Boy Scouts Proposes Lifting Ban on Gay Youth, Not Adult Leaders

After months of weighing the decision, the Boy Scouts of America confirms it will seek to lift its ban on gay members — but not all of them.

According to Reuters, the plan, which won’t be official until its put to a vote at the National Council meeting next month, says that “no youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone.” But gay men will not be welcome as troop leaders.

As I’m sure you can imagine, this half-assed decision has drawn criticism from gay-rights groups. Rich Ferraro, vice president of communications at GLAAD told Reuters that, “By refusing to consider an end to its ban on gay and lesbian parents, the Boy Scouts have missed an opportunity to exercise leadership and usher the organization back to relevancy.”

What do you think about the policy? It’s great that they want to give young people the chance to take part, but the whole no-gay-adults thing makes me feel a little icky inside.

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