TRENTON — State Sen. Raymond Lesniak turned down an honorary award from a North Jersey Boy Scouts group because of the national organization's refusal to allow openly gay people to become members or leaders.

Lesniak (D-Union) was tapped by a corporate sponsor for an honorary award from the Patriots Path Council, a regional Boy Scouts of America organization that includes Morris, Sussex, Somerset and Union counties. The award dinner is scheduled for October in Jersey City and honors labor and government leaders, Lesniak said.

"I cannot accept. I don’t intend to discount all the good works of the Boy Scouts, but their misguided policy of not allowing LGBT people is very troubling to me," Lesniak said in a letter to the corporate sponsor that was posted on Facebook by a New Jersey-based gay rights organization. LGBT is an widely used acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.

The Patriots Path Council did not return phone calls today seeking comment.

The regional group each year serves more than 19,000 youth members and 6,000 leaders, according to its website. The organization says it is "dedicated to preparing young people to make ethical choices over their lifetime by instilling in them the values of good character, citizenship and personal fitness."

Earlier this year, the Boy Scouts of America reaffirmed its policy of excluding openly gay people from joining the organization. The right was first upheld in 2000 by the U.S. Supreme Court in a controversial decision that reverberates today.

The Scouts’ chief executive, Bob Mazzuca, told the Associated Press last month most Scout families support the policy, which applies to both adult leaders and Scouts.

"The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve value their right to address issues of same-sex orientation within their family, with spiritual advisers and at the appropriate time and in the right setting," Mazzuca said. "We fully understand that no single policy will accommodate the many diverse views among our membership or society."

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Lesniak noted the Girl Scouts have not adopted a similar restrictive policy. He said if it had, it may have kept heroic Americans like Sally Ride from joining.

Ride, who died last month, was the first American woman in space and revealed that she was a lesbian in a self-penned obituary.

"Every day the Boy Scouts exclude future astronauts from their membership. It’s sad and misguided," he said.

Lesniak is one of the prime sponsors of a bill to allow gays to marry in New Jersey.

The bill passed the Legislature in February but was vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie, who instead asked lawmakers to let voters decide in a referendum.

Lesniak’s refusal to accept the award was cheered by gay rights advocates in New Jersey.

"WE LOVE YOU, SENATOR RAYMOND LESNIAK!" Garden State Equality, a gay rights group, posted on its Facebook page.

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Related coverage:

• Boy Scouts reaffirm ban on gay members despite protests

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