Good news: Obama says Boy Scouts should allow gays as members

Feb 3, 6:36 PM EST

Obama says Boy Scouts should allow gays as members

By NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama said Sunday that gays should be allowed in the Boy Scouts and women should be allowed in military combat roles, weighing in on two storied American institutions facing proposals to end long-held exclusions.

The president's comments in a pre-Super Bowl interview on CBS come ahead of this week's meeting of the Boy Scouts' national executive board. A proposal to open up the Scouts' membership to gays is expected to be discussed and possibly voted on at the gathering in Texas.

The Boy Scouts emphatically reaffirmed the no-gays policy just seven months ago, but announced last week they were considering changing the stance. Instead of mandatory exclusion of gays, the different religious and civic groups that sponsor Scout units would be able to decide for themselves how to address the issue - either maintaining the exclusion or opening up their membership.

The White House said in a statement last August that Obama opposed the gay ban. Obama, like presidents for the last century, serves as honorary president of the group. The president's comment Sunday was his first since the group announced it was considering a policy change.