Gay Boy Scouts will be admitted next year

In a split vote, whose final tally was 757 yes to 475 no, the Boy Scouts of America will begin allowing openly gay teens to participate in their program beginning January 1, 2014; according to information received by Historic City News from the North Florida Council in Jacksonville.

The ban on gay leaders was not voted on and will remain in place.

“This resolution today dealt with youth. We have not changed our adult membership standards,” said Tico Perez, national commissioner. “They have served us well for the last 100 years. Those were not on the table.”

Over 61 percent of the organization’s National Council of 1,400 delegates from across the country voted to lift the ban on gay cub and boy scouts.

Early responses to today’s vote are mixed. Some opponents said they would pull their sponsorships of packs and troops, and parents threatened to take their boys out of Scouting. Gay activists said the policy change doesn’t go far enough, because gay adults still wouldn’t be allowed to participate.

Thirteen-years ago, the United States Supreme Court held that, as a private membership organization, the Boy Scouts of America is free to decide who it will admit. Local troops and councils will have about six-months to implement the new policies.

More than 70 percent of Boy Scout units are sponsored by religious groups, and this compromise proposal has split them. One of the Southern Baptist church leaders, Dr. Frank Page, last week implored the Boy Scouts not to change the policy. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the organization’s biggest charter partner, had given tacit endorsement to the plan.

Boy Scouts President, Wayne Perry, said the vote came after an “extensive,” “exhaustive,” and “respectful” dialogue among the members of the organization. “It’s a very difficult decision, but we are moving forward together,” he said. “Our vision is to serve every kid.”