Boy Scout World Jamboree leadership requires condoms 'readily and easily accessible' for event

Leadership of the Boy Scouts has mandated that condoms be "readily and easily accessible" for next year's 24th World Scout Jamboree, which is scheduled to be held in the mountains of West Virginia from July 21 to Aug. 1, 2019.

What are the details?

According to an announcement on the event's page, "For the first time, a world jamboree will be hosted by three national Scout organizations: Scouts Canada, Asociación de Scouts de México, and the Boy Scouts of America."

"These three distinct cultures will join together to host the world Scouting community in a celebration of cultural exchange, mutual understanding, peace, and friendship," the statement adds.

The theme for the 2019 Jamboree is called "Unlock a New World," a concept that was conceived by the Scouts' youth bid team, "known as the Dream Team," according to the announcement.

"This theme speaks to the new adventures, cultures, and friendships that will be shared by Scouts from around the world during the event," the statement adds.

And about the condoms?

According to its 2016 handbook, the World Scout Committee is mandating that condoms be made readily available.

A subsection on page 10 of the publication reads, "The Host [Organization] must ensure that condoms are readily and easily accessible for all participants and [International Service Team] at a number of locations on the site."

The directive adds, "When making this information available onsite, consideration shall be given to the various cultures and beliefs present."

According to Charisma News, "It appears the Jamboree guidelines were drafted after the 2015 World Jamboree in Japan in preparation for the 2019 event and were just recently released in an email."

What are others saying about this?

John Stemberger, Florida Family Policy Council president and chairman of the board for the Christian scouting organization Trail Life USA, told Charisma News:

In light of the mandatory condom policy, it is not clear how far down the rabbit hole the Boy Scouts will continue to fall. With the addition of condoms and alcohol, the World Jamboree is starting to sound more like a 1960s Woodstock festival rather than a campout that parents would want to send their children to! All of this should be deeply disturbing to the churches that are chartering Boy Scout Troops. These policies present a clear youth protection problem that the BSA absolutely refuses to recognize. The fact that they are requiring that condoms be "readily accessible" and are communicating this to everyone—including youth participants—shows that the BSA is both anticipating and facilitating sexual conduct between minors at this event. These policies are both outrageous and completely irresponsible.

Anything else?

The Scouts have found themselves under increasing fire from some over the years, after permitting openly gay scout leaders to lead packs to allowing girls to join the organization, prompting a name change from "Boy Scouts of America" to simply "Scouts BSA."

Most recently, the Mormon church severed ties with the Scouts after over a century of affiliation.