NEW YORK – The Boy Scouts of America on Monday ended its blanket ban on gay adult leaders while allowing church-sponsored Scout units to maintain the exclusion for religious reasons.

The new policy, aimed at easing a controversy that has embroiled the Boy Scouts for years, takes effect immediately. It was approved by the BSA's National Executive Board on a 45-12 vote during a closed-to-the-media teleconference.

"For far too long this issue has divided and distracted us," said the BSA's president, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates. "Now it's time to unite behind our shared belief in the extraordinary power of Scouting to be a force for good."

Initial reactions to the decision from groups on both sides suggested the issue would remain divisive.

The Mormon church, which sponsors more Scout units that any other organization, said it was "deeply troubled" by the decision. Church officials suggested they would look into the possibility of forming their own organization to replace Boy Scouts.

"The admission of openly gay leaders is inconsistent with the doctrines of the Church and what have traditionally been the values of the Boy Scouts of America," said a statement from Mormon headquarters in Salt Lake City.

In contrast, the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBT-rights organization, said the Boy Scouts should not allow church-sponsored units to continue excluding gays.

"Discrimination should have no place in the Boy Scouts, period," said the HRC's president, Chad Griffin. "BSA officials should now demonstrate true leadership and begin the process of considering a full national policy of inclusion."

Gates foreshadowed Monday's action on May 21, when he told the Scouts' national meeting that the long-standing ban on participation by openly gay adults was no longer sustainable. He said the ban was likely to be the target of lawsuits that the Scouts likely would lose.

Two weeks ago, the new policy was approved unanimously by the BSA's 17-member National Executive Committee. It would allow local Scout units to select adult leaders without regard to sexual orientation — a stance that several Scout councils have already adopted in defiance of the official national policy.

In 2013, after heated internal debate, the BSA decided to allow openly gay youth as scouts, but not gay adults as leaders. Several denominations that collectively sponsor close to half of all Scout units — including the Roman Catholic church, the Mormon church and the Southern Baptist Convention — have been apprehensive about ending the ban on gay adults.

The BSA's top leaders pledged to defend the right of any church-sponsored units to continue excluding gays as adult volunteers. But that assurance has not satisfied some conservative church leaders.

"In recent years I have seen a definite cooling on the part of Baptist churches toward the Scouts," said the Rev. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. "This will probably bring that cooling to a freeze."

Under the BSA's new policy, gay leaders who were previously removed from Scouting because of the ban would have the opportunity to reapply for volunteer positions. If otherwise qualified, a gay adult would be eligible to serve as a Scoutmaster or unit leader.

Gates, who became the BSA's president in May 2014, said at the time that he personally would have favored ending the ban on gay adults, but he opposed any further debate after the Scouts' policymaking body upheld the ban. In May, he said that recent events "have confronted us with urgent challenges I did not foresee and which we cannot ignore."

He cited an announcement by the BSA's New York City chapter in early April that it had hired Pascal Tessier, the nation's first openly gay Eagle Scout, as a summer camp leader. Gates also cited broader gay-rights developments and warned that rigidly maintaining the ban "will be the end of us as a national movement."

The BSA's right to exclude gays was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000. But since then, the policy has prompted numerous major corporations to suspend charitable donations to the Scouts and strained relations with some municipalities.

More recently, the BSA faced a civil rights investigation in New York and lawsuits in other states over the ban.

Kenneth Upton, a lawyer for the LGBT-rights group Lambda Legal, questioned whether the BSA's new policy to let church-sponsored units continue to exclude gay adults would be sustainable.

"There will be a period of time where they'll have some legal protection," Upton said. "But that doesn't mean the lawsuits won't keep coming. ... They will become increasingly marginalized from the direction society is going."

Like several other major youth organizations, the Boy Scouts have experienced a membership decline in recent decades. Current membership, according to the BSA, is about 2.4 million boys and about 1 million adults.

After the 2013 decision to admit gay youth, some conservatives split from the BSA to form a new group, Trail Life USA, which has created its own ranks, badges and uniforms. The group claims a membership of more than 25,000 youths and adults.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/07/28/boy-scout-board-approves-end-to-blanket-ban-on-gay-adults/?intcmp=hpbt2

Nothing good will come of this.

Why will nothing good come of this?

^ I had the same question.

being alone around boy scout leaders and priests .. 2 things I never allowed to happen with my boys.


Sorry, too much history there for me.

It's a blow to the morals of scouting, and I do know a little something about this since I am an Eagle Scout. Membership has declined at an alarming rate since they allowed gays to join and now this. This is an organization that a few years ago had a membership of 10 million scouts and now it is down to a little over two million and now with this I bet it will drop to a few hundred thousand.

Excellent.
The ones left are good people, who apparently
are getting a handle on prejudice.

Really? I have heard of SEVERAL instances of Gay Boy Scouts getting beat up, Pranked and Hazed at our local Boy Scout Camp.

Boy Scout's are just as vicious as the High School Varsity jocks.

BTW, I do support gay marriage and equal rights, but now they are also threatening to sue Church Troops that don't have to abide by the policy. This is where I get sick to my stomach, they are forcing people to accommodate them even if it affects their religious beliefs and that's a problem. Especially since one of the scout laws is being Reverent.

That is the issue, their 'religious' beliefs.
All one can do, if one believes in the people telling them so,
is not be gay oneself...it has nothing to do with other people.

They will be who they are.
Same as you.
Immovable in their chosen lifestyle.

So discriminating against people just like yourself
really is quite pointless.

..Because it is against the laws of nature.

Oh..where are those written exactly?

People will be people. It's just a shame that the Boy Scouts are the victims of the PC people who have no interest in scouting at all. When the smoke clears, Boy Scouts of America will no longer exist or it will no longer be what it was. The kids loose.

Actually, the kids win if they learn tolerance
and acceptance of others. And do not extend the
bigotry beyond their own household..which no
doubt came from their parentage.

Are they going to get a gay tolerant badge?

And for the record I am against straight men being girl scout troop leaders.. Its creepy..

It's all creepy. Why should we even be discussing gays and boy scouts in the first place? The reason that we are, is because there were gay scout leaders molesting young boys over many years. So now we say ok, lets allow gay scout leaders if not, we will sue you? It's all creepy.

Anything to try and pump up membership numbers.

Boy Scouts is a business.
It relied on cheap labor (volunteering parents), and built in consumers (buy the badges, the uniforms, the camping gear, the projects).

Boy Scouts is something positive for children or an altruistic organization like dating sites are interested in you finding "true" love and if you'd just pay to upgrade your membership you have a better chance at finding them.


Boy Scouts are in no way a victim of anyone.
They adapt to the times or they wither and die.
Just like any other business.
Might as well whine about typewriters and fax machines being victim to PC paperless movements.


Wasn't that part of why there was such a push for diversity in schools?

Kids spend far more time at school than in scouts.

If kids need scouts to learn tolerance and acceptance of others then there's failure all around in all sorts of ways.


I don't.
Mostly because I don't think government should be involved in marriage in any way.

And I sure don't agree with government coming up with and defining new rights for people, simply due to traditions. It just lends credence to the idea or belief that your rights are granted to you by government.

The gay marriage movement should have been about reducing government power and getting it out of marriage and social issues all together.

Not validating that government should have more power and more power of enforcement over people.

Gay marriage and equal rights movements have just validated the role of government as being big daddy.
Big daddy makes the rules, you belong to big daddy, and if you don't do what big daddy says then we'll tattle and you'll get smacked.

I believe it is a good decision... I remember being in the brownie and girl scouts with my daughter ... every thing was done in a group and always had parents that could be involved ... around the kids ... we had so much fun ... oh and the kids loved it to ... lol and I agree with soufi on this ... if there is that much prejudice then those left will be more apt to and learn to face real life and collage and work in their futures ... don't forget our military... and those gays and lesbian that had the backs of others ...an may have saved their life while serving their country ... I guess i can understand a phobia ... but most are very professional and parents would have nothing to worry about and if your a child molester ...that is what you are ... and might do a back ground ck ... becouse these molesters are every where ...

if that was the case then those leaders should be prosecuted... we are not saying that is ok ... and have never heard one story ... about that ... heard all about the phobias the boyscout have talked about but no wrong doings ... no ...

There was more than one story. The BSA kept records and there were many of them over the years. They didn't release them because there were so many records and they didn't want negative publicity. BSA was forced to release their records several years ago after some of the victims filed suit and threatened BSA complicity to get the records opened. Some records dated as far back to the 1960's and were NEVER reported to authorities and no action was taken by the BSA to stop such attacks on scouts. Gay pedophile scout leaders were allowed to continue being leaders and they are apparently welcomed now.

well that is the BSA fault ... for not bringing these incidents forward ... and I am sure the statue of limitation has already gone in effect for those that where harmed... an I believe even now that they are allowing these gay leaders... more will be brought out in the groups and kept a watchful eye ...on then before ... and not all gays are molester ... so with that said you would think they have to prove then selves worthy of this leadership now ... they had to say yes on this becouse it would be discrimination ... just like any job ... know what I mean ...