The following comes from a July 14 Christian Post article by Stoyan Zaimov:

The historic ban on openly gay leaders is set to be officially struck down within the Boy Scouts of America after its executive committee voted unanimously on the change late last week. Individual Scout troops will be allowed to set their own policy on leaders, meaning that church-sponsored troops would be allowed to uphold the ban.

“This change allows Scouting’s members and parents to select local units, chartered to organizations with similar beliefs, that best meet the needs of their families,” the Boys Scouts of America said in statement on Monday. “This change would also respect the right of religious chartered organizations to continue to choose adult leaders whose beliefs are consistent with their own.”

The Associated Press reported that the resolution is expected to be ratified by the organization’s 80-member National Executive Board at a meeting on July 27.

The change has been expected, with Boys Scouts of America president and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates stating in May that the ban on openly gay leaders was no longer sustainable for the organization, and maintaining it would likely result in a number of lawsuits.

“I am not asking the national board for any action to change our current policy at this meeting,” Gates told members back then. “But I must speak as plainly and bluntly to you as I spoke to presidents when I was director of the CIA and secretary of defense. We must deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be.”

He added: “We can act on our own or be forced to act. But either way, I suspect we do not have a lot of time.”