Local Reaction to Lifting of Ban on Gay Scout Leaders
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The Boy Scouts of America has lifted it’s ban on gays serving as scout leaders. But how will the decision affect local scout troops?
Boy Scouts of America President Robert Gates made the announcement on Monday. He says it’s time the scouts move forward.
The decision means while there is no national policy to ban gays, but local chapters can still reject gay scout leaders if it would violate the unit’s religious beliefs.
In central Alabama, the Tukabatchee Area Council leads around 90 scouting chapters in 14 counties. Of those chapters about 70 are affiliated through religious organizations.
“For far too long this issue has divided and distracted us,” Gates said in a statement. “Now it’s time to unite behind our shared belief in the extraordinary power of Scouting to be a force for good in a community and in the lives of its youth members.”
Marvin Smith is the Sout Executive for the Tukabatchee Area Council. He said, “We are all about making a difference in the life of that boy. So sexual orientation has no way, shape or form in scouting at all. If someone is homosexual or heterosexual I don’t want to know about it.”
Smith says so far he has not received any calls from parents or the public concerning the scout’s policy change on gays.
