Boy Scouts end ban on gay leaders, and ignore protests by Mormon Church

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Erik Eckholm

A boy scout carried a rainbow flag during a gay pride parade in San Francisco last year. The group on Monday ended its nationwide ban on openly gay adult leaders. Credit Noah Berger/Reuters

The Boy Scouts of America on Monday ended its nationwide ban on openly gay adult leaders. But despite a compromise allowing conservative church-sponsored units to pick their own volunteer leaders, the Mormon Church, the country’s largest sponsor of Scout units, said it might leave the organization. “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is deeply troubled by today’s vote by the Boy Scouts of America National Executive Board,” said a statement issued by the Mormon Church moments after the Scouts announced the new policy. [link]