Boy Scouts Of America Delay Gay Vote

The Boy Scouts of America has delayed a vote on whether to life its controversial ban on gay scouts, volunteers and staff.

The organisation announced the delay via its official website and on Facebook. Last week the organisation announced it was considering lifting the ban with a vote by its National Executive Board on the issue expected this week. However, that vote has now been delayed until May.

A statement posted on the Boy Scouts of America’s website and Facebook page stated ” After careful consideration and extensive dialogue within the Scouting family, along with comments from those outside the organization, the volunteer officers of the Boy Scouts of America’s National Executive Board concluded that due to the complexity of this issue, the organization needs time for a more deliberate review of its membership policy.To that end, the National Executive Board directed its committees to further engage representatives of Scouting’s membership and listen to their perspectives and concerns. This will assist the officers’ work on a resolution on membership standards. The approximately 1,400 voting members of the National Council will take action on the resolution at the National Annual Meeting in May 2013. For 103 years, the Boy Scouts of America has been a part of the fabric of this nation, providing it’s youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. In the past two weeks, Scouting has received an outpouring of feedback from the American public. It reinforces how deeply people care about Scouting and how passionate they are about the organization.”

The possibility of the gay ban being lifted prompted a media storm amongst Conservative/Christian/Far right elements in America. Some Churches stated they would withdraw their funding from the Scouts – and lobby others to follow suit – if the gay ban was lifted. While President Barack Obama has stated he believes the ban should be lifted Texas governor Rick Perry opposed the lifting of the ban.