The new nationwide policy does have a provision that allows chapters sponsored by religious organizations to make their own decisions about gay scout leaders.
Advertisement
The controversial decision was approved by the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America, which voted 45-12.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has said it will be re-evaluating its long-standing participation in the Boy Scouts of America, following the latter’s decision to end its blanket ban on openly gay adult leaders.
Robert Gates, the organization’s current president, was essential in removing the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy as the U.S. Defense Secretary in 2011. “Now, it’s time to unite behind our shared belief in the extraordinary power of scouting to be a force for good in a community and in the lives of its youth members”, Gates said.
Despite this being a much-needed change to their outdated policy of banning all gay scout leaders, the organization has left it open for discrimination by local groups.
Chartered organizations will continue to select their adult leaders and religious chartered organizations may continue to use religious beliefs as criteria for selecting adult leaders, including matters of sexuality.
The BSA faced potential lawsuits in New York and some other states if it continued to enforce its ban.
“I believe that Boy Scouts of America is living up to its principals of honor of integrity of inclusion”, he said.
“If there are some troops that will include (gay members), then maybe it will help them”, he said. “They will become increasingly marginalized from the direction society is going”.
Like several other major youth organisations, the Boy Scouts have experienced a membership decline in recent decades.
On July 16, officials with the Utah-based faith released a statement saying it was important that it could be allowed to choose Scout leaders who adhere to the church’s moral and religious principles.
Boy Scouts of America has a huge Mormon membership; around 437,160 young people in 2013.
“Hike on and focus on delivering a great program to kids”. Conservative partners saw the policy as a bulwark against unwanted social change, but the anti-gay stance was costing the Boy Scouts public support and cachet as well as corporate funders, and lately had brought on the threat of costly lawsuits.
“Our local board, mid Iowa council, has discussed this”, Hopper said. Today he and the organization saw the change they were fighting for, and hope people turned away from the scouts will come back.
Advertisement
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
