For Press

Press Releases

Contacts:

Rich Ferraro
Vice President of Communications
ferraro@glaad.org
646-871-8011

Seth Adam
Senior Manager of Communications
adam@glaad.org
646-871-8018

Available spokespeople:

Jennifer Tyrrell    

Ohio mom Jennifer Tyrrell ignited a national movement last year after she was let go as Den Leader of her son's Cub Scout pack because she is gay. Working with GLAAD, she started a Change.org petition demanding that she be reinstated, garnering more than 330,000 signatures. She led a second Change.org campaign asking the CEOs of Ernst & Young and AT&T, both of whom sit on the board of the Boy Scouts of America, to speak out against the organization’s ban on gay Scouts and leaders. Most recently, she’s petitioned the Boy Scouts to consider another proposal that would end the ban on gay adults, so she can continue Scouting with her son, Cruz. More: http://www.change.org/scouts   

Greg Bourke      

Kentucky father Greg Bourke, who has been partnered for 30 years and has two children involved in Scouting, launched his campaign on Change.org after he was removed from his role as Assistant Scoutmaster by the Lincoln Heritage Boy Scout Council because he is gay. Bourke was an awarded Boy Scouts leader and role model in Louisville. Since his removal, he’s received overwhelming support from Scouts, Scout leaders, Scout parents, and faith leaders. Last month, Bourke delivered more than 64,000 Change.org petition signatures urging United Way to denounce the BSA's anti-gay policy, and to urge local United Ways to withhold funding if the Boy Scouts do not lift their anti-gay ban at the May meeting. More: http://www.change.org/unitedwayfunding

Will Oliver     

Gay Eagle Scout Will Oliver, a self-proclaimed outdoorsman, launched a petition on Change.org urging the National Geographic Channel to condemn the Boy Scouts’ anti-gay policy after the Boy Scouts announced that National Geographic would be airing a new show called "Are You Tougher Than A Boy Scout?" National Geographic Channel premiered “Are You Tougher Than a Boy Scout?” this spring, a marketing move that BSA executives hope will make the Boy Scout brand more “cool” and relevant. But young people across the country, including Oliver, know that the Boy Scouts’ ban on gay Scouts and leaders keeps the brand stuck in the past. More: http://www.change.org/toughscouts

Pascal Tessier           

Pascal Tessier, a 16-year-old Boy Scout from Maryland perhaps has the most to gain (or lose) from Thursday’s historic vote. As an openly gay young person, Tessier’s Boy Scout council recently said that unless the ban on gay youth is lifted, Pascal would not be able to earn his Eagle award. So Pascal’s older brother, Lucien Tessier, launched a petition on Change.org urging their local council to vote to end the national anti-gay ban so his younger brother can earn his Eagle award, just like Lucien did. More: http://www.change.org/scoutbrothers                    

Zach Wahls            

An Eagle Scout and son of two gay moms whose speech in support of marriage equality was YouTube’s most watched political video in 2011, Zach Wahls founded Scouts for Equality after delivering nearly 300,000 Change.org petition signatures to the Boy Scouts of America on behalf of Jennifer Tyrrell, a lesbian mom and den leader from Ohio who was removed from her 7-year-old’s Cub Scout Pack for being gay. In one year's time, Scouts for Equality has mobilized more than 6,500 Eagle Scouts across the country to help end the Boy Scouts national anti-gay policy. Wahls’ petitions on Change.org have convinced corporate donors of the Boy Scouts, including Intel and UPS, to withhold donations until the anti-gay policy is pulled. More: http://www.change.org/scoutsvote