Adventurers' Club Of L.A. Votes To Continue To Exclude Women As Members

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A private club for thrillseekers in Los Angeles will remain men-only after members took the issue to a vote.

On Thursday night, for the first time in its 93-year history, the Adventurers' Club of L.A. faced the monumental decision of whether to allow women to become members of this males-only institution.

A two-thirds vote by the members was required in order to allow women in and change the bylaws.

However, members voted with a resounding "no," according to KCAL9's Kaj Goldberg.

"It was massive resistance. I mean, people stood up. I gave my pitch as to why it should go through and people stood up and argued against me quite vehemently," Marc Weitz, a former president of the group, told Goldberg.

Weitz was one of the members that led the charge to attempt to include women as members.

"We're not changing the qualifications. They still have to meet the same standards that men have," Weitz said of the proposed change.

CBS2 tried to reach out to members who were opposed to allowing women in; however, our calls were not returned.

Weitz and the handful of members who voted "yes" had already identified Andrea Donnellan of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as an exceptional female candidate.

"She's spent time researching in Antarctica. She was almost made the astronaut program for NASA. An amazing, amazing person," Weitz said.

For now, though, the club will remain men-only, but Weitz feels that change is inevitable.

"And it opens up more doors for opportunities," he said.

Weitz and some of the other members who support the inclusion of women say that they are going to hold off on another vote for now.