Should Boy Scouts Repeal Ban on Gay Scouts and Leaders?

For years, the Boy Scouts of America has struggled with whether to lift its ban on gay scouts and leaders.

But, it may be an issue the organization will soon put, at least partially, to rest.

In response to the flood of feedback the group has received since last summer, when it voted to uphold its policy banning gay members and LGBTQ leaders, the Boy Scouts of America announced last Friday that it was proposing an end to the ban on gay youth scouts. The organization would still ban adults "who are open or avowed homosexuals or who engage in behavior that would become a distraction to the mission of the BSA," according to the draft policy.

The issue will come before 1,400 voting BSA members at a June meeting in Texas.

The National Capital Area Council, which oversees thousands of scouts and troops across much of Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia, is "among the loudest voices" in the efforts to lift the ban on gay members," The Washington Post reported.

Earlier this month, students from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School demonstrated in downtown Bethesda in support of lifting the ban, Patch reported.

But not everyone feels the same way. While some parents here have seen the ban as a reason not to join the organization, including one Patch reader who said  others say they would pull their kids out of the group if the ban is lifted.

Tell us: Should Boy Scouts of America lift its ban for youth? Has the policy affected your family's experience with scouting? Take the poll and back up your vote in the comments.