Jon Schneider didn’t think he would be close friends with his fellow Boy Scouts.
When he joined the organization at age 11, he didn’t know much about sexual orientation, nor that being gay was frowned upon in the Boy Scouts of America.
But after a few years, he said he realized he was gay and that that wouldn’t change.
Schneider, a fourth-year history student and current Eagle Scout, the highest rank, said he never came out to most of the Scouts in his troop.
Schneider said they were taught that being gay was “morally wrong” by the Boy Scouts national leadership.
But on Thursday, the Boy Scouts voted to lift its ban on gay youth members, marking a significant change in Boy Scouts’ policy for Schneider and all its other young members.
“No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone,” organization leaders stated in a resolution that was approved Thursday.
According to The New York Times, the organization gathered about 1,400 volunteer leaders from 270 local councils across the country to vote on the ban.
Although the issue has deeply divided the Scouting community, more than 60 percent of delegates voted in favor of lifting the ban, according to The New York Times.
The vote, however, only eliminated the ban on gay youth. The ban on gay adults in the Boy Scouts remained untouched during the voting process.
“It is definitely good news to lift the ban on queers from joining the Boy Scouts,” Schneider said. “It’s a big step toward equality.”
Previously, the Boy Scouts had held that homosexual conduct was inconsistent with the obligations held under the Scout Oath and Law, according to its website.
Delegates who support the ban said the ban on gay members aimed to preserve the traditional values that the organization was founded on. Those who voted to lift the ban argued that being gay should not be a deterrent to becoming a good boy scout.
To become a member, boys have to take the Scout Oath, which requires individuals to be “morally straight.” As of 2004, the organization stated that gay conduct was in violation of being “morally straight.”
Although the ban made him feel uncomfortable, Schneider decided not to tell his peers that he was gay because he enjoyed the activities in the program and wanted to stay in it.
“(The Boy Scouts) were all focused on learning skills and having fun,” Schneider said. “I had fun and my dad pushed me to be an Eagle Scout because it was a big achievement.”
Schneider said he and his friends in Boy Scouts once poked fun at what being “morally straight” meant.
Since then, Schneider said he has thought being “morally straight” meant keeping true to himself with who he was, and not changing his character.
“(The decision to allow gay youth) is a great step forward, and now it is imperative for the Scouts to take the next essential step to lift the ban on leaders,” said Jennifer Pizer, former legal director of the Williams Institute at UCLA. “The anti-gay message is still there with respect to adults.”
The Williams Institute conducts research on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender legal issues.
The controversy surrounding the ban on gay individuals in the Boy Scouts has persisted for a few decades, Pizer said.
In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that private organizations, like the Boy Scouts, have the right to exclude members who do not follow the organization’s mission statement.
Peter McPartlan, a fourth-year psychology student and Eagle Scout who is straight, said lifting the ban embraces the values of being a Scout, which includes being courteous to others, in the first place. But he added he was disappointed that the ban preventing gay adults from holding leadership positions is still in effect.
“Why should those who have so much potential to give back and contribute to the community be restricted because of sexual orientation?” McPartlan said.
McPartlan said he thinks it will take more time and effort to lift the ban on gay adults in the Boy Scouts because of the fiscal factors involved and how divisive the issue is in the community.
Most of the funding for the Boy Scouts comes from faith-based organizations, according to the Boy Scouts’ website.
“It seems like this vote was heavily based on funding,” McPartlan said. “As much as we want tolerance and acceptance, it may very well take another threat to funding.”
The new measure lifting the ban will be officially adopted on Jan. 1, 2014.