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It’s official: Boy Scouts of America has ended ban on gay leaders
As expected, the Boy Scouts of America has voted to end the organization’s ban on openly gay and bisexual adults as employees and volunteers.
The National Executive Committee’s vote on Monday (27 July) came less than two weeks after the organization’s National Committee unanimously approved a resolution to end the ban. They followed the advice of BSA President Robert M. Gates.
‘Moving forward, we will continue to focus on reaching and serving youth, helping them to grow into good, strong citizens,’ the organization said in a statement after the vote.
The national ban ends immediately and allows previously removed leaders to reapply for their positions. Regional governing councils or non-Troop entities such as boy scouts camps are also prohibited from discriminating against employees and volunteers based on their sexual orientation.
Among the most vocal opponents of the ban over the past three years has been Zach Wahls, a former scout whose mothers are lesbian. He cheered the BSA’s vote in his position as executive director of Scouts for Equality.
‘This vote marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Boy Scouts of America,’ Wahls stated. ‘Tens of thousands of people came together because they wanted to build a better future for the Boy Scouts of America, and that future starts now. … As of this vote, the Boy Scouts of America is an organization that is looking forward, not back.’
But the potential for discrimination still exists in a majority of Boy Scout troops and Cub Scout dens. Religious organizations that sponsor a majority of scouting units will still be allowed to set their own policies.
‘… Religious organizations that charter some 70 percent of local BSA units will still be permitted to discriminate in their selection of BSA unit leaders,’ said Jon W. Davidson, legal director of Lambda Legal.
‘Nonetheless, this is another repudiation of ant-igay discrimination by the Boy Scouts and another key moment for gay rights as openly gay and bisexual adults will be able to participate in Scouting, even if not in every troop or den,’ Davidson added.
The BSA decided to finally ended its ban on openly gay scouts in 2013 but the ban continued once a scout reached the age of 18 and applied to adults leaders and employees of the organization.
The post It’s official: Boy Scouts of America has ended ban on gay leaders appeared first on Gay Star News.
Greg Hernandez
www.gaystarnews.com/article/its-official-boys-scouts-of-america-has-ended-ban-on-gay-leaders/
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