The Boy Scouts of America Organization will officially accept gay youth beginning new years day, hit the jump for more!
After a controversial, yet historical change, the organization will begin accepting openly gay youth within their program, beginning at the start of the new year! The change has sparked much controversy amongst religious and conservative groups supporting the organization. Modifications will also have to be made in the overall policies within the program, from allowing members to attend gay rights parades, to tent mates and shower changes. The Boy Scouts of America national executive board member expressed his nonchalant attitude by stating:
“My hope is there will be the same effect this Jan. 1 as the Y2K scare, It’s business as usual, nothing happens and we move forward.”
As far as the sponsors who have had a change of heart after the decision of equality:
Some churches are dropping their sponsorship of Scout units because of the new policy and some families are switching to a new conservative alternative called Trail Life USA. But massive defections haven’t materialized and most major sponsors, including the Roman Catholic and Mormon churches, are maintaining ties.
“There hasn’t been a whole lot of fallout,” said Haddock, a lawyer from Wichita, Kan. “If a church said they wouldn’t work with us, we’d have a church right down the street say, ‘We’ll take the troop.'” HP
