Boy Scouts of America Lifts Ban on Gay Leaders

The Boy Scouts of America announced on July 27, 2015 that it will remove the ban on gay adult scout leaders.

“On Monday July 27 the national executive board ratified a resolution removing the national restriction on openly gay leaders and employees,” said Robert Gates, President of Boy Scouts of America.

Two years ago, the Boy Scouts also voted to admitting young gay individuals as scouts. Gates said that it is time to unite and deal with the world and changing times. In May 2015, he told the organization to prepare for change since the status quo in membership can no longer be sustained.

NBC News reported that gay adults that were previously rejected as scout leaders have threatened to sue. New York’s attorney general also initiated an investigation on the employment policy at the Boy Scouts of America. An internal memo from the Boy Scouts stated that it would be a losing effort for the organization to continue protecting its policy. The Boy Scouts’ national executive board met in Texas and concluded that the policy to exclude gay adults was no longer legally defensible. 79 percent of the board approved the decision.

On July 13, 2015, the Boy Scouts stated that the This resolution will allow chartered organizations to select adult leaders regardless of their sexual orientation, continuing the scout’s long-lasting policy of chartered organizations choosing their leaders,

The change would allow scouting’s members and parents to choose local units, chartered to organizations with the same principles that best suit the needs of their families. The change will respect the right of religious chartered organizations to continue selecting adult leaders with consistent beliefs.

CNN News reported that the lifting of the ban garnered mixed reactions.

A number of religious groups were not in favor of the change. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stated that they will re-evaluate their relationship with the Boy Scouts. The group said that their Church always welcomed all boys to its scouting units regardless of sexual orientation. However, the admission of openly gay leaders is not in line with their Church doctrines.

Some LGBT advocacy groups, on the contrary, believe that the change is still not significant enough. They stated that the removal of the ban on gay scout leaders is a “welcome step”, but putting an exemption on troops sponsored by religious groups undermines the recent change. They stated that discrimination should be removed from the Boy Scouts completely.