According to yesterday's New York Times, the Boy Scouts at their national board meeting in Texas this week may vote to drop its ban on gay scouts and gay scout leaders. According to today's Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Scouts' decision implicates many churches. 70% of scout troops are sponsored by churches. The three largest religious sponsors are Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (37,000 units), the Methodist Church (11,000 units) and the Roman Catholic Church (8,000 units). Within church bodies, there are strong feelings on both sides of the issue. The most outspoken criticism of the proposed change has come from Southern Baptist churches.
UPDATE: On Feb. 6, the Boy Scouts announced that it is postponing until May a decision on whether to lift a ban on gay scouts and scout leaders. (AP).
