Boy Scouts Takes Poll, Asks About Bunking With Gays

As the Boy Scouts of America continues to wrestle with the question of whether to admit gay members and leaders, it's decided to take members' opinions into account. Some 1.1M scouts and their families received surveys recently, with questions like:

• Should gay scouts be allowed to share tents with straight scouts on camping trips?
• Does the scout oath's reference to being "morally straight" imply being sexually straight?

• If a church sponsoring a scout troop (more than 70% of units are chartered by faith-based organizations) supports or opposes homosexuality, should that make a difference?

And, of course, the organization wants to know: If members disagree with the ultimate decision, will they remain involved or quit? A second group of surveys will soon be sent to scouting alums, the New York Times reports. Boy Scouts national leaders will have the results in advance of May's national annual meeting, where the ban on gay scouts will be addressed. But some are concerned that since only current and past members are being polled, the findings will be skewed—people tend to support the status quo when it comes to groups to which they have a connection. (More Boy Scouts of America stories.)