Former Eagle Scout encouraged by new Boy Scouts' proposal on gay membership

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A Huntington man who protested the Boy Scouts of America's ban on gay Scouts and troop leaders says he's encouraged by a proposal to allow sponsoring organizations to decide for themselves whether to admit gays.

Earlier this month Nate May returned his Eagle Scout medal and badge to national Boy Scout headquarters as a way of protesting the organization's ban on gay membership.

The 25-year-old musician is straight. He says the proposal as a "step in the right direction."

Later this year, the Scouts' annual National Jamboree will be held at a site being built in southern West Virginia.

If the new policy is in place by then, May says it could open up some interesting dialogues and show troops that continue to have the ban that a troop can exist in harmony if gay Scouts or leaders were involved.

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