The difference is usually determined by how much unjust persecution the group has faced in the past. We believe an avowed homosexual is not a role model for the values espoused in the Scout Oath and Law. Boy scouting makes no effort to discover the sexual orientation of any person. Scouting's message is compromised when prospective leaders present themselves as role models inconsistent with Boy Scouting's understanding of the Scout Oath and Law. Scouting's goal is to help shape the lives of young men, and in doing so, it limits the lifestyles it promotes to heterosexuals with religion of some kind.
Many people see the exclusion of homosexuals as another form of persecution.
Some even believe that the BSA teaches intolerance or promotes 'gay-bashing'. There are even fears that Scouting could be harmful to young men dealing with the issue of their sexual identity. Most of this is wild speculation, at best. Now, let me state that I was involved in Boy Scouts as a youth for seven years, earning the rank of Eagle in 1996. I was a member of followed the same rules as every other troop, so the influence of the national level of Scouting should be approximately the same as in all other cases.