Robert Gates, the current head of the Boy Scouts, is calling for an end to the ban on gay Scout leaders. Will he be able to make it happen?
He was instrumental in the effective repeal of the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and as president of the Boy Scouts of America moved that iconic organization to accept gay scouts. Now, former Defense Department Secretary Robert Gates has announced it’s time for the BSA to end its ban on gay adult Scout leaders.
“The status quo in our movement’s membership standards cannot be sustained,†Gates told leaders at today’s annual meeting in Atlanta, the AP reports.
Gates said he would like to see the policy change, and move to let local Scout troops decide on their own to accept gay adult leaders. He cited a recent decision by a Scouting troop in New York City.
UPDATE I – 1:25 PM EDT:
In his speech, Gates referred specifically to “the recent debates we have seen in places like Indiana and Arkansas over discrimination based on sexual orientation, not to mention the impending U.S. Supreme Court decision this summer on gay marriage.”
“Nor can we ignore the social, political and juridicial changes taking place in our country – changes taking place at a pace over this past year no one anticipated. i remind you of the recent debates we have seen in places like Indiana and Arkansas over discrimination based on sexual orientation, not to mention the impending U.S. Supreme Court decision this summer on gay marriage.”
He added, “I am not asking the national board for any action to change our current policy at this meeting. But I must speak as plainly and bluntly to you as I spoke to presidents when I was Director of CIA and Secretary of Defense. We must deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be. The status quo in our movement’s membership standards cannot be sustained.”
This is a developing and breaking news story.
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