The Boy Scouts of America has made a remarkable change by ending decades-long ban on gay scout leaders.
The decision was approved by 79 percent of the national executive board, where it was concluded that the policy of excluding gay adults "was no longer legally defensible," E! Online reported.
However, while the lift on the gay ban is effective immediately, the report states local scouting units still can reject gay applicants for leadership positions if hiring them would violate the unit's religious beliefs.
A statement from the Scouts' leadership read, "This change allows Scouting's members and parents to select local units, chartered by organizations with similar beliefs, that best meet the needs of their families".
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Scouting's current president, said in a statement it was time to "unite behind our shared belief in the extraordinary power of Scouting to be a force for good in a community and in the lives of its youth members."
The vote to allow gay, lesbian and bisexual adults to work and volunteer was a welcome step toward erasing a stain on this important organisation, said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin in a statement after the vote.
However, the exemption clause sponsored by religious organisations undermined and diminished the historic nature of the decision, he added.
