Saturday, April 20, 2013

Boy Scouts to Recommend Admitting Gay Youth But Still Bar Gay Adults

Boy Scouts of America officials are going to call for an end to the organization’s ban on gay scouts but recommend continuing to prohibit gay adults from serving as troop leaders.
The resolution still must be voted on by the organization’s national council in May, but if it is approved, “no youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone,” BSA spokesman Deron Smith told the Reuters news service. But it would leave in place the ban on openly gay adult leaders, the Associated Press notes. The proposed policy was published on the BSA leadership blog today, and an accompanying statement confirms that it “would maintain the current membership policy for all adult leaders.”
The group had earlier indicated it might adopt a policy of allowing each individual troop to set its own policy on admitting LGBT scouts and leaders. The proposal unveiled today came after several months of research and surveys, BSA officials said.

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