Boy Scouts of America finally lifts ban on gay leaders
By Will Stroude
The Boys Scouts of America (BSA) have finally lifted their longstanding ban on openly gay leaders and employees.
The organisation’s national executive board concluded yesterday (July 27) that the policy of barring gay adults from participating in the organisation “was no longer legally defensible.” The decision was approved by 79 percent of the board, NBC News reports.
The motion was widely expected to pass after the BSA’s executive committee unanimously voted in favour of the decision two weeks ago, and BSA President Robert Gates warned that failure to adapt to the modern world could spell the end of the 105-year-old organisation earlier this year (May).
The lifting of the ban means that local troops are able – but by no means forced – to employ leaders regardless of sexual orientation. While the national ban is gone, the BSA had stated that it will defend any local scouting group’s “good faith refusal” to admit a scouting leader based upon the group’s religious principles.
“This change allows Scouting’s members and parents to select local units, chartered by organisations with similar beliefs, that best meet the needs of their families,” the BSA leadership said in a statement.
Gates added: “For far too long this issue has divided and distracted us. 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.”
The BSA ended its ban on openly gay scouts in 2013.
BSA leaders are already facing the prospect of a split however, with the Mormon Church threatening to leave the organisation completely in protest at the decision.
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is deeply troubled by today’s vote,” the church said in statement released shortly after the Scouts announced the new policy. “When the leadership of the church resumes its regular schedule of meetings in August, the century-long association with scouting will need to be examined.”
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organisations in the world, with around 2.7 million youth members and 1 million adult members.
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