Our view

It was inevitable that the Boy Scouts of America would face the moment of decision.

Over the past few years their opposition to the admittance of openly gay and lesbian members caused a rift, not only within the organization, but also among the groups sponsors and supporters. So today’s decision by the Boy Scouts to submit a proposal to their board stating that no young person be denied membership based upon sexual preference alone hardly comes as a surprise.

The proposal continues the ban on openly homosexual adult members, presumably to assuage concerns of the organizations opposed to the measure. And the board, consisting of some 1,400 members, must ratify the proposal before in goes into effect.

Their meeting takes place on May 20 in Texas.

We understand that organizations retain certain rights in defining their membership. For decades the club at Augusta, the course hosting The Masters, refused to heed calls to allow women entry into their male-only halls. Yet we also know that progress occurs only when the stigma imposed on others is removed, both in public and private facilities.

So we applaud the Boy Scouts of America for their belated acceptance of the fact that the sexual preference of young Americans is not a measure of their humanity, their morality, their desire to experience life with their peers or their right to participate equally in an organization dedicated to the betterment of this nation’s youth.