Boy Scouts Banned By Alabama Pastor Greg Walker After Gay Youth Policy Lifted Nationwide

The Boy Scouts of America's (BSA) decision to lift its controversial ban on gay youth participants has received praise and criticism in equal measure, but one Alabama church leader isn't having any of it.

In the wake of the Boy Scouts' ruling, Pastor Greg Walker tells WBRC-TV that Boy Scout troops will no longer be welcome to meet onsite at the First Baptist Church of Helena.

"It's hard on a personal level to say to a troop of young boys who have done nothing wrong and to the leaders, 'You're not welcome here,'" Walker told the news channel. "I didn't make the decision, Boy Scouts of America did."

As the Associated Press points out, the Greater Alabama Council of Boy Scouts has vowed to work with troops if churches back out as a result of the national decision. Meanwhile, Walker says he plans to meet with local troop leaders and provide ample time for the Scouts to find a new home.

Walker's assessment is shared by a number of conservative pundits. Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he was "greatly disappointed" by the BSA's decision, adding that he believed it "[contradicted] generations of tradition in the name of political correctness."

The American Family Association's Bryan Fischer went even further in a series of rants on his "Focal Point" radio program, saying that BSA now stands for "Boy Sodomizers of America," and suggesting that the organization's decision was supported by the Mormon church because officials of the latter group hope legalization of polygamy will follow.

Take a look at some other responses to the Boy Scouts' decision to allow gay Scouts below: