The Boy Scouts of America ended its national ban on openly gay adult leaders and employees on Monday (July 27) while allowing local religious units to continue to exclude gay adults.

Meeting by conference call, 79 percent of the BSA’s national executive board members favored the resolution ratified earlier this month by its executive committee.

The policy change represents the end of a long and bitter struggle over whether to accept gay members that began more than two years ago when it allowed gay youths to participate, but not adults.

In May, BSA President Robert Gates declared the ban on adult gay leaders should be removed, saying the Scouts could not ignore “the social, political and judicial changes taking place in our country.”

Read the article “Boy Scouts Drop Ban on Adult Gay Leaders” on religionnews.com.