Iowa man who has taught more Boy Scouts than just about anyone alive supports gay scout inclusion

Related: Nebraska/Iowa reaction to partial lifting of Boy Scouts gay ban.

Over 400 million Boy Scout Handbooks have been published; the last three editions (10, 11 & 12) were written by Robert Birkby, a native of Sidney, Iowa, who also authored the BSA Fieldbook (4th edition) and the Eagle Scouts Centennial History.

Boy Scout books written by Robert Birkby: (Left to right) Editions 10, 11 and 12 of the
Boy Scout Handbook, Edition 4 of the Fieldbook, Centennial history of Eagle Scouts.

     In 2010 Birkby was given one of the BSA's rarest awards, the William T. Hornaday Gold Award, for conservation.
     The Omaha World-Herald today reports that he supports the BSA decision to include gay boys.

Birkby said the organization will eventually be entirely inclusive. And that's a good thing, he said. “My main focus has always been that Scouts is an organization for all boys,” he said.