Scouts ignore gay ban in US state

Gay scoutmasters are being allowed in a US state under a new "don't ask - don't tell" policy despite the national scout association's ban on homosexuals.

The move has been made by the Massachusetts Minuteman Council, an umbrella organisation of 330 Scout troops and 18,000 Boy Scouts in Greater Boston.

The policy also prohibits the exclusion of anyone on the basis of race or religion.

"Discussions about sexual orientation do not have a place in Scouts," said Brock Bigsby, Scout executive for the Massachusetts Minuteman Council.

"The Scouts will not inquire into a person's sexual history, and that person will not expose their sexual orientation one way or the other."

Last year, the US Supreme Court ruled the Boy Scouts of America may exclude gays from serving as troop leaders.

Bigsby maintains the new bylaw is consistent with the national Boy Scouts' policy, since scout leaders would not be permitted to discuss their sexual orientation.

A spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union said the Boston council may be the first in the country to draft an anti-discrimination policy within the framework of the Scouts' national bylaws.