It’s about time: Someone from within the organization has finally stood up to the bullies at the Boy Scouts of America, who have imposed a national ban on openly adult gay members. And guess what? The BSA did not implode.
NBC New York reports that the Boy Scouts’ Greater New York Council has brought 18-year-old Pascal Tessier, who is openly gay, on board as a summer camp counselor. According to board member Richard G. Mason, Tessier is “an exemplary candidate” and “we welcome him.”
This goes directly against the “current adult leadership standard” of the national organization, per its website:
“While the BSA does not proactively inquire about sexual orientation of employees, volunteers, or members, we do not grant membership to individuals who are open or avowed homosexuals or who engage in behavior that would become a distraction to the mission of the BSA.”
And, mind you, this “don’t ask don’t tell” policy is a reform compared to the organization’s ban on gay scouts prior to 2013. The AP reports that the organization “has expelled adults who were open about it” as recently as last year, when a troop leader from Seattle came out during a TV interview.
So far, the organization’s figureheads have stayed mum on the news.
(Photo: freeparking 😐)
