Scouts may soon take in the out

The eyes of the country will be upon Texas today, because that's where 1,400 members of the Boy Scouts of America's national council are expected to vote on whether to end the 103-year-old group's outright ban on gay youths. The vote comes more than a decade after a Supreme Court ruling that found the organization has the right to keep gays out, but also amid declining participation in the venerable American institution. The outcome, to be announced late afternoon (Central Daylight Time), follows months of intense debate among interest groups and within the ranks of scouting itself. It comes down to a single sentence at the end of a resolution, that sentence being "no youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone." If the policy change is approved, it won't take place until next year, and it won't be enough because the BSA will maintain its ban on openly gay adult leaders. It's about time the BSA started letting gay youths in, but what about openly gay adult leaders? They should change the word "youth" in the amendment to "person" so as to truly make Scouting for everybody.