Leaders of the Boy Scouts of America are expected to take a critical vote this week on whether to admit gay scouts and scoutmasters.

The vote could come Wednesday at the scouts’ annual meeting in Irving, Texas. The proposal would allow local scout chapters to decide for themselves who to admit.

Gay-rights activists says they collected more than a million petition signatures.

But more than two-thirds of scouting troops are run by faith-based organizations, and their support or opposition to gays in scouting will weigh heavily on the decision.

Edward Whelan is the president of the Ethics & Public Policy Center in Washington, DC. He opposes lifting the ban on gay members, and recently wrote a controversial editorial in the New York Post.

He talked to WGN Morning News about his position Tuesday.