You Can Now Be a Gay Boy Scout, Unless You're an Adult
It's 2014 and everything has changed. New York City has a new mayor. Los Angeles grocery stores can't give out plastic bags. Delaware has banned the sale of shark fins. And the Boy Scouts are allowing openly gay members. With a few caveats.
The National Council of the Boy Scouts of America voted in May to allow openly gay members. The resolution took effect today, letting people like Pascal Tessier to stay in the organization.
The move wasn't met with unanimous acceptance, of course. In California, the Pomona First Baptist Church severed its ties with Troop 101 after 103 years. North Carolina's Arapahoe Free Will Baptist Church did the same thing to Troop 683. Both troops quickly found new homes in other churches.
And while Tessier will now be able to apply for the Eagle Scout ranking he's always wanted, his remaining time in the Scouts will be short-lived. Tessier is 17, and the Scouts' new rule only applies to members under 18. When Tessier turns 18, he will have to leave. His 20-year-old brother, Lucien, also openly gay, is still banned from serving as a leader in the scouts. And Jennifer Tyrrell, who was forced to step down as the leader of her son's Cub Scout Pack because she is a lesbian, won't be able to come back.
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Tessier's next project is to work to end the Scouts' rule against members 18 and over.
"You can't really say it's OK to be gay, but once you turn 18, it's not OK," he told the Los Angeles Times.
This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/national/2014/01/you-can-now-be-gay-boy-scout-unless-youre-adult/356617/
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