Del. Bob Marshall "Deeply Saddened" By Boy Scouts Decision to Accept Openly Gay Youth

Virginia Del. Bob Marshall said he is against the National Council of Boy Scouts' decision to accept openly gay scouts, saying the decision contradicts the organization's own law.

"I am deeply saddened by the damage that the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America has done to itself and to scouting by changing membership rules to allow openly homosexual scouts," Marshall wrote on his website and in a press release issued Friday.

Marshall, a Republican known for his outspoken conservative politics, represents the city of Manassas Park and parts of Prince William County. 

More than 60 percent of the Boy Scouts of America’s voting members agreed on Thursday to lift the ban on admitting openly gay youth into scout troops beginning Jan. 1, 2014.

The move prompted a response from Catholic Diocese of Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde who said the change would likely lead to the diocese reconsidering its sponsorship of area troops.

Marshall said he agrees with Bishop Loverde's statements. Parishes may have to run their own version of Boy Scouts to, "avoid entanglement in the moral confusion displayed by scout leaders," Marshall said.

Marshall said he feels the Boy Scout Council leaders bowed to the wishes of the wealthy CEOs of companies that support gay rights.

" ... The National Council may have protected its finances in the short run, but it has rejected the original reasons for scouting—to help teach boys how to become moral men. Those days are gone," the delegate said. 

Read more about the Boy Scouts' decision to accept openly gay youths.

Speak Out: Boy Scouts of America Accept Gay Youths