The Boy Scouts of America voted to end its ban on gay youths, Thursday. The 1,400-member national council voted to allow openly gay youths to join the organization. The change in policy will take effect on Jan 1.
The Boy Scouts of America will maintain its ban on gay adult leaders and members who do not believe in God.
“The Boy Scouts of America still supports an untenable, unreasonable and unnecessary discriminatory policy by excluding gay leaders and staff members,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association, in a statement. “If the Boy Scouts are truly a values-based organization, bigotry can’t be part of the program.”
The vote came during organization's two-day meeting in Grapevine, TX. The organization plans to continue their ban on gay adult Scout leaders.
In metro Atlanta, often seen as one of the most gay-friendly urban areas in the U.S., opinion on the issue has been mixed.
In Southwest Atlanta, a longtime scout leader says his Christian faith will require him to give up Scouting, one of his life's passions, if the organization decides to open membership to gay people.
However, many wanted the ban repealed. A Buckhead businessman even went so far as to return his hard-earned Eagle Scout badges to the Boy Scouts to protest the the ban.
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