Boy Suts to repeal ban on gay lears, wh limatns | PBS News Weekend

Contents:

• CAN A GAY BOY SUT SHARE A TENT WH ANOTHER BOY? BOY SUTS SURVEY MEMBERS ON ANTI-GAY POLICY
• BOY SUTS OF AMERI ENDS BAN ON GAY ADULT LEARS
• BOY SUTS OF AMERI ENDS BAN ON GAY AND LBIAN TROOP LEARS
• BOY SUTS OF AMERI VOT TO ALLOW GAY SUT LEARS
• 'EXTREMELY DISAPPOTG': SUTS BOOT OPENLY GAY TROOP LEAR
• BOY SUTS BOOT OPENLY GAY SUT LEAR
• THE BOY SUTS HAVE APPROVED A PLAN TO ALLOW GAY TROOP LEARS
• BOY SUTS FIRE OPENLY GAY TROOP LEAR
• BOY SUTS BAN CHURCH OVER GAY TROOP LEAR
• BOY SUTS TO REPEAL BAN ON GAY LEARS, WH LIMATNS
• BOY SUTS ON TRACK TO CHANGE POLICY AND ALLOW GAY AND LBIAN TROOP LEARS
• BOY SUTS DISMISS A GAY TROOP LEAR SEATTLE
• GEOFF MCGRATH, GAY BOY SUT TROOP LEAR, ALLEGEDLY KICKED OUT OF ORGANIZATN
• BOY SUTS TAKE STEPS TO OT GAY LEAR OF SEATTLE TROOP
• STT WALKER: BOY SUT BAN ON GAY TROOP LEARS ‘PROTECTED CHILDREN’
• BOY SUTS REMOV GAY TROOP LEAR SEATTLE
• BOY SUTS CHANGE POLICY ON GAY LEARS
• BOY SUTS OF AMERI VOT TO END NTROVERSIAL BAN ON OPENLY-GAY SUT LEARS
• LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE

CAN A GAY BOY SUT SHARE A TENT WH ANOTHER BOY? BOY SUTS SURVEY MEMBERS ON ANTI-GAY POLICY

” The are some of the qutns on a survey beg nducted by the Boy Suts of Ameri as the private youth anizatn prepar to ci whether should end s ntroversial policy banng gay Suts and lears. But this time, the BSA ed the survey to add qutns about the policy banng gays (those qutns went only to adults) spokman Deron Smh, who provid the qutns on the survey to NBC News, said an email that “the BSA is mted to dialogue on the topic of s membership standards policy, wh the Sutg fay at the lol and natnal levels.

The Boy Suts’ policy has creasgly been a sore spot for the anizatn over the last year, followg the dismissal of a n lear bee she is a lbian and the nial of the Eagle Sut rank to a California teen bee he is gay.

BOY SUTS OF AMERI ENDS BAN ON GAY ADULT LEARS

Tristam HarrgtonWhen the BSA announced late January that may dch the natnal policy and stead let lol sponsorg anizatns ci if gays n jo, the anizatn received a flood of rpons om both sis. The Boy Suts have asked for the surveys to be returned by April BSA also asked if the currently policy was a “re value” of Sutg and if rponnts would leave the BSA if a cisn was ma that disagreed wh their qutns on the survey clu:A gay male troop lear, along wh another adult lear, is takg a group of boys on a mpg trip followg the youth protectn guil of two-ep learship.

Related stori: Boy Suts: We need more time for cisn on gay SutsAfter years of heartache, gay Suts and supporters react warily over proposal to lift ban'Gravely distrsed': Relign looms large over Boy Suts cisn on gays 'BATTLESTATIONS!

BOY SUTS OF AMERI ENDS BAN ON GAY AND LBIAN TROOP LEARS

NEW YORK -- The Boy Suts of Ameri on Monday end s blanket ban on gay adult lears while allowg church-sponsored Sut uns to mata the excln for relig new policy, aimed at easg a ntroversy that has embroiled the Boy Suts for years, tak effect immediately. Several nomatns that llectively sponsor close to half of all Sut uns -- cludg the Roman Catholic church, the Mormon church and the Southern Baptist Conventn -- have been apprehensive about endg the ban on gay BSA's top lears have pledged to fend the right of any church-sponsored uns to ntue excludg gays as adult volunteers. -If otherwise qualified, a gay adult would be eligible to serve as a Sutmaster or un, who beme the BSA's print May 2014, said at the time that he personally would have favored endg the ban on gay adults, but he opposed any further bate after the Suts' policymakg body upheld the ban.

Sce then, the exclnary policy has prompted numero major rporatns to spend charable donatns to the Suts, and has straed relatns wh some municipali that ver gays their non-discrimatn Upton, a lawyer for the LGBT-rights group Lambda Legal, qutned whether the BSA's new policy to let church-sponsored uns ntue to exclu gay adults would be staable. 4 ln boys and about 1 ln the 2013 cisn to adm gay youth, some nservativ spl om the BSA to form a new group, Trail Life USA, which has created s own ranks, badg and uniforms. The natnal erng body of the Boy Suts of Ameri has end a blanket ban on gay adult lears while allowg church-sponsored Sut uns to mata the excln bee of their new policy, aimed at easg a ntroversy that embroiled the Boy Suts for years and threatened the anizatn wh lawsus, tak effect immediately.

”Wahls noted that the anizatn had banned gay people sce 1978, and that s centralized stcture – relig anizatns charter about 70% of Boy Sut troops – means some prejudic have ep roots.

BOY SUTS OF AMERI VOT TO ALLOW GAY SUT LEARS

”On 13 July, the anizatn’s executive mtee, head by print and former fense secretary Robert Gat, unanimoly approved the rolutn, sayg there had been a “sea change the law wh rpect to gay rights”. ”The vote took place only a month and a day after the US supreme urt legalized same-sex marriage throughout the US, strikg down state bans and punctuatg the swift progrs of gay rights wh s 5-4 board’s vote also follows only two years after a long and bter bate at the anizatn’s 2013 meetg Texas, where 60% of some 1, 400 sut lears voted to end the ban.

The anizatn said at the time that had no tentns of revisg the earlier this year the New York Cy chapter hired a gay mp unsellor, and said would force the issue urt if necsary to keep the unsellor Boy Suts has about 2. The erng body of the Boy Suts of Ameri voted Monday to end s s-long ban on gay sut anizatn's natnal executive board, meetg Texas, nclud that the policy of excludg gay adults "was no longer legally fensible.

'EXTREMELY DISAPPOTG': SUTS BOOT OPENLY GAY TROOP LEAR

" The cisn was approved by 79 percent of the the natnal ban is gone, effective immediately, lol sutg uns reta the abily to reject gay applints for learship posns if hirg them would vlate the un's relig Boy Suts natnal anizatn said would fend any lol sutg group's "good fah refal" to adm a sutg lear based upon the group's relig prcipl. "The vote reprents a remarkably fast turnaround for the Boy Suts, which only two years ago voted to adm gay young people as suts but kept the ban on adult gay sut then, sutg officials have said, rapidly movg legal velopments forced a told the anizatn May that mt brace for change. "The vote allowg lol uns to turn away gay lears was nmned by some former Sut lears as a timid measure that would allow discrimatn to McGrah, a gay adult lear om wh the Transatlantic Council of Boy Suts of Ameri, lled the vote "an expedient move to preempt legal actn agast BSA natnal, rather than a genue attempt to make BSA clive.

"John Stemberger, a Florida lawyer who started a breakaway anizatn lled Trail Life USA after the 2013 vote to adm gay Suts, said by endg the natnal ban on gay sut lears, the Boy Suts "plac the church and relig stutns who sponsor BSA troops at greater legal risk.

BOY SUTS BOOT OPENLY GAY SUT LEAR

"Today’s vote by the Boy Suts of Ameri to allow gay, lbian and bisexual adults to work and volunteer is a wele step toward erasg a sta on this important anizatn, " said Human Rights Campaign Print Chad Griff a statement after the vote. SEATTLE—The Boy Suts of Ameri on Monday banned an openly gay Sutmaster om the anizatn, sayg s natnal policy barred gay adults om McGrath, 49, lear of Troop 98 Seattle’s Raier Beach neighborhood, is believed to be the first gay adult to be booted om the Boy Suts of Ameri sce held a ntroversial ballot last May allowg gay youth—but not adults—to participate one of the untry’s most popular youth anizatns.

THE BOY SUTS HAVE APPROVED A PLAN TO ALLOW GAY TROOP LEARS

McGrath today and based on the rmatn he provid, the Natnal Council has revoked his registratn, ” Smh Monday, McGrath believed himself to be the only openly gay Sutmaster the natn, havg won approval last fall to n a troop spe the anizatn's ban agast gay adults. Koyle Kendrick, a gay teen, was prevly a Boy Sut and attend the meetg to nsir jog a gay-iendly DiCampo / for NBC NewsMcGrath said startg the un was not a publicy stunt but a bid to serve youth and rejo the ntent discsn around gay and lbian adult membership.

BOY SUTS FIRE OPENLY GAY TROOP LEAR

McGrath’s Troop 98 is part of the BSA's Chief Seattle Council, which said late Sunday that didn't quire about his sexual orientatn—as directed by BSA policy—when he applied for a learship posn, acrdg to Sharon Moulds, the uncil’s top profsnal said she found out McGrath was gay only after NBC News ntacted her. McGrath, a married Eagle Sut who has been wh his hband for 20 years, said he worried his sexual orientatn would sk the effort sce openly gay Sutmasters prev years—before the vote to adm gay youth—have been booted om McGrath knows this om his own experience, too.

BOY SUTS BAN CHURCH OVER GAY TROOP LEAR

That end his relatnship wh the anizatn he had advanced through sce he was a child—or so he stgglg wh rejectn om his Mormon elrs, and after seeg his intil tw brother Dave, who is straight, mpaign for gays to be admted to Sutg, McGrath thought was time he do what he uld to help brg about change: He cid to start an clive lears chat after a troop meetg at Raier Beach Uned Methodist Church Seattle, Wa., on March 27, 2014. ”“One of the thgs that’s different now wh our troop om when I was a youth the Suts, was there were no intifiable gay or lbian adults, ” McGrath said, rellg the isolatn and shame he felt as a teen when he thought he was the only gay person parents and their boys gathered last Thursday at the church for the weekly Boy Suts’ meetg said they had no problem wh McGrath’s sexual orientatn. He didn’t thk McGrath’s sexual orientatn was a big al and said his beg out was “settg a great example” by showg he wasn’t aaid to be un currently unts only heterosexual boys among s ranks, but a gay teen, 17-year-old Koyle Kendrick, said he plans to jo after he fish his end-of-year exams.

An openly gay Boy Suts troop lear Washgton state was abptly removed om his post for "liberately jectg" his sexualy to the job, the Boy Suts of Ameri announced on McGrath, sutmaster of Seattle's Troop 98, was beg profiled by NBC News when the anizatn said was severg ti wh him. “The Natnal Council has revoked his registratn, ” Smh ’s believed McGrath is the first lear to lose his posn sce the Boy Suts of Ameri changed s policy last year, votg to allow gay suts but not gay sut lears.

McGrath, whose charter applitn for a new troop through the Raier Beach Uned Methodist Church was approved last fall, said he didn't hi his orientatn and that the Boy Suts knew about his open support of gay rights. The Boy Suts of Ameri kicked an openly gay troop lear om s ranks on Monday, cg a policy that prevents adults om "liberately jectg" their sexualy to the McGrath was forced to step down as Sutmaster of the newly formed Troop 98 Seattle's Raier Beach. McGrath says he was approached by clergy om Raier Beach Uned Methodist Church, who wanted to start a new youth program the the same time, the BSA voted to accept gay youth to s fold.

BOY SUTS TO REPEAL BAN ON GAY LEARS, WH LIMATNS

""We beme aware of his tentns to make a public statement about his orientatn and e our program as a means to further a personal agenda, " said Sharon Moulds, a proment Seattle Council the prence of a gay Sutmaster hasn't stopped parents om enrollg their kids McGrath's troop. The Boy Suts of Ameri shut down a Seattle church troop for standg behd an openly gay lear, even after the anizatn revoked his youth anizatn said Monday the Raier Beach Uned Methodist Church vlated s charter by allowg Eagle Sut Geofey McGrath lead Troop cisn is likely the first sce the Boy Suts voted last year to accept gay suts -- but not adults.

BOY SUTS ON TRACK TO CHANGE POLICY AND ALLOW GAY AND LBIAN TROOP LEARS

The landmark policy shift lnched the natnal anizatn to a rift between nservative groups bent agast acceptg homosexualy and gay rights activists who say discrimatg agast sut lears go agast the anizatn’s clive Rev. The Boy Suts of Ameri is expected to end s ban on openly gay lears a limed manner Monday, a historic cisn for one of the natn’s largt youth anizatns, whose s-long stggle over whether to clu gays s ranks has both mirrored and fueled the broar natnal bate over LGBT rights.

Over the past two s, the anizatn has been creasgly embroiled by battl over whether to ntue excludg gays, a stance that has threatened the Suts wh the specter of stly ligatn and ed some rporate sponsors, cludg Merck, UPS, Uned Way and Intel to whdraw support. In his speech, Gat said that a number of factors, cludg potential discrimatn lawsus, ternal disput over the policy and the impendg Supreme Court gay marriage cisn had nvced him that the le was untenable. The Boy Suts of Ameri (BSA) are on track to allow gay and lbian lears to the anizatn, after an executive mtee approved a rolutn that would elimate the standg ban agast such the newly adopted rolutn, BSA l would allow people to be troop lears regardls of their sexualy.

BOY SUTS DISMISS A GAY TROOP LEAR SEATTLE

The anizatn’s Natnal Executive Board is set to ratify the rolutn on 27 July and ments ma by the BSA print, Robert Gat, May dite that is likely to ph the policy change told a crowd at the BSA meetg Atlanta that if the anizatn upholds s ban on gay lears, “will be the end of as a natnal movement” said the changg natnal climate toward LGBT rights and mountg legal challeng agast BSA bee of the ban left the anizatn wh few other issue was rerced Monday’s announcement, which also clarified that relig-chartered groups n “ntue to choose adult lears whose beliefs are nsistent wh their own” May 2014, BSA announced that would accept openly gay young mal to the programme, but rerced s ban on LGBT adults.

Dpe this, groups New York and Colorado allowed gay and lbian sut the rolutn is adopted as scribed BSA documents, lears who were prevly removed bee of their sexualy uld reapply for their Suts for Equaly executive director, Zach Wahls, who has been a lear the movement to change the policy, celebrated the vote on Monday. “For s, the Boy Suts of Ameri’s ban on gay adults has stood as a towerg example of explic, stutnal homophobia one of Ameri’s most important and regnizable civic anizatns, ” he said an emailed statement.

“While this policy change is not perfect – BSA’s relig charterg partners will be allowed to ntue to discrimate agast gay adults – is difficult to overstate the importance of today’s announcement. |Boy Suts Dismiss a Gay Troop Lear Seattle ADVERTISEMENTApril 1, 2014Nearly a year after announcg that would adm gay boys but still prohib openly gay lears om s ranks, the Boy Suts of Ameri has dismissed a gay sutmaster.

GEOFF MCGRATH, GAY BOY SUT TROOP LEAR, ALLEGEDLY KICKED OUT OF ORGANIZATN

The troop is sponsored by the Raier Beach Uned Methodist Church, one of hundreds of “rencilg ngregatns” the natnal Methodist Church that performs same-sex marriag and promot equaly for gays and lbians. McGrath that “your havg stated that you are homosexual nnectn wh a news story” was a direct vlatn of the l and that “you are no longer eligible to serve as a volunteer lear of the Boy Suts of Ameri. The Boy Suts of Ameri is g unr fire for reportedly removg and subsequently banng an openly gay sut lear om his posn the McGrath was the lear of Troop 98 Seattle, Washgton and is thought to be the first sut lear removed om his posn sce the Boy Suts cid to allow openly gay troop members, but not lears, the anizatn last year.

BOY SUTS TAKE STEPS TO OT GAY LEAR OF SEATTLE TROOP

McGrath reportedly had the charter for his troop approved by the Boy Suts last fall through Raier Beach Methodist Church whout hidg his sexual orientatn or his public support for gay rights.

However, a spokperson for the Boy Suts of Ameri reportedly stated that they did not know about McGrath's gay inty until they were ntacted for the purpos of a story about McGrath. He lost nnectn wh the Suts but re-engaged wh the anizatn last year after his brother, David McGrath, and his nephew ro their bik om Idaho to Texas to dm up support for allowg gay youth to participate. The Boy Suts of Ameri cid 2013 to allow openly gay boys to jo s ranks, and on Friday the group’s learship voted to perm gay adults uld serve alongsi straight on as troop lears.

STT WALKER: BOY SUT BAN ON GAY TROOP LEARS ‘PROTECTED CHILDREN’

SEATTLE (AP) — The Boys Suts of Ameri has removed an openly gay troop lear Seattle, sayg he ma an issue out of his sexual anizatn told Geoff McGrath a letter Monday that "has no choice" but to revoke his registratn after he said he was gay while beg profiled by NBC News. "A ll to the Chief Seattle Council was not immediately returned Boy Suts began acceptg openly gay youth for the first time this year, over the objectns of some participants who eventually left the anizatn.

BOY SUTS REMOV GAY TROOP LEAR SEATTLE

"When McGrath me out to his fay and iends 1988 at age 23, the harst part was anticipatg and expectg rejectn om the Boys Suts, he lost nnectn wh the Suts but re-engaged wh the anizatn last year after his brother, David McGrath, and his nephew ro their bik om Idaho to Texas to dm up support for allowg gay youth to Corsaro asked him last summer to lead a newly created troop, he ially thought would be problematic.

BOY SUTS CHANGE POLICY ON GAY LEARS

“On Monday July 27 the natnal executive board ratified a rolutn removg the natnal rtrictn on openly gay lears and employe, ” Boy Suts of Ameri Print Robert Gat said a vio statement on Monday. “Today’s vote by the Boy Suts of Ameri to allow gay, lbian and bisexual adults to work and volunteer is a wele step toward erasg a sta on this important anizatn, ” said Human Rrights Campaign Print Chad Griff a statement. However, former Boy Sut learship team member Jon Langbert told CNN’s Carol Costello he believ the new policy isn’t a cure-all, sce lol troops will still be allowed to make the cisn on whether to allow gay lears.

BOY SUTS OF AMERI VOT TO END NTROVERSIAL BAN ON OPENLY-GAY SUT LEARS

However, some of the anizatn’s early methods for reachg out to margalized groups provi potential solutns for better rporatg gay and transgenr boys and clive troop sponsors. Yet, natnally, the BSA has repeatedly fied crics by enuragg lol uncils to wele a growg range of culturally margalized troops and boys – om non-Prottant, immigrant and Ain-Amerin boys the 1910s to transgenr and gay boys 100 years later. The BSA uld draw on s own tradns to create new recment mte for transgenr and gay youth, publish tnal media on how Sut trag n help meet their needs and terts, and ensure their reprentatn on lol uncils.

LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE

The Boy Suts of Ameri, facg ligatn, shrkg membership and sweepg acceptance of gay rights, voted Monday to lift s ban on openly gay troop lears and natnal anizatn will no longer allow discrimatn agast s paid workers or at BSA-owned facili. ”The executive board’s vote was taken at the suggtn of the group’s print, former fense secretary Robert Gat, who noted that the Suts are facg potential lawsus by gay adults who were shut out of posns.