US: Boy Scouts of America begins to permit gay members
After changing its policy on gay members back in May the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has finally enacted the new rules.
“No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone,” the resolution said.
The change allows individual scouting troops to decide whether to allow gay members. The official lifting of the ban took place today, 1 January 2014.
The organisation said it needed time to make necessary changes.
While openly gay members will be permitted, gay adult volunteers and staff will still be prohibited.
The decision to allow gay youth members to serve in the BSA has proven controversial for some troops, and a few have severed their ties with the governing body.
Remaining optimistic, however, the BSA said that less than 2% of its troops made the decision to cut ties.
Troop number 835, from the Auburn and Pacific area of Washington this week announced that it is the latest to abandon the BSA over the move. Others have said they would do so once the policy changed.
The Boy Scouts of America became embroiled in a debate over whether to lift its ban on gay volunteers, members and staff. In February, it delayed the vote until May “due to the complexity of the issue”.
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