Nearly half of all Americans (48%) said that if they had a young son in the Boy Scouts, it would make no difference if their local troop decided to allow gay, lesbian or bisexual troop leaders; one in five (19%) would try and enroll him in a different troop, and a similar number (18%) would pull him out of the Boy Scouts altogether, according to the YouGov Omnibus survey taken February 6 - 8, 2013.
When asked how they would feel about a troop that accepted gay Boy Scouts, more than half (53%) said it would make no difference to them.
One in four Americans (26%), however, said they would not allow their son to join the Boy Scouts if there were gay, lesbian or bi-sexual leaders or members.
Around one in four expect to be told the sexual orientation of a new Scout leader (24%) or if any new gay or bi-sexual scouts were joining the troop (21%) A full 39% of respondents wouldn’t expect any additional information about a new Scout leader or members.
Still thinking about if you had a young son who was a member of the Boy Scouts... Which, if any of the following statements do you agree with?
Nearly three-quarters (72%) of Americans would currently be happy or wouldn’t mind if they had a young son who wanted to join the Boy Scouts, while an additional 12% wouldn’t be happy but wouldn’t stop them. If the proposed change to move away from its national policy banning gay, lesbian or bi-sexual leaders or members is enacted, 43% said it would make no difference, 13% would be more likely to be happy for them to join, while one third (34%) would be less happy for their young sons to enroll.
A large 44% of respondents believe the decision on whether to keep or strike this policy should be kept on a national level, while 31% feel it would be a better idea for it to be determined on a local scout council by council basis.
For further information about poll results, and for details about methodology and Omnibus services, please email omnibus.us@yougov.com.
