George Allen, the Boy Scouts, and religious freedom

We should never lose sight of what America was founded on -- religious freedom. And what organization better represents American values than the Boy Scouts of America? After all, one of their 12 points in Boy Scout Law reads, "A Scout is reverent. He is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties and respects the convictions of others in matters of custom and religion." 

Earlier this month the Blue Ridge Forum (BRF) objected to U.S. Senate candidate George Allen attending a Boy Scout ceremony in Northern Virginia where they inducted a Muslim Eagle Scout. The insinuation by Blue Ridge Forum was that George Allen was being soft on terrorism because he attended the ceremony, an illogical assumption. After all, Allen was serving in Congress when the terrorist attacks took place on September 11, 2001, and he strongly supported laws to protect the homeland.

Not to mention other notable people attended the same Eagle Scout ceremony -- both Democrats and Republicans -- including Virginia State Senators Dick Black and Barbara Favola, and Virginia State Delegates David Ramadan, Barbara Comstock, Randall Minchew, and Mark Keam.

We need to keep our guard up and remain alert in the wake of terrorism but we also must not let terrorism compromise the religious freedoms guaranteed to all of us in the U.S. Constitution.

Elected officials and others who attended the Eagle Scout ceremony:
George Allen, U.S. Senate candidate
Dick Black, Virginia State Senator
Barbara Favola, Virginia State Senator
David Ramadan, Virginia State Delegate
Barbara Comstock, Virginia State Delegate
Randall Minchew, Virginia State Delegate
Mark Keam, Virginia State Delegate

John Foust, Fairfax County Supervisor

Rev. Clark Lobenstine, Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington

Cross-posted at Bearing Drift

Rev. Reginald Early, NAACP of Loudoun

Andrea Barraon, Jews for Jewish Muslim Understanding

Lt. Chris Hines, Eastern Loudoun Sheriff Station

Captain Marc Alexander, Prince Georges Police Department

Lt. John Boesman, Prince Georges Police Department

Detective Tom Lancaster, Prince Georges Police Department