BBC article here, announcement from the BSA here (pdf warning).
My two boys have been Cub Scouts for years, and my oldest will be crossing over to Boy Scouts this coming spring. I"m so glad this change is coming, and none too soon.
I do worry about the boys who will be in troops that are chartered by fundie churches—as my boys are. When the BSA decided to include gay boys in 2013, my boy’s chartering org. made a statement to the leaders that if the BSA were to decide to include gay leaders, they would be “revisiting” their decision to charter a BSA troop / pack.
I think Scouts has been a very positive thing for my two boys. They’ve learned a lot and there is no discrimination in the pack. If the church does decide to cut ties, I hope that another local church or school will be willing to take the reigns.
Indeed a very good thing. Progressive troops discretely ignored the national policy around here, but it was kind of like “don’t ask, don’t tell” which was frustrating. If it bothers some people so much I’m sure there will chartering organizations such as some churches that would welcome them.
Meh, I agree but that one doesn’t bother me too much. The Scout handbooks specifically say "god’ with the disclaimer that “god” is whatever it means to the individual Scout. I suspect a scout could claim a can of Coke is his god and be in no violation of the rules (whether an individual troop would actually call him on or make an issue of it is another matter). We have a couple of openly atheist leaders and it simply isn’t an issue… discussions about god don’t come up.
However, I’m sure there are some LDS troops and others chartered by fundamentalist churches that wouldn’t be so accommodating. And discrimination, even if it’s only on the books and not practiced, is still discrimination and should be removed.
This is somewhat weaselly in that they’re only lifting the nationwide ban and allowing chartering organizations to continue to discriminate, so you know the googolplex of troops and dens sponsored by the LDS aren’t going to be hiring gay leaders anytime soon.
The LDS church announced that this does not change their policy of not allowing gay members who are not celibate to become scout leaders, a standard which they obviously do not hold non-gay members to.
In my son’s Eagle confirmation 6 years ago part of the verbal quizzing “interview” at they end asked him point blank if he believed in a deity… any deity. He had to say “yes” or he would not have been granted his Eagle. The Scouts are now gay friend(lier) but they are not (so far) Atheist friendly which is unsurprising as faith in God is a central part of their credo.