and promoting “deviant sexuality among the boys.”

“If you take all that and you still come out strong, that’s a victory,” he says. “But if you allow all of that pressure to then change your values — which is what they’re doing here — to accommodate homosexuality, then you’ve given in. You’ve let the bad buys win.” “It’s very sad to see the Scouts cave on this,” he continues. “If you capitulate to the homosexual lobby, you’re capitulating to immorality; and you’re not being morally straight as the Boy Scout creed says.” According to LaBarbera, parents do not want homosexual Scoutmasters going with their boys on campouts. “And you don’t want homosexual Boy Scouts either because you don’t want to have one homosexual Scout going around telling everybody about his homosexuality and how he’s out and proud and everything. You don’t want that influence of deviant sexuality among the boys itself.” “… Parents need to contact the Scouts and say Stick to the original policy … Keep the Scouts morally straight.”

Southern Baptist Convention vice president Sing Oldham claimed that the Boy Scouts are “spelling their own death knell.” SBC president Fred Luter warned that churches may withdraw their sponsorships of BSA troops:

“If that is what the leadership is doing, then I think it will be a sad day in the life of the Boy Scouts of America,” Luter told Baptist Press. “This is a tradition that so many of us across the country grew up in. We were in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts in elementary school, and this organization has always stood for biblical principles — all the things that grounded our lives as a young kid growing up. To now see this organization that I thought stood on biblical principles about to give in to the politically correct thing is very disappointing.” Luter also said he believes the Boy Scouts will “lose a whole lot of our support,” with Southern Baptist churches choosing instead not to sponsor a unit. “A lot of them will just pull out,” Luter said. “This is just something we don’t believe in. It’s unfortunate the Boy Scouts are making this decision.”

Oldham even said that the SBC is ready with a replacement for the Boy Scouts, called the Royal Ambassadors:

“Churches of all faiths and denominations, including Southern Baptist churches, will be forced to reevaluate whether they can, in good conscience, continue to host Scout troops given that the Scouts appear poised to turn their backs on this clear biblical and moral issue,” Oldham said. “If the Scouts adopt these changes, I anticipate the SBC Executive Committee will issue a statement at its February board meeting expressing its deep dismay at this decision of the Scouts. This move may result in a boost for the convention’s Royal Ambassador program as churches scramble for an alternative boys organization that remains grounded in a consistent, biblical worldview.”

The American Family Association in an action alert for members asserted that any policy change “will destroy the legitimacy and the security of this iconic institution.”