Poll: Americans Want Boy Scouts To Drop Gay Ban

A plurality thinks the group should change with the times

Former Boy Scouts were slightly more likely than men overall to support lifting the ban—men overall said they supported the Boy Scouts allowing gay members by a 44 percent to 39 percent margin. Women in the survey supported lifting the ban by a 51 percent to 25 percent margin.

Respondents who had once been members of the Girl Scouts were even more likely to say that the Boy Scouts should allow gay members, with 57 percent of former Girl Scouts saying they should and 23 percent saying they should not. The Girl Scouts have been quicker than the Boy Scouts to embrace LGBT children, including accepting a 7-year-old transgender girl in 2011.