The Boy Scouts of America ended its ban on gay adult leaders on Monday, dismantling a policy that has deeply divided the membership of the organization.

The Boy Scouts’ national executive board ratified a resolution that was unanimously approved by the organization’s executive committee on July 13. The organization had urged an end to the ban because of a “sea change in the law with respect to gay rights.”

The decision follows the landmark ruling in late June by the U.S. Supreme Court allowing same-sex marriage nationwide. In May the Boy Scouts’ president, former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, called the ban “unsustainable” and said it needed to change.

The organization, 105 years old and based in Irving, Texas, lifted its ban on gay youths in 2013 but continued to prohibit the participation of openly gay adults.

The selection of Gates as president of the organization last year was seen as an opportunity to revisit the policy, since he helped end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which barred openly gay people from serving in the U.S. military.

The Boy Scouts of America, whose stated mission is to prepare youths for life and leadership, has 2.5 million youth members ages of 7 and 21 and about 960,000 volunteers in local units, according to the organization’s website.