The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is expected to formally lift its ban on gay scout leaders today.
The landmark move follows a resolution earlier this month in which all members of the committee unanimously voted to “allow chartered [organisations] to select adult leaders without regard to sexual orientation”.
In a statement issued at the time, the BSA said: “As a result to the rapid changes in society and increasing legal challenges at the federal, state and local levels, on Friday, July 10, the Boy Scouts of American Executive Committee adopted a resolution amending the adult leadership standards policy.”
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The statement continued: “The resolution was unanimously adopted by those present and voting.”
The National Executive Board will meet today to ratify the decision.
David Boies, a lawyer, told the New York Times: "It's a great day for America and for scouting. I think this will be a way station on the road to full equality."
The group has 2.7 million youth members and one million adult volunteers in the country. It was only in 2013 that gay youth members were allowed to be part of the BSA.
The many religious organisations that sponsor troops in the country, including the Mormon and Roman Catholic Churches, will be able to set their guidelines for leaders though. The BSA said the change would, “respect the rights of religious chartered [organisations] to continue to choose adult leaders whose beliefs are consistent with their own”.
The group has felt mounting pressure to change it long-standing rules, including from its president Dr Robert Gates.
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates addresses the Boy Scouts of America's annual meeting after being selected as the organization's new president. The executive committee of the Boy Scouts of America has unanimously approved a resolution that would end the organization's blanket ban on gay adult leaders and let individual scout units set their own policy on the long-divisive issue
The former secretary of defence said in a speech at the annual national meeting in May: “We must deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be.”
He said: “I support a policy that accepts and respects our different perspectives and beliefs.”
“I truly fear that any other alternative will be the end for us as a national movement,” he said.
