Gay boys allowed in Boy Scouts now

The Boy Scouts of America has voted to allow openly gay boys into its troops. It took more than a hundred years to lift this ban.

On May 23, 2013, some 1,400 voting members of the BSA's National Council — gathered at the annual meeting in Grapevine, Texas — approved the resolution by 61% to 39%, ending the organization's century-old prohibition on gay youth members. The policy change took effect on January 1, 2014. (Christian Post, Wikipedia)

It was not an easy fight. Conservative parents, churches, and groups like OnMyHonor.net — founded by Eagle Scout John Stemberger — called the change a moral capitulation and talked of forming an alternative, faith-based boys' organization. (NPR)

The ban is still on for gay adults. They still can't join as leaders — that national restriction stayed in place for another two years, until the BSA's executive board removed it in July 2015.

Still, this is a step toward a more liberal world — won by a vote, not by a court.