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ByDavidCraryand Jennifer Peltz The Associated Press NEW YORK The president of the Boy Scouts of Amer- ica, Robert Gates, said Thursday that the organi- zation's longstanding ban on participation by openly gay adults is no longer sus- tainable and called for change in order to prevent "the end of us as a national movement." In a speech in Atlanta to the Scouts' national an- nual meeting, Gates re- ferred to recent moves by Scout councils in New York City and elsewhere to defy the ban. "The status quo in our movement's membership standards cannot be sus- tained," he said. Gates said no change in the policy would be made at the national meeting. But he raised the possibility of re- vising the policy at some point soon so that local Scout organizations could decide on their own whether to allow gays as adult volun- teers and paid staff. In 2013, after bitter in- ternal debate, the BSA de- cided to allow openly gay youth as scouts, but not gay adults as leaders. The change took effect in Jan- uary 2014. Gates, who became the BSA's president in May 2014, said at the time that he personally would have favored ending the ban on gay adults, but he opposed any further debate after the Scouts' policymaking body upheld the ban. On Thursday, however, he said recent events "have confronted us with urgent challenges I did not fore- see and which we cannot ignore." He cited the recent defi- ant announcement by the BSA's New York City chap- ter in early April that it had hired the nation's first openly gay Eagle Scout as a summer camp leader. He also cited broader develop- ments related to gay rights. "I remind you of the re- cent debates we have seen in places like Indiana and Arkansas over discrimina- tion based on sexual orien- tation, not to mention the impending U.S. Supreme Court decision this sum- mer on gay marriage," he said. "We must deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be." Gates said the BSA tech- nically had the power to re- voke the charters of coun- cils that defied the ban on gay adults, but said this would be harmful to boys in those regions He also noted that many states have passed laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, raising the possibility of extensive legal battles. "Thus, between internal challenges and potential le- gal conflicts, the BSA finds itself in an unsustainable position, a position that makes us vulnerable to the possibility the courts sim- ply will order us at some point to change our mem- bership policy," Gates said. He expressed concern that an eventual court or- der might also strike down the BSA's policy of banning atheists. "Waiting for the courts is a gamble with huge stakes," he said. "Alternatively, we can move at some future date — but sooner rather than later — to seize con- trol of our own future, set our own course and change our policy in order to allow charter partners — unit sponsoring organizations — to determine the standards for their Scout leaders." Such an approach, he said, would allow churches, which sponsor about 70 percent of Scout units, to establish leadership stan- dards consistent with their faith. "I truly fear that any other alternative will be the end of us as a national movement," he said. The Utah-based Mormon church is the nation's larg- est sponsor of Boy Scout units, and in the past has supported the ban on par- ticipation by openly gay adults. In a brief statement Thursday, the church said it would examine any policy changes "very carefully to assess how they might im- pact our own century-long association with the BSA." Zach Wahls of Scouts for Equality, a group that has campaigned against the ban, welcomed Gates' re- marks. "Dr. Gates has built his reputation on straight talk and tough decisions," said Wahls. "It seems like the Boy Scouts will continue an internal dialogue about the subject and that a change within the next year or two is imminent." YOUTH GROUP Bo y Sco ut s' l ea de r sa ys b an on gay adults not sustainable MARKZALESKI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Boy Scouts of America president Robert Gates addresses the Boy Scouts annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. He called for the organization to change its longstanding ban on gay adults. SPACEX — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Dragon capsule uses parachutes to land in the Pacific Ocean near Southern California, returning from the International Space Station in orbit on Thursday. By Marcia Dunn The Associated Press CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. A SpaceX Dragon capsule is back on Earth with a full load of cargo, after a quick trip home from the Interna- tional Space Station. The capsule, containing more than 3,000 pounds of experiments and equip- ment, splashed into the Pa- cific just off the Southern California coast Thursday less than six hours follow- ing its station departure. "Congrats!" Italian as- tronaut Samantha Cristo- foretti said via Twitter from the space station. NASA expects to receive its precious science samples within two days, after the spacecraft is transported to a port near Los Angeles. The Dragon capsule ar- rived at the orbiting lab last month, bearing much- needed groceries and other goods for Cristoforetti and the five other station resi- dents. The astronauts re- filled the capsule with sci- ence experiments and sam- ples for the trip home, including roundworms that were part of studies on muscles and aging. The California-based SpaceX company is NA- SA's only means of getting supplies to the 260-mile- high station, ever since last year's loss of an Orbital Sci- ences Corp. craft in a Vir- ginia launch explosion. More recently, a Russian supply ship went into an un- controllable spin after lift- off and was destroyed upon re-entry earlier this month, its entire contents undeliv- ered. SpaceX will attempt to launch another shipment June 26 from Cape Canav- eral, Florida. Back home on Earth: SpaceX cra returns from space station NASA BALTIMORE POLICE DEPARTMENT VIA AP, FILE Baltimore police officers, top row from le , Caesar R. Goodson Jr., Garrett E. Miller and Edward M. Nero, and bottom row from le , William G. Porter, Brian W. Rice and Alicia D. White, are charged with felonies ranging from assault to murder in the police-custody death of Freddie Gray. By Juliet Linderman The Associated Press BALTIMORE All six offi- cers charged in the po- lice-custody death of Fred- die Gray were indicted by a grand jury, a prosecutor said Thursday. The indictments were very similar to the charges Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced about three weeks ago. The most serious charge for each officer, ranging from second-degree "depraved heart" murder to assault, still stood. Gray suffered a critical spinal injury after police handcuffed, shackled and placed him head-first into a van, Mosby has said. His pleas for medical attention were repeatedly ignored, she said. Mosby said prosecutors had presented evidence to the grand jury for the past two weeks. Some of the charges were changed based on new information, but she didn't say what that new information was. She also did not take ques- tions. "As is often the case, during an ongoing inves- tigation, charges can and should be revised based upon the evidence," Mosby said. In all, three of the offi- cers had additional charges brought against them while three others had one less charge. Gray was arrested April 12. He died in a hospital a week later and became a symbol of what protest- ers say was police brutality against blacks. Two officers, Edward Nero and Garrett Miller, were indicted on second- degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless en- dangerment. Caesar Goodson, who drove the transport van, faces manslaughter and second-degree "depraved heart" murder. Sgt. Alicia White, Lt. Brian Rice and officer William Porter are each charged with man- slaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in of- fice and reckless endanger- ment. Gray died on April 19, one week after he was crit- ically injured, and his death inspired outrage among Baltimore residents that spawned protests that at least two points gave way to violence, looting and ar- son. In the wake of the riots, Democratic Mayor Stepha- nie Rawlings-Blake imple- mented a curfew for all Bal- timore residents, and Re- publican Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emer- gency. 6 officers indicted in de at h of F re dd ie G ra y BALTIMORE 2015 Tehama County Medical Guide A reference guide to North State medical professionals and related medical services available to Tehama County residents. • 7,000 in full-run distribution of The Daily News • 3,000 additional distribution through May, 2016: • Red Bluff Chamber of Commerce office/Visitor Center • Hotels at Rolling Hills Casino and Red Bluff area • Advertisers receive copies for countertop or waiting-room distribution. • Online version of this special publication is posted on RedBluffDailyNews.com, all year long, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! This highly viewed online edition reached over 15,000 unique visitors in the past year! • Digital technology allows viewers to "turn pages" and even click from your ad to your website! Red Bluff and Tehama County Chambers, Tehama County and City of Red Bluff post this special edition on their websites. 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