The Boy Scouts of America has reaffirmed its ban on gay leaders, after a confidential two-year review. The Scouts cited support from parents as a key reason for keeping the policy and expressed hope that the prolonged debate over it might now subside. The Scouts' national spokesman, Deron Smith, told The Associated Press that an 11-member special committee, whose members have not been identified, came to the conclusion that the exclusion policy "is absolutely the best policy" for the 112-year-old organisation. Smith said the committee, comprised of professional scout executives and adult volunteers, was unanimous in its conclusion, preserving a long-standing policy that was upheld by the US Supreme Court in 2000 and has remained controversial ever since. As a result of the committee's decision, the Scouts' national executive board will take no further action on a resolution submitted at its recent national conference asking for reconsideration of the membership policy. Chad Griffin, President of the largest US gay-rights group the Human Rights Campaign, described the Scouts' decision as "a missed opportunity of colossal proportions." "With the country moving toward inclusion, the leaders of the Boy Scouts of America have instead sent a message to young people that only some of them are valued," he said. "They've chosen to teach division and intolerance."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 18th July 2012 - 10:01am