Ingham County Chronicle staff writer
Last week the Boy Scouts of America announced that it is considering an end to the organization’s ban on gay troop leaders and scouts. A national board meeting in May will decide the issue. If the board were to decide to lift the ban on gays, it would still leave the final decisions on membership and leadership up to the individual troops and sponsors.
“I believe it would cause animosity and trouble amongst troops that are OK with it and those that aren’t,” said Irfan Mir, a current MSU junior majoring in neuroscience, who once was a part of Troop 164 in Okemos, Mich.

Tyler Beck used to be in Troop 292 of Kalamazoo, Michigan
Tyler Beck, a junior at Michigan State University who was involved with Troop 292 in Kalamazoo prior to it moving, said that the he believes the lift of the ban would cause problems with older members and sponsors.
There are currently 290 local governing councils and 116,000 sponsoring religious and civic groups involved with the Boy Scouts, with different views on the issue. For some organizations and charities that sponsor the Boy Scouts, it is against their non-discrimination requirements and they have decided to stop offering financial aid until the ban is lifted. Other organizations say they would stop offering funding and sponsorships if the ban is lifted.
Currently there are 24 troops within Ingham County all chartered to different organizations throughout the county.
“I always used to laugh at the “straight” part because something inside me told me that they were obscurely and discreetly referring to their preference for heterosexuality,” said Mir.