Robert Gates 'would have supported' gay scoutmasters

By Kim Young-jin

The new president of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) _ former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates _ has given his opinion on the organization’s most sensitive issue, saying he believes gay adults should be able to serve as scoutmasters.

However, he did not appear ready to try to overturn a vote last year in which the organization decided to allow gay troops but not gay scoutmasters.

Gates, who was elected this month as the president of the organization, told the Associated Press that he was “prepared to go further” than the result of the vote.

“I would have supported having gay scoutmasters, but at the same time, I fully accept the decision that was democratically arrived at by 1,500 volunteers from across the entire country,” Gates told the AP.

He continued: “Trying to take last year’s decision to the next step would irreparably fracture and perhaps even provoke a formal, permanent split in this movement.” If that happened, Gates warned, neither side would likely survive on its own.

Gates, a former Boy Scout, takes the helm of a troubled organization. Not only has membership declined in recent years, but corporate sponsors have cut funding over the exclusion of openly gay adults.

On the issue, Gates said the BSA isn’t a place where he can simply give out orders, he did say that “maybe it’s time for blunt talk.”