|
 Gates said at the group's national meeting in Atlanta he does not
plan to revoke the charters of Boy Scout councils that allow gay
leaders, according to a text of the speech, which could
significantly weaken enforcement of the ban.
"We must deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it to
be. The status quo in our movement’s membership
standards cannot be sustained," said Gates, who as U.S. secretary of
defense helped end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that barred
openly gay individuals from serving in the military.
He said he was not asking the Boy Scouts' national board to make any
policy change at the current meeting.
"Dozens of states - from New York to Utah - are passing laws that
protect employment rights on the basis of sexual orientation," he
said. "Thus, between internal challenges and potential legal
conflicts, the Boy Scouts of America finds itself in an
unsustainable position."
Those pushing for change, applauded Gates' stand.
"We are 180 degrees from where we were a year ago," said Zach Wahls,
executive director of Scouts for Equality. "This is a very, very
positive development."
The Irving, Texas-based organization lifted its ban on gay youth in
2013 but continues to prohibit the participation of openly gay
adults. The selection last year of Gates as president of the Boy
Scouts was seen as an opportunity to revisit the policy.
Gates said he personally would have supported going further toward
lifting the Scouts' ban on gays but would not reopen debate during
his two-year term. The policy received its first major challenge
in April when the first openly gay adult was hired as a summer camp
leader by the Greater New York Council of Boy Scouts.
[to top of second column] |
In Ohio, an assistant scoutmaster was expelled in March for being
openly gay, according to local media reports.
Some major sponsors have pulled funding from the group to protest
policies they consider discriminatory, including Lockheed Martin
Corp and Intel Corp. Meanwhile, some social conservatives have
enrolled their children in alternative scouting groups that ban gay
members.
Membership in the Boy Scouts of America is in the grips of a
decade-long decline, but it took a steeper tumble during 2014, the
first year openly gay youth were allowed to belong.
About 2.4 million youth participated in the scouting program in
2014, a 7.4 percent drop from 2013 enrollment. In 2013, membership
dropped 6 percent, the group said.
"The one thing we cannot do is put our heads in the sand and pretend
this challenge will go away or abate. Quite the opposite is
happening," Gates also said.
(Reporting by Marice Richter; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by
Bill Trott and Lisa Lambert)
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