Decision to alter current policy banning gay Scouts, leaders postponed
Local Boy Scout organizations from Levittown, and across the nation won’t permit openly homosexual Scouts and troop leaders anytime soon, as the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) postponed making a decision to alter its current policy barring gays.
BSA said the organization received an “outpouring of feedback from the American public” regarding the proposed change to its policy, which the organization will vote on in May.
“It reinforces how deeply people care about scouting and how passionate they are about the organization,” a BSA statement said. “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.”
Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth, one of the nation’s largest networks serving the needs of young homosexuals, called the BSA postponement cowardly.
“Gay youth already experience extremely high levels of isolation and discrimination in their schools and communities, leading to high rates of suicide, drug and alcohol use and dropping out of school.
“Every day that the BSA keeps this policy, they are continuing to contribute to this problem,” LIGALY said in a statement.
The Boy Scouts’ mulled changing its current policy to allow the organizations that sponsor Scout troops to make the decision whether to allow gay Scouts and leaders. Across the country, religious organizations sponsor 70 percent or Scouting groups, according to The New York Times.
Local Scouting representatives and parents declined to comment on the decision.
