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Starting on New Year's Day, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) will accept openly gay youths, a historic change that has prompted the BSA to ponder a host of potential complications ranging from policies on tentmates and showers to whether Scouts can march in gay pride parades.Under the new membership policy, youths can no longer be barred from the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts or coed Venturers program solely on the basis of sexual orientation. But the policy adds, "No member may use Scouting to promote or advance any social or political position or agenda, including on the matter of sexual orientation."
The new policy was approved in May, with support from 60 percent of the 1,400 voting members of the BSA's National Council. The vote followed bitter nationwide debate, and was accompanied by an announcement that the BSA would continue to exclude openly gay adults from leadership positions.
Brad Haddock, a BSA national executive board member who chairs the policy implementation committee, told The Associated Press that "isolated pockets" of problems are likely to surface, but overall he expects adult leaders will have the skills to defuse potential conflicts.
Regarding shower and toilet facilities, the BSA said it is encouraging units to provide greater individual privacy, including moving away from the tradition of group showers.
Read more @:Boy Scouts to accept openly gay youth starting in January | Al Jazeera America
The world has changed and its a good thing that the Boy Scouts has changed with them but only to a certain extent. The Scouts should end the policies of discriminating against the adult leaders, and allow openly gay men to be leaders as well in the organization. I believe they will remove this last barrier very soon as well.