After conservative organizations countered President Obama’s push for the Boy Scouts of America to accept gay members, the organization has delayed a decision until May, citing "the complexity of this issue". The Boy Scouts were considering a possible change of policy that would lift the ban on openly gay Scouts and Scout-leaders.

Over 40 conservative organizations, including The Family Research Council, ran a prominent ad in USA Today urging the Boy Scouts to "show courage" and "stand firm for family values." The ad stated that:

Every American who believes in freedom of thought and religious liberty should be alarmed by the attack on the Boy Scouts, who have had core convictions about morality for 100 years. Every Scout takes an oath to keep himself "morally straight." The Boy Scouts have every right to include sexual conduct in how they define that term.

The ad also states that "Last year the BSA released their so-called 'perversion files,' which contain the names of 100s of sexual predators who had managed to hide their attraction to boys and enter the Boy Scouts.

The United States Supreme Court said in 2000 that the Boy Scout's ban was legal free speech by a private organization, but in a pre-Super Bowl interview President Obama stated that the group should be open to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation. The President of the U.S. traditionally serves as honorary president of the Boy Scouts.