Scouts partially drop gay ban

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has ended its ban on openly gay youth members.

More than 1,400 volunteer BSA leaders voted on the issue Thursday, with more than 60 per cent approving an end to the ban, The New York Times reports.

A ban on openly gay scout leaders will stay in place however.

Since 1991, the organisation has adopted a platform which states that homosexuality is “inconsistent with the Scout Oath that a Scout be morally straight and in the Scout Law that a Scout be clean in word and deed”.

In 2008, the US Supreme Court ruled that the organisation could legally bar gay leaders and said the Scouts should not be forced to “accept members where such acceptance would derogate from the organisation’s expressive message”.

A lesbian den mother from Ohio, Jennifer Tyrrell, was ousted from her position in April 2012 after her sexuality became known. A regional official resigned in protest at the expulsion.

The US Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), in association with Change.org, Scouts for Equality (SFE), and the Inclusive Scouting Network (ISN), recently delivered more 1.8 million signatures to the BSA urging them to drop their discriminatory ban on gay members.

“[The] vote is a significant victory for gay youth across the nation and a clear indication that the Boy Scouts’ ban on gay adult leaders will also inevitably end,” GLAAD spokesperson Rich Ferraro said.

“The Boy Scouts of America heard from religious leaders, corporate sponsors and so many Scouting families who want an end to discrimination against gay people, and GLAAD will continue this work with those committed to equality in Scouting until gay parents and adults are able to participate.”