The Fresno Bee from Fresno, California • A16

16A FRESNO BEE FRIDAY MAY 22 2015 He recalled that in 2010, a federal judge declared the policy to be illegal. a stay granted by the appeals court grant- ed, I believe, mainly be- cause we were in the pro- cess of changing the law prevented dramatic disruption in the armed he said Thursday. we wait for the courts to he contin- ued, could end up with a broad ruling that could forbid any kind of membership such as the belief in a duty to God and the goal of specifically serving the needs of boys. Gates took on the job as president in May 2014, for a two-year term. He said he had originally intended to put off consideration of the divisive issue of gay adults, allowing the Boy Scouts a respite after a contentious meeting in 2013 at which the organi- zation decided to permit openly gay youths to be- long to it.

He said that he had not yet made a formal propos- al to the national board but that it must act soon to head off possible disas- ter. Though his position is voluntary, Gates, an Eagle Scout, wields enormous power in the Boy Scouts, which have been strug- gling to stem a shrinking membership for decades. The treatment of gay men and boys has been a source of wrenching de- bate. Conservative reli- gious groups that sponsor many Scout troops, in- cluding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Roman Catho- lic Church and some evangelical churches, opposed the participation of openly gay members while local leaders in more liberal regions have called for an end to dis- crimination. In 2013, Boy Scout lead- ers from across the coun- try voted, with more than approval, to say that no youth may be denied membership the basis of sexual orientation or preference But it left intact the even more disputed policy that no openly gay adults could serve in the organization.

Since then, a Scout group in New York has defied the rules by employing an openly gay 18-year-old as a camp counselor, and several other councils around the country have expressed opposition to the ban. Gates said Thursday, in prepared remarks released by the Boy Scouts, that the national leadership would take no action against defiant local councils. At the same time, he said that in the name of reli- gious freedom, the Scouts should allow local spon- soring organizations determine the standards for their Scout an approach would allow all churches, which sponsor some of our Scout units, to es- tablish leadership stan- dards consistent with their he said. must, at all costs, preserve the religious freedom of our church partners to do The Mormon church uses the Boy Scouts as its main organization for boys and is by far the largest sponsor of Scout troops, overseeing more than 437,000 youths as of 2013, of a national total of 2.6 million youths partici- pating in the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Explorers and other programs. The church issued a guarded statement Thurs- day: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will, of course, examine any such changes very carefully to assess how they might impact our own century-long associ- ation with the re- ferring to the Boy Scouts of America.

If the executive board adopts the policy Gates has rec- ommended, letting local groups set their own lead- ership rules, the church is not likely to be affected. Religious conservatives, who had already con- demned the Boy Scouts for the 2013 decision to admit openly gay boys, were strongly critical of plan. John Stemberger, presi- dent of the Florida Family Policy Council, a conser- vative Christian group, said: think a sad thing. I think that many families and boys will be negatively affected by the Boy departure from their long-standing Stemberger is chairman of a Christian youth group, Trail Life USA, that was formed as an alterna- tive to the Boy Scouts after the 2013 shift. Zach Wahls, executive director of Scouts for Equality, a group that has campaigned for change, called proposal a step for- FROM PAGE 1A SCOUTS 0 0 0 1 6 8 5 8 0 8 0 1 Tile From Around The World Bill Ray I BUY DIRECT AND SAVE WE MAKE CERAMIC TILE AFFORDABLE 115 Shaw Ave.

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