Boy Scouts of America decide to continue ban on gays It was carried out by a committee of 11 professional Scout executives and adult volunteers who reflected "a diversity of perspectives and opinions," the group said. The committee's decision to preserve the policy was unanimous, and there would be no further action on the matter, it said. The Boy Scouts of America, one of the largest youth organisations in the US, has 2.7 million youth members aged seven to 21, and more than one million adult volunteers. More than 100 million Americans have been though its ranks since it was founded in 1910 as part of the international Scout movement. The organisation has faced criticism over a series of recent high profile cases arising from its policy. In May, Zach Wahls, an Eagle Scout raised by a lesbian couple in Iowa, delivered a 275,000-signature petition against the ban to the Scouts' annual meeting in Florida. He said the latest decision was "disappointing" and had been taken by a committee of "unnamed bureaucrats." He added: "Why have a secretive committee make the decision? I believe the vast majority of Scout families do not support their policy on excluding gays. Another 300,000-signature petition, signed by celebrities including Julianne Moore, Benicio Del Toro and Ricky Martin, is expected to be delivered to the Scouts' headquarters in Texas this week by Jennifer Tyrrell. Miss Tyrrell, the mother of a seven-year-old Cub Scout, was ousted from her role as a Scout den leader in Ohio because of her sexuality. In another high profile case Eric Jones, 19, an Eagle Scout, was recently axed as a summer camp counselor in Missouri after telling his director he was gay. Britain's Scout Association last year announced new policies to encourage gay members and to allow scouts to attend gay pride marches in uniform. Chad Griffin of Human Rights Campaign, the largest US gay-rights group, said: "With the country moving toward inclusion, the leaders of the Boy Scouts of America have instead sent a message to young people that only some of them are valued. They've chosen to teach division and intolerance. Boy Scouts of America board member Jim Turley, chairman and chief executive of Ernst & Young, has previously said the group should stop excluding gay people. Another board member, AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson, has also said he favours diversity and supports change from within. But the organisation's national spokesman Deron Smith said the committee "came to the conclusion that this policy is absolutely the best policy for the Boy Scouts."