The Boy Scouts of America have seemingly come to their senses, announcing today that their leadership panel unanimously voted to lift its ban on gay adults and leadership in the organization!
Though the Boy Scouts allowed gay youth members back in 2013, that didn’t extend to troop leaders, officers, and adult members. According to The Week, BSA President, Robert Gates, called for a lift to the ban on gay troop leaders back in May, saying:
The status quo in our movement’s membership standards cannot be sustained. We cannot ignore the social, political, and judicial changes taking place in our country.
However, this doesn’t mean it’ll be all sunshine and roses from now on. As reported by Buzzfeed:
The resolution passed by the committee does not require councils or troops to allow out gay leaders, but lifts the prior ban on such leaders. Specifically, the resolution “affirms the right of each chartering organization to reach its own religious and moral conclusions about the specific meaning and application of” the organization’s values.
So, while out gay leaders are not actively banned, they’re also not actively protected. Baby steps?
In any case, this goes to a full board vote on July 27th. Hopefully, the board will be as unanimous as the leadership panel was.
(Image via scottlum on Flickr)
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