



NEW YORK (AP) -- The executive committee of the Boy Scouts of America has unanimously approved a resolution that would end the organization's blanket ban on gay adult leaders and let individual scout units set their own policy on the long-divisive issue. NEW YORK (AP) -- The executive committee of the Boy Scouts of America has unanimously approved a resolution that would end the organization's blanket ban on gay adult leaders and let individual scout units set their own policy on the long-divisive issue.

In a statement Monday, the BSA said the resolution was approved by the 17-member executive committee on Friday, and would become official policy if ratified by the organization's 80-member National Executive Board at a meeting on July 27.

The committee action follows an emphatic speech in May by the BSA's president, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, declaring that the longstanding ban on participation by openly gay adults was no longer sustainable.

In 2013, after bitter internal debate, the BSA decided to allow openly gay youth as scouts, but not gay adults as leaders. That change took effect in January 2014.





9 PHOTOS Boy Scouts of America Open Ranks to Gay Youth, new hire, Pascal Tessier See Gallery Boy Scouts executive committee OKs ending ban on gay leaders SAN RAFAEL, CA - JULY 27: Boy Scout merit badge patches are displayed in a store at the Marin Council of the Boy Scouts of America on July 27, 2015 in San Rafael, California. The national executive board of the Boy Scouts of America is poised to vote to end a ban on gay adult leaders. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) SAN RAFAEL, CA - JULY 27: A Boy Scout uniform hangs in a store at the Marin Council of the Boy Scouts of America on July 27, 2015 in San Rafael, California. The national executive board of the Boy Scouts of America is poised to vote to end a ban on gay adult leaders. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) SAN RAFAEL, CA - JULY 27: The Boy Scout logo is displayed in a store at the Marin Council of the Boy Scouts of America on July 27, 2015 in San Rafael, California. The national executive board of the Boy Scouts of America is poised to vote to end a ban on gay adult leaders. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 14: Dave Knapp, Pascal Tessier and Greg Bourke attend the 19th Annual Out100 Awards presented by Buick at Terminal 5 on November 14, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for OUT100 presented by Buick) WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 22: Members of Scouts for Equality hold a rally to call for equality and inclusion for gays in the Boy Scouts of America as part of the "Scouts for Equality Day of Action" May 22, 2013 in Washington, DC. The Boy Scouts of America is scheduled to hold a two day meeting tomorrow with 1,400 local adult leaders to consider changing its policy of barring openly gay teens from participating in the Boy Scouts. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) BETHESDA, MD - APRIL 11: Pascal Tessier, 16, left, protests with others for equality within Boy Scouts of America along Wisconsin Ave. on Thursday April 11, 2013 in Bethesda, MD. Tessier is a scout and is gay. (Photo by Matt McClain/ The Washington Post via Getty Images) GRAPEVINE, TX - MAY 23: Jennifer Tyrrell (L) of Bridgeport, Ohio, speaks at a news conference as Pascal Tessier, 16, of Kensington, Maryland, wipes his eyes at a news conference held at the Great Wolf Lodge May 23, 2013 in Grapevine, Texas. The Boy Scouts of America today ended its policy of prohibitting openly gay youths from participating in Scout activities, while leaving intact its ban on gay adults and leaders. Jennifer was kicked out of the scouts as a Cub Scout den leader in 2012 for being openly gay. Pascal, who was told by Scout leaders that since he was openly gay, he could not attain the Eagle Scout rank, but was permitted to remain a Scout, will now be able to resume his pursuit of the Eagle Scout rank. (Photo by Stewart House/Getty Images) GRAPEVINE, TX - MAY 23: Jennifer Tyrrell of Bridgeport, Ohio, hugs Pascal Tessier, 16, of Kensington, Maryland, at a news conference held at the Great Wolf Lodge May 23, 2013 in Grapevine, Texas. The Boy Scouts of America today ended its policy of prohibitting openly gay youths from participating in Scout activities, while leaving intact its ban on gay adults and leaders. Jennifer was kicked out of the scouts as a Cub Scout den leader in 2012 for being openly gay. Pascal was told by Scout leaders that since he was openly gay he could not attain the Eagle Scout rank, but was permitted to remain a Scout. After today's decision, he will be able to resume his pursuit of the Eagle Scout rank. (Photo by Stewart House/Getty Images) GRAPEVINE, TX - MAY 23: Jennifer Tyrrell of Bridgeport, Ohio, a Cub Scout den leader who was kicked out in 2012 for being openly gay, embraces her son Cruz Burns, 8, before a news conference at the Great Wolf Lodge May 23, 2013 in Grapevine, Texas. The Boy Scouts of America today ended its policy of prohibitting openly gay youths from participating in Scout activities, while leaving intact its ban on gay adults and leaders. (Photo by Stewart House/Getty Images) Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE

Under the new resolution, local scout units would be able to select adult leaders without regard to sexual orientation - a stance that several scout councils had already adopted in defiance of the official national policy.

"This change allows Scouting's members and parents to select local units, chartered to organizations with similar beliefs, that best meet the needs of their families," the BSA statement said. "This change would also respect the right of religious chartered organizations to continue to choose adult leaders whose beliefs are consistent with their own."

Several denominations that sponsor large numbers of Scout units - including the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention - have been apprehensive about ending the ban on gay adults.

Gates, who became the BSA's president in May 2014, said at the time that he personally would have favored ending the ban on gay adults, but he opposed any further debate after the Scouts' policymaking body upheld the ban. In May, however, he said at the BSA's annual national meeting that recent events "have confronted us with urgent challenges I did not foresee and which we cannot ignore."

He cited a defiant announcement by the BSA's New York City chapter in early April that it had hired the nation's first openly gay Eagle Scout as a summer camp leader. He also cited broader developments related to gay rights, and warned that rigidly maintaining the ban "will be the end of us as a national movement."

The Scouts' resolution was hailed by Zach Wahls, an Eagle Scout raised by two lesbian moms who now heads the advocacy group Scouts for Equality.

"While this policy change is not perfect - BSA's religious chartering partners will be allowed to continue to discriminate against gay adults - it is difficult to overstate the importance of today's announcement," Wahls said.





Related: New York Boy Scouts hire first openly gay Eagle Scout



