After a two-year examination of their century-old policy barring homosexuals from Scouting, Boy Scouts of America (BSA) announced this week that they have decided not to change their membership standards to allow openly gay scouts and/or leaders.

The Christian Post is reporting that the organization decided that it “remains in the best interest of Scouting” to keep the policy in place. The decision was made by an 11-member special committee which consisted of professional scout executives and adult volunteers and preserves a long-standing policy that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000.

“Scouting believes that good people can personally disagree on this topic and still work together to achieve the life-changing benefits to youth through Scouting. While not all Board members may personally agree with this policy, and may choose a different direction for their own organizations, BSA leadership agrees this is the best policy for the organization and supports it for the BSA,” said the executive committee of the BSA National Executive Board.

The examination process, which involved extensive research and “candid conversation” with members, revealed that the policy continues to “reflect the beliefs and perspectives of the BSA’s members, thereby allowing Scouting to remain focused on its mission and the work it is doing to serve more youth.”

Bob Mazzuca, chief scout executive of Boy Scouts of America, commented, “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. While a majority of our membership agrees with our policy, we fully understand that no single policy will accommodate the many diverse views among our membership or society.”

Gay activist groups responded with outrage, depicting the decision as an expression of “intolerance.”

Chad Griffin, president of the gay rights group, Human Rights Campaign, called the decision “a missed opportunity of colossal proportions.”

“With the country moving toward inclusion, the leaders of the Boy Scouts of America have instead sent a message to young people that only some of them are valued,” he said. “They’ve chosen to teach division and intolerance.”

In spite of their criticism, the BSA remains one of the nation’s largest and most prominent values-based youth development organizations. Last year, more than 2.7 million members and one million volunteers performed service projects that included food collection and distribution, litter cleanup and conservation projects.

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