( CNN ) -- The Boy Scouts of America , indicating its ban on openly gay members will remain in effect , said it will consider a resolution asking that local units be allowed to determine their own standards . An unidentified volunteer leader in the Northeast introduced the resolution . Members of a committee have until May 2013 to make a report or recommendation to the group 's National Executive Board , said Boy Scouts spokesman Deron Smith . The debate over the Boy Scouts ' membership policy is not new . `` Resolutions of this nature are not unique , '' Smith said on Thursday . But the issue is back in the headlines because of the resolution , a separate online petition and the formation of a group that wants Boy Scouts to end its `` outdated '' policy . Jennifer Tyrrell 's case has been championed on Change.org , where the petition has garnered more than 290,000 signatures in support of the Boy Scouts reversing its position on gay leaders . The lesbian Tiger Cub den leader was dismissed by her local troop earlier this year . `` This is n't about my sexuality ; this is n't about anybody 's sexuality , '' Tyrrell said in April . `` It 's about teaching children to be better adults , and we are n't doing that by teaching them to hate or discriminate . '' Smith said Tyrrell understood the policy when she signed up . Tyrrell told CNN 's Kyra Phillips on Thursday that her partnership was never an issue within the troop . `` Nobody cares . We were just scouts . '' Among those supporting Tyrrell is Eagle Scout Zach Wahls , now 20 , who last month delivered Change.org signatures to the Boy Scouts of America at an Orlando , Florida , meeting . Author of `` My Two Moms : Lessons of Love , Strength , and What Makes a Family , '' Wahls is co-founder of Scouts for Equality , which said it will lead a `` respectful , honest '' dialogue on the matter . `` When I was earning my Citizenship in the Community merit badge , I learned the importance of standing up for what you believe to be right , '' he wrote on the group 's website . `` By embodying the values of the Scout Oath and Law , we believe we can restore the social relevancy of one of this country 's great cultural institutions : the Boy Scouts of America , '' Scouts for Equality says . Tyrrell , whose 7-year-old son is no longer in scouting , told CNN 's Soledad O'Brien that she is optimistic about the resolution . `` I think that America gets it , that we are ready for this change , '' Tyrrell said . `` And I think that the Boy Scouts ... . along with President Obama , they 're evolving and , hopefully , eventually they 'll get there . '' A 2000 U.S. Supreme Court decision found that a New Jersey law requiring the national organization to readmit an openly gay scoutmaster infringed on the organization 's First Amendment right of expressive association . `` Forcing a group to accept certain members may impair the ability of the group to express those views , and only those views , that it intends to express , '' then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote at the time . He added that the decision was not meant to approve or condemn the Scouts ' membership policy . The Boy Scouts on Thursday clarified its membership policy , saying the introduction of the resolution does not indicate the group is `` reviewing a policy . '' That would occur only if the executive board formally considers the issue , at the earliest next year . It said the Change.org petition is `` completely unrelated '' to the resolution . `` There are no plans to change this policy , Smith said . Still , Smith said , `` Any policy of the Boy Scouts can be changed . '' The Boy Scout organization , which celebrated its 100th birthday in 2010 , says its main focus continues to be mentoring 2.8 million young men and helping them develop life skills . `` We do not have an agenda on this issue , '' Smith said . `` Our membership policy is not meant to be a blanket statement on a group of people or social commentary . '' Application forms do not ask information about sexual orientation , the spokesman said , adding that clergy and family are better venues for discussion . `` This ( scouting ) is not the place to reconcile diverging viewpoints . '' Smith acknowledged that members of the Scouts ' 300 councils have varying opinions . `` There has always been an open dialogue about this in scouting . '' CNN 's Chris Boyette contributed to this report .
Scout committee will study resolution on its membership policies . Resolution asks that local units determine standards on gay leaders . Boy Scouts says its ban remains in effect .