Boy Scouts of America board member
James Turley, the global chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young,
opposes the group's gay ban.
MSNBC
quotes Turley as saying on Tuesday that his experience had led him
“to believe that an inclusive environment” was “ important
throughout our society.”
“I support the meaningful work of the
Boy Scouts in preparing young people for adventure, leadership,
learning and service, however the membership policy is not one I
would personally endorse,” Turley said in a statement. “I intend
to continue to work from within the BSA Board to actively encourage
dialogue and sustainable progress.”
Turley's remarks come after gay rights
activist Zach Wahls formed a new group to lobby the Boys Scouts to
drop its ban on openly gay membership and delivered a petition signed
by 275,000 people calling on the group to reinstate Jennifer Tyrrell.
(Related: Zach
Wahls criticizes study claiming negative outcomes for kids of gay
parents.)
Tyrrell is the 32-year-old Ohio mom who
in April was ousted as den leader of her son's Boy Scout troop
because she is a lesbian. She launched the Change.org petition to
bring awareness of the Boy Scouts' policy banning openly gay scouts
and leaders.
A resolution which would allow
individual charter organizations to decide for themselves whether to
accept openly gay members and leaders was introduced last week.
Spokesman Deron Smith, however, warned
that the “introduction of a resolution does not indicate the
organization is 'reviewing' a policy or signal a change in
direction.”