The Boy Scouts of America lifted their ban on openly gay scout leaders and volunteers today after a unanimous vote by the Boy Scouts’ executive committee earlier this month.
Two years ago, the Boy Scouts announced it would not longer discriminate against gay scout members, a policy it implemented early last year.
But, the new resolution will not apply to all Boy Scout troops. Over 70 percent of troops are run by religious organizations and will still have the ability to discriminate against openly gay leaders or volunteers. In a statement released earlier this month, the Scouts said it would allow religiously affiliated units to “continue to choose adult leaders whose beliefs are consistent with their own.”
The statement also stressed the importance of moral, honorable, committed and respectful sexual relationships between adults. What each charter qualifies as moral and respectful is its own choice, the statement said.
“The Boy Scouts of America affirms the right of each chartering organization to reach its own religious and moral conclusion about the specific meaning and application of these values.”
Boy Scouts’ President President Robert Gates pushed for the end of the ban, which “can not be sustained,” he said.
“We must deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be,” he said.
Video footage courtesy of:
Dallas News
The Boy Scouts of America
