--- title: Rick Perry Scott Walker Boy Scouts Gay Ban: Texas Governor Supports It description: Former Texas Governor Rick Perry said Sunday that he still opposes openly gay leaders in the Boy Scouts of America. canonical: https://time.com/3963749/rick-perry-gay-scout-leaders/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-19T15:20:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:45.222Z article:section: Politics og:title: Rick Perry Still Opposes Gay Scout Leaders og:description: "Scouting would be better off if they didn’t have openly gay Scoutmasters." og:url: https://time.com/3963749/rick-perry-gay-scout-leaders/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde527d37bed95060/69885b810b72e30a256e4fb5/rick-perry1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3680 og:image:height: 2070 og:image:alt: Rick Perry og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rick Perry Still Opposes Gay Scout Leaders twitter:description: "Scouting would be better off if they didn’t have openly gay Scoutmasters." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde527d37bed95060/69885b810b72e30a256e4fb5/rick-perry1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Perry Still Opposes Gay Scout Leaders, While Walker Backtracks > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=e6f1ede3-839f-4018-b9bf-60d0f7240ed9&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Gov. Rick Perry Presidential Announcement [Watch (HLS stream): Gov. Rick Perry Presidential Announcement](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8p9WGJ5W.m3u8) (1:12)  _Published 2015-06-04. Gov. Rick Perry Presidential Announcement_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 19, 2015 3:20 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, speaks at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa on July 18, 2015. Republican presidential candidate, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, speaks at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa on July 18, 2015. Nati Harnik—AP  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 19, 2015 3:20 PM UTC Former Texas Governor Rick Perry said Sunday that he still opposes openly gay leaders in the Boy Scouts of America, even as the organization has moved to change a policy that banned such leaders. “I believe that Scouting would be better off if they didn’t have openly gay Scoutmasters,” the GOP presidential candidate [said](http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/rick-perry-on-gay-boy-scout-masters-487019587923) on _Meet the Press_ Sunday. The Boy Scouts changed a policy banning gay scouts in 2013\. After taking the helm of the organization last year, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates called for the organization to drop the ban on gay leaders as well. Earlier this month, the Boy Scouts executive committee voted to do just that. Perry, who wrote a book about the Boy Scouts last year, isn’t the only GOP presidential candidate to support the ban. In a [statement earlier in the week](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/14/scott-walker-boy-scouts-ban-on-gay-leaders-protected-children/), Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said the BSA should keep the ban on openly gay leaders, but in an [interview with CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/19/politics/scott-walker-gay-choice-2016/) he backtracked. “I thought the policy was just fine. I’m saying when I was in Scouts, it was fine. You’re asking what should the policy be going forward. It should be left up to the leaders of the Scouts,” he said. Both Walker and Perry are Eagle Scouts and cite their achievement in campaign materials. **Read Next:** [_Rick Perry Cites His Eagle Scout Rank on Campaign Trail_](http://time.com/3883661/rick-perry-eagle-scout/) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] If we're gonna revive this American dream again, we need a president who provides leadership that transcends the petty partisanship that we've seen in the last few years, someone that's been tested. We need a president who tells the American people the truth. [ MUSIC ] We have the power to make our country new again. We don't have to accept the weakness abroad that we're seeing today. We don't have to accept the slow recovery economically that we see here at home. You see a lot of candidates will say the right Things. Whether it's about the border, whether it's about taxes, whether it's about spending. But we need a president who has done the right thing. We need a president who bridges the partisan divide rather than widen it. Who brings people together. [ MUSIC ] We must do right and risk the consequences. 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