Boy Scouts of America approve plan to accept openly gay boys
.. BSA sheds some irrational fear and discrimination .. some of ..
Vote at annual meeting in Texas may relieve political pressure but openly gay leaders are still banned
Amanda Holpuch guardian.co.uk, Thursday 23 May 2013 23.22 BST Jump to comments (3)
While gay youth members can now be accepted into the scouts, gay scout leaders are still banned from the organization.
The Boy Scouts of America on Thursday voted to allow gay youths in the organization, partially ending a long-standing ban on accepting homosexual members.
Of the 1,400 scout leaders voting at the annual meeting in Texas .. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/22/boy-scouts-america-vote-gay-youth-members , more than 60% supported the proposal. The members voted in favor of adjusting the BSA membership rules to read: "No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone."
While gay youth members can now be accepted into the scouts, gay scout leaders are still banned from the organization.
"The Boy Scouts of America will not sacrifice its mission, or the youth served by the movement, by allowing the organization to be consumed by a single, divisive, and unresolved societal issue," the BSA said in a statement .. http://www.scouting.org/sitecore/content/MembershipStandards/Resolution/results.aspx . "As the National Executive Committee just completed a lengthy review process, there are no plans for further review on this matter."
The policy will be implemented at the more than 116,000 scouting units on 1 January, 2014.
"While people have different opinions about this policy, we can all agree that kids are better off when they are in Scouting. Going forward, our Scouting family will continue to focus on reaching and serving youth in order to help them grow into good, strong citizens," the BSA said.
The ban has been a fraught issue since it was instituted, in 1978. It was subject to renewed criticism in July 2012 when the organization reaffirmed its ban .. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/17/boy-scouts-america-ban-gay .. after conducting a confidential two-year review.
Gay-rights groups used the affirmation to reinvigorate the fight against the ban, and numerous online campaigns emerged in support of the campaign. Barack Obama said in February that he would like to see the ban lifted.
A national BSA governing board member, Ernst & Young CEO James Turley, said the organization should drop the policy and corporations including Intel, UPS and Merck withdrew funding to the group as uproar against the ban grew.
"Even with the wide range of input, it is extremely difficult to accurately quantify the potential impact of maintaining or changing the current policy," the organization said. "While perspectives and opinions vary significantly, parents, adults in the Scouting community, and teens alike tend to agree that youth should not be denied the benefits of Scouting."
Those in support of the ban were comprised primarily of religious groups and older scouting parents (pdf) .. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/MembershipStandards/310-561_WB.pdf . "Views among parents under the age of 50 have changed significantly in the past three years, with a majority now opposing the BSA's current policy," reads the BSA voting information packet.
The organization has more .. http://www.scouting.org/Media/MediaKit/AtaGlance.aspx .. than 2,658,000 youth members and more than 1 million adult members. Incorporated in 1910, the BSA's mission is "to provide an educational program for boys and young adults to build character, to train in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and to develop personal fitness".
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