EDITORIAL: Delayed decision on gay ban postpones progress for Boy Scouts

IT WAS disappointing Wednesday when the executive board of the Boy Scouts of America delayed a decision to let local troops make their own decisions on whether to allow openly gay participants. Religious conservatives, who hold significant sway in the organization, unleashed a firestorm of protest when it became clear last week that the board might lift its national ban on gay Scouts. Still, the delay also came with a commitment to hold a definitive vote on the policy at the BSA’s national meeting in May. So the 103-year-old organization has forced a choice upon itself: Either it will emerge from this debate with a commitment to advancing a sense of community in an increasingly diverse America, or behave like an intolerant relic of the past.