Boy Scouts reaffirms ban on gays. Is it out of step with the times? (+video)

The BSA, however, said support from parents was an important reason for keeping the policy.

"The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve value their right to address issues of same-sex orientation within their family, with spiritual advisers and at the appropriate time and in the right setting," Boy Scouts chief executive Bob Mazzuca said in a statement.

"We fully understand that no single policy will accommodate the many diverse views among our membership or society."

The BSA leadership, however, has grown more conservative and does not fully reflect the larger membership, says Northwestern University law professor Andrew Koppelman.

Professor Koppelman, coauthor of “A Right to Discriminate? How the Case of Boy Scouts of America v. James Dale Warped the Law of Free Association,” commends the BSA, noting that it does “important and valuable work in inner cities,” but adds that the leadership is not representative of those troops in major urban areas, such as Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.

The group was not always so conservative, he says, pointing to the aggressive anti-prejudicial moves that mark the history of this iconic, century-old entity.

Scout troops in the Deep South took in African-American members during the years of official segregation laws when no other institutions were doing so. Even earlier in its history, he points out, the BSA was a leader in welcoming Jewish and Catholic members. “And this was during an era early in the last century when there was strong prejudice against both those groups,” he says.

This turn away from inclusive policies coincides with what Koppleman points to as the increasing influence of religious sponsors on the BSA. He notes that in 1995 roughly 40 percent of  scout troops were sponsored by religious groups, but by 2001, that number had grown to 62 percent.

One group in particular, the Mormon Church, has a strong influence within the organization, he points out, primarily because the church requires Boy Scout participation for members of its own youth ministry. While Mormons represent roughly two percent of the US population, he adds, they make up 12 percent of the Boy Scouts, and Mormon churches sponsor some 23 percent of BSA troops.

The group’s decision to adopt a divisive policy is particularly unfortunate for troops in hard-hit inner cities, points out Koppelman.

“This policy makes it much harder to raise funds for the organization,” he says, which is particularly tragic for troops doing fine work with young boys in areas with few other resources. “This decision would not matter so much if the Boy Scouts were not such an important group in so many ways,” he adds.

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