Boy Scout Executive Committee Votes To Allow Gay Scout Leaders

The Boy Scouts of America’s National Executive Committee unanimously voted to lift a ban on gay adult scout leaders, according to a release from Scouts for Equality.

The BSA National Executive Board will vote on the proposal in two weeks, Monday, July 29, and if passed, the changes would go into effect immediately.

According to Scouts for Equality, the change would:

1. Eliminate the BSA’s across the board ban on openly gay or bisexual adults in scouting.
2. Allow each individual troop or unit to determine its own policy regarding the eligibility of openly gay or bisexual scoutmasters or other adult leaders.
3. Prohibit regional governing councils or non-Troop entities such as boy scouts camps from discriminating against employees and volunteers based on their sexual orientation.
4. Allow previously removed leaders to reapply for their positions.

The Valley Forge-based branch of the Boy Scouts, governed by the Cradle of Liberty Council, said in June that they would hire anyone regardless of orientation.

In a statement, they said:

Discrimination in any form, including but not limited to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, is contrary to the Scout Oath and Law, and we in the Cradle of Liberty Council will vigorously oppose it from whatever source. The Cradle of Liberty Council is an inclusive organization. We welcome any person of good will seeking to advance our mission of character development, citizenship training and fitness in young people through our programs based on the Scout Oath and Law.

Boy Scout President Robert Gates, the former Secretary of Defense, recently called for the organization to lift its ban on gay adults during a May meeting.

Troops will still have leeway to set their own rules regarding scout leaders. This allows troops chartered by organizations like churches to set rules according to their “religious and moral conclusion.”

The vote is a big win for advocates of a more inclusive scouting community.

“Today’s announcement hopefully marks the beginning of the end of the Boy Scouts of America’s decades-old ban on gay leaders and parents like my two moms,” Scouts for Equality Executive Director Zach Wahls said in a statement. “In two weeks, the BSA’s national executive board will vote to ratify a resolution that has already been unanimously adopted by their executive committee.”

The full resolution can be read here.