Local Boy Scout leaders say lifting gay scout ban is a good first step

Eastern Iowa Boy Scout leaders say a new national policy allowing openly gay scouts is an improvement over a “don't ask, don't tell” policy in place locally for more than a decade.

The Boy Scouts of America voted May 23 to lift its ban on openly gay members, but will continue to prohibit gay leaders.

The split decision has caused some religious groups to vow they will drop their sponsorship of Scouts, while some gay rights advocates say the move doesn't go far enough. But many Iowa families see the change as a reasonable compromise.

“The policy change is a step in the right direction of getting more in line with societal values,” said Dan McMillan, whose three sons are in Troop 218 in Iowa City.

McMillan, who is troop secretary, would like to see gay adults be allowed to take leadership roles in Boy Scouts, but he understands that an organization with 114 million members nationwide doesn't move quickly.

Sarah Dawson, scout executive of the Boy Scouts Hawkeye Area Council, which serves seven eastern Iowa counties, released a statement saying the new policy “will allow kids who sincerely want to be part of Scouting to experience this life-changing program while remaining true to the long-standing virtues of scouting.”

The council has dealt with controversy over gay members since 2000, when the Iowa City Community School District considered charging facility-use fees to groups like Boy Scouts that didn't adhere to the district's anti-discrimination policy, which included sexual orientation.

The Hawkeye Area Council asked the national organization for permission to write a statement on human sexuality, said Dave Blankenship, a member of the council's executive board who was serving as board president at the time.

“It doesn't matter to us if the kid is gay or not, we don't want anyone acting out about sexuality,” Blankenship said, describing the 2001 policy.

The two-page statement said the council supports diversity and does not ask members or prospective members about sexuality. In that way, it was similar to the U.S. military's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy, which President Barack Obama ended in 2011.

The new Boy Scouts of America decision provides clarity for members and leaders, Blankenship said.

“It's a welcome conclusion to the debate,” Blankenship said. “It allows us to return to our primary goal, which is youth development, and not to be distracted by a debate that doesn't help our program.”

Zach Wahls hopes the decision is just the beginning of a movement to make Boy Scouts more inclusive.

“It's only a half-step,” said the 21-year-old Iowa City Eagle Scout raised by lesbian mothers.

Wahls' impassioned speech about marriage equality to Iowa lawmakers in 2011 went viral, making him a popular speaker across the country and helping him publish a book.

Wahls was in Texas May 23 when over 60 percent of the Scouting's National Council of 1,232 delegates voted to lift the ban on gay youth.

“A couple of friends of mine were in the room and I got a text from them saying ‘We won!',” Wahls said. “I was overwhelmed.”

As the founder of Scouts for Equality, Wahls is working to help troops across the country find new sponsors if their charters are yanked by religious groups that oppose the admission of gay members.

George McCrory, of West Branch, supports lifting the ban on gay Scouts, although the issue hasn't come up in his son's troop. But the continued prohibition on gay leaders leaves a few questions, he said.

“If you have gay parents, what if they want to accompany the Scouts on a trip?” McCrory said. “It's a very complicated issue.”