Members of national council will vote on single-sentence adjustment to rules which could grant membership to gay youth
The Boy Scouts of America will vote on Thursday on whether to accept gay youth members, partially overturning a long-running ban on allowing gay people to join the organisation.
The roughly 1,400 members of the BSA's national council will vote in Dallas on the proposal, which would in part overturn the scouts' 1978 ban on homosexual members.
The council will vote for or against a single-sentence adjustment to their membership rules: "No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone."
The decision will be announced at 6pm ET on Thursday after two days of meetings. A yes vote could signal a victory of sorts for gay rights groups and others who have campaigned for the scouts to accept gay members. The proposal would allow gay youth members into the scouts, but the ban on gay adult leaders will remain.
In a statement the BSA said it had "embarked on the most comprehensive listening exercise in its history" to consider the impact of changing its policy.
"While perspectives and opinions vary significantly, parents, adults in the Scouting community, and teens alike tend to agree that youth should not be denied the benefits of Scouting," it said.
"This month, the National Executive Committee is asking its approximately 1,400 voting members to consider a proposed resolution that would remove the restriction denying membership to youth on the basis of sexual orientation alone and would maintain the current membership policy for all adult leaders of the Boy Scouts of America."
Barack Obama and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney are among the public figures who have spoken out against the ban on gay members, as pressure has mounted for the scouts to update their policy.
The BSA said in January it was considering letting local scout groups decide whether to admit gay people as youth members or leaders, but it decided against delegating the decision-making after a survey of 1 million members showed respondents supported retaining the ban on gay members by 61% to 34%.
The ban, and the furore over it, has been costly to the BSA. Intel, UPS and Merck are among the corporations that withdrew funding to the organisation after gay-rights groups began campaigning for equal scouting rights.
But the BSA said religious organisations, who donate money and contribute to the running of local scouting groups, had expressed concern over gay members and lobbied against lifting the ban. When the BSA announced the vote in April it said some religious organisations were less concerned about youth gay members than having adult leaders, leading to the "compromise".
The BSA was founded in 1910 and has 2.7 million youth members and over 1 million adult volunteers. If approved, the organisation would join the Girl Scouts of America in allowing gay members.
The ban on gay members was introduced in 1978 and reaffirmed in 2002, two years after the US Supreme Court ruled the BSA could continue to legally exclude gays. Reported by guardian.co.uk 8 hours ago.
The Boy Scouts of America will vote on Thursday on whether to accept gay youth members, partially overturning a long-running ban on allowing gay people to join the organisation.
The roughly 1,400 members of the BSA's national council will vote in Dallas on the proposal, which would in part overturn the scouts' 1978 ban on homosexual members.
The council will vote for or against a single-sentence adjustment to their membership rules: "No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone."
The decision will be announced at 6pm ET on Thursday after two days of meetings. A yes vote could signal a victory of sorts for gay rights groups and others who have campaigned for the scouts to accept gay members. The proposal would allow gay youth members into the scouts, but the ban on gay adult leaders will remain.
In a statement the BSA said it had "embarked on the most comprehensive listening exercise in its history" to consider the impact of changing its policy.
"While perspectives and opinions vary significantly, parents, adults in the Scouting community, and teens alike tend to agree that youth should not be denied the benefits of Scouting," it said.
"This month, the National Executive Committee is asking its approximately 1,400 voting members to consider a proposed resolution that would remove the restriction denying membership to youth on the basis of sexual orientation alone and would maintain the current membership policy for all adult leaders of the Boy Scouts of America."
Barack Obama and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney are among the public figures who have spoken out against the ban on gay members, as pressure has mounted for the scouts to update their policy.
The BSA said in January it was considering letting local scout groups decide whether to admit gay people as youth members or leaders, but it decided against delegating the decision-making after a survey of 1 million members showed respondents supported retaining the ban on gay members by 61% to 34%.
The ban, and the furore over it, has been costly to the BSA. Intel, UPS and Merck are among the corporations that withdrew funding to the organisation after gay-rights groups began campaigning for equal scouting rights.
But the BSA said religious organisations, who donate money and contribute to the running of local scouting groups, had expressed concern over gay members and lobbied against lifting the ban. When the BSA announced the vote in April it said some religious organisations were less concerned about youth gay members than having adult leaders, leading to the "compromise".
The BSA was founded in 1910 and has 2.7 million youth members and over 1 million adult volunteers. If approved, the organisation would join the Girl Scouts of America in allowing gay members.
The ban on gay members was introduced in 1978 and reaffirmed in 2002, two years after the US Supreme Court ruled the BSA could continue to legally exclude gays. Reported by guardian.co.uk 8 hours ago.