Help GLAAD end the ban on gay leadership and troops in the Boy Scouts

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8:46 pm CST 5/23/2013

8:17 pm CST 5/23/2013

Staff from GLAAD, Scouts for Equality and Change.org with Scouts and leaders who started petitions calling for the Boy Scouts of America to overturn the ban on gay Scouts and leaders.

8:01 pm CST 5/23/2013

The Advocate publishes a piece by GLAAD's Dave Montez, GLAAD Acting President, and Evan Wolfson, Freedom to Marry President and lawyer who argued Boy Scouts of America vs. James Dale before the Supreme Court in 2000:

Even though the proposal that passed was put forth by the BSA itself, Boy Scout executives must realize that their discriminatory ban on gay parents and volunteers is no longer sustainable, nor is it in step with the values of the country the BSA is supposed to represent.

7:39 pm CST 5/23/2013

Jennifer Tyrrell, Zach Wahls, and more speak at a press conference after the Boy Scouts vote to drop the ban on gay Scouts.

7:35 pm CST 5/23/2013

Scouts for Equality leader, Zach Wahls, reacting to the Boy Scouts vote to drop the ban on gay Scouts.

7:25pm CST 5/23/2013

ABC News publishes "Boy Scouts Vote to End Ban on Gay Scouts; Gay Adults Still Barred"

In recent months, some churches have backed away from their opposition, according to the gay advocacy group GLAAD. The Mormon church, which sponsors most of the troops, has now endorsed allowing gay Scouts. The Roman Catholic Church has taken no official position. The National Jewish Committee on Scouting, the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Metropolitan Community Church all urged full repeal of the ban.

6:48pm CST 5/23/2013

Pascal Tessier speaking with the Associated Press.

6:40pm CST 5/23/2013

In the above video Jennifer Tyrrell speaks with the Associated Press and Zach Wahls speaks with reporters from the Today Show.

6:34pm CST 5/23/2013

Petitions starters and GLAAD staff react to the good news that the propostion has passed.

6:04pm CST 5/23/2013

Jennifer Tyrrell and Zach Wahls embrace following the press conference organized by GLAAD, Scouts for Equality (SFE), and the Inclusive Scouting Network (ISN).

5:54pm CST 5/23/2013

"The BSA is hurting him and others like him by telling him that his family is not good enough."

– Jennifer Tyrrell speaking about her son Cruz Burns, concerning the BSA's continuing ban on gay parents and leaders

5:47pm CST 5/23/2013

"Tomorrow we start our work for full inclusion in the Boy Scouts"

– Zach Wahls at the post-vote press conference being held by GLAAD, Scouts for Equality (SFE), and the Inclusive Scouting Network (ISN).

5:10pm CST 5/23/2013

The Boy Scouts of America made history today by approving a resolution that will allow gay youth to participate. The new membership standards, which state that 'no youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone,' will take effect on January 1, 2014. The Boy Scouts' ban on gay adults will remain intact, however. Read more about this news on the GLAAD blog at http://www.glaad.org/blog/breaking-boy-scouts-allow-gay-youth

Jennifer Tyrrell, her son Cruz Burns, and the GLAAD staff are pictured above recieving the news that the proposition to allow gay youth membership in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has passed.

5:00pm CST 5/23/2013

GLAAD, Scout for Equality (SFE), and the Insclusive Scouting Network (ISN) will be holding a press conference today at 5:30pm CST following the scheduled announcement by the Boy Scouts of America regarding today's vote. The press conference will be held at the Great Wolf Lodge, directly across from the Gaylord Texan, where the annual Boy Scouts national meeting is being held. Speakers at the press conference will include Zach Wahls, GLAAD, Mark Noel and scouts and scout leaders who launched Change.org petitions including Jennifer Tyrrell, Pascal Tessier and Greg Bourke.

4:47pm CST 5/23/2013

Supporters of the ban and the oppostion to equality are present on site in Dallas, TX for the vote today as well.

3:49pm CST 5/23/2013

Greg Bourke and Pascal Tessier, respectively, are pictured above being interview by the local Dallas Fox news affiliate, Fox4.

3:32pm CST 5/23/2013

Pascal Tessier is pictured above being interviewed by the local Dallas ABC News affiliate.

3:11pm CST 5/23/2013

Reminder: Today is a the official decision day for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to announce the outcome of their internal vote deciding whether or not they will move forward to begin dropping their ban on gay membership. The announcement is scheduled for 5:00pm CST.

2:00pm CST 5/23/2012

The internal vote of 1,400 Scouting leaders from 270 councils nationwide has ended. The vote will decide whether or not the Boy Scouts will drop their discriminatory ban on gay Scouts. The announcement of the vote's outcome is scheduled for later today at 5:00pm CST.

1:40pm CST 5/23/2013

Jennifer Tyrrell and Seth Adam, of GLAAD, prepare for an interview with Al Jezeera.

12:40pm CST 5/23/2013

Jennifer Tyrrell give an interview to the documentary team recording the 1,000+ mile journey of Dave and Joe McGrath.

12:15pm CST 5/23/2013

Eagle Scout Zach Wahls speaks with local Dallas CBS News affiliate reporters about today's internal vote.

11:56am CST 5/23/2013

Openly gay actor and author George Takei took to his popular Facebook fan page to post a graphic showing his support for equality in Scouting!

11:45am CST 5/23/2013

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"Our chief focus has been to let Scout know that discrimination is not one of Scoutings values. Scout law tells us to be friendly and courteous and that excluding gay youth is none of those things."

– Zach Wahls appearing via audio on MSNBC this morning

11:22am CST 5/23/2013

Jennifer Tyrrell and Cruz discuss today's vote on whether to change the policy banning gay members. 

11:08am CST 5/23/2013

Gay scout Pascal Tessier is interviewed for the CBS Evening News.

11:00am CST 5/23/2012

The internal vote of 1,400 Scouting leaders from 270 councils nationwide has begun. The vote will decide whether or not the Boy Scouts will drop their discriminatory ban on gay Scouts.

10:58am CST 5/23/2013

GLAAD staff and GLAAD "intern" Cruz Burns, son of Jennifer Tyrrell, eagerly await the Boy Scouts of America's announcement on whether or not it will allow gay youth to join the organization.

10:41am CST 5/23/2013

A recent ABC News-Washington Post poll found that 63 percent of Americans support the Boy Scouts plan to begin admitting gay Scouts younger than 18, and 56 percent oppose its intention to continue banning gay adults from the organization.

You can post this graphic on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or Google+ to let your friends and followers know you stand for equality!

10:27am CST 5/23/2013

In the photo above, National Geographic interviews Dave McGrath, who biked 1,000+ miles with his son Joe from Idaho Falls, ID to Dallas, TX to urger the BSA to adopt more inclusive policies for gay Scouts.

8:59am CST 5/23/2013

The Washington Post published three op-eds by faith leaders, calling on the Boy Scouts to be inclusive of all Scouts. Two were published yesterday, and one was published today.

"Prepared for change: There have always been gay Boy Scouts" by Rev. Nancy Wilson, Moderator of the Metropolitan Community Church:

The Boy Scout motto is “Be Prepared.” This week, gay Boy Scouts are prepared for equality.  At the same time, they are prepared for discrimination.  They know that even if the policy changes to allow gay Boy Scouts, there will still be those who discriminate.  There will be those who are frightened by change and by the full range of human expression of love and family. National leaders of the Boy Scouts, BE PREPARED to look into the eyes of real boys, and take the next step toward equality.

"Boy Scouts: Change is good — and Mormons agree" by Kevin Kloosterman, former Mormon Bishop:

I was excited and enthused when I heard the church recently came out in support of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) moving towards ending the ban against gay scouts.  This was a huge step for our faith tradition that has such strong ties to scouting.  In fact, our church sponsors 25% of all local Cub and Boy Scout groups.  Many in our faith community previously believed that if the scouts took the step towards inclusion, the church would abandon scouting and start their own activity program.  It appears this won’t be the case and I could not be more pleased.  This important inclusionary step will harmonize with current church policy.

While I am excited and energized about this progress, there will continue to be a ban on gay leaders.  This is extremely unfortunate because it continues to promote the atrocious myths and stereotypes that have long been assigned to our gay friends, family, and neighbors.  These myths promote fear, misunderstanding, discrimination, hate and even lead to violence against our sisters and brothers.  They also send the wrong message to our youth.

"Boy Scouts: It’s time to end the gay ban!" by Rev. Susan Russell, All Saints Episcopal Church, Pasadena, CA:

As the mother of two former Boy Scouts, as the daughter of a former Cub Scout Den Mother and as a priest and pastor I am paying attention as the Boy Scouts’ National Council gathers in Dallas this week to vote on a resolution on the Boy Scouts’ longstanding ban on gay members. And my message to them as they gather is that it is time for that ban to end.

It is time for the Boy Scouts to walk the talk of their diversity statement (“Scouts come from all walks of life, all types of family units, faiths, and racial and ethnic groups”) and to live out the Scout oath “to help other people at all times” by removing the asterisk after “other people*” that reads “*unless they are gay kids wanting to experience the gifts that Scouting offers.”

8:56am CST 5/23/2013

Reminder: Today is a the official decision day for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to announce the outcome of their internal vote deciding whether or not they will move forward to begin dropping their ban on gay membership. We will be updating with news all day.

8:50am CST 5/23/2013

Jennifer Tyrrell and her son Cruz Burns were interviewed by the local Dallas Fox news affiliate this morning.

8:41am CST 5/23/2013

The New York Times has published a comprehensive story about today's vote in the Boy Scouts, outlining the work that GLAAD has done, as well as hearing from leaders like Jennifer Tyrrell and Zach Wahls.

Glaad and other rights groups took up the cuse, enlisting celebrities like Madonna, who wore a Boy Scout uniform to an awards ceremony, and publicizing calls for change by corporate executives whose companies embrace gay and lesbian employees. Nearly two million people signed online petitions on Change.Org, calling on the Boy Scouts to end discrimination.