The proposal wouldn't allow gay scout leaders, bizarrely, only gay members.
Via ABC News.
Under pressure over its longstanding ban on gays, the Boys Scouts of America is proposing to lift the ban for youth members but continue to exclude gays as adult leaders.
The Scouts announced Friday that it would submit this proposal to the roughly 1,400 voting members of its National Council at a meeting in Texas the week of May 20.
And from Reuters.
If the vote is approved, "no youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone," Deron Smith, the organization's spokesman, told Reuters.
The Scouts had originally been
considering a proposal in January of 2013 to let individual troops set their own policies, but backed off under intense pressure from both sides.
After careful consideration and extensive dialogue within the Scouting family, along with comments from those outside the organization, the volunteer officers of the Boy Scouts of America's National Executive Board concluded that due to the complexity of this issue, the organization needs time for a more deliberate review of its membership policy," the board said in a written statement.
Apparently they have now decided to morph that vote into a vote on national policy. Of course the Council may not vote for it. You can be sure NOM will threaten to primary every Council member who says 'aye'.
But still, we have to ask: "Is nothing sacred any more?"
8:53 AM PT: Commentary from the Christian Broadcasting Network:
Churches sponsor more than two-thirds of all Scout units. The largest are the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the United Methodist Church, the Catholic Church and Baptist churches.
So far, Southern Baptist leaders and Catholic bishops have taken public stands against allowing gays, and at least one group is coming together to oppose it.
Stemberger says the Scouts stand to take a huge hit if they allow open homosexuality.
"I think you'll see a mass exodus not only of major denominations but of common sense parents saying 'We can't trust Scouting anymore," Stemberger said. "There's not that moral consistency throughout the program."
Many conservatives point to Canada as an example of what could happen.
After making a similar change in 1999, Scouting membership there has dropped more than 50 percent to less than 100,000 today.
http://www.cbn.com/...
8:57 AM PT: The New York Times picks it up:
The decision, which follows years of heated controversy within the organization and growing outside criticism, must be approved by the roughly 1,400 voting members of the Scouts’ National Council at a meeting in Texas the week of May 20.
http://www.nytimes.com/...