The Boy Scouts of America announced Tuesday that it will continue to enforce its policy of barring gay scouts and leaders after a confidential two-year review.
The organization came to the conclusion after it quietly formed an 11-person committee, comprised of scout executives and adult volunteers, in 2010 to evaluate the 102-year-old policy, Boy Scouts' national spokesman, Deron Smith, told the AP.
Smith said that the group unanimously agreed "that this policy is absolutely the best policy for the Boy Scouts."
The members of the committee were not named, however a statement released by the organization said that the group "included a diversity of perspectives and opinions."
"The review included forthright and candid conversation and extensive research and evaluations - both from within Scouting and from outside of the organization," the statement said.
The Boy Scouts announced in June that it was considering a resolution proposed at the organization's annual meeting that demanded an end to the long-standing policy. The organization will no longer continue to review that resolution in light of the committee's decision, according to the AP.
Bob Mazzuca, chief scout executive of Boy Scouts of America, said in a statement that he understands "no single policy will accommodate the many diverse views among our membership or society."
"The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve value their right to address issues of same-sex orientation within their family, with spiritual advisers, and at the appropriate time and in the right setting," Mazzuca added.
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The Scouts boasts nearly 2.7 million members and over 1 million adult volunteers - making it one of the country's largest youth organizations, according to ABC News.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the controversial policy in 2000, ruling 5-4 that the Boy Scouts was exempt from state laws that prohibit anti-gay discrimination.
The announcement comes as several groups ramp up campaigns calling for an end to the ban.
Zach Wahls, an Eagle Scout who is the son of two lesbian mothers, said that "something doesn't add up" about the organization's Tuesday announcement.
"Personally, I fail to understand how a group with a diversity of opinions came to a unanimous decision," Wahls told the Daily News. "Why you would have to be secret about this is beyond me. If they were so confident in their position, why didn't they go to everyone in the organization."
