This week, GLAAD is on the ground in Seattle with leading advocates to deliver more than 100,000 petitions to Amazon's Seattle-based headquarters. We're almost at our goal of 125,000 signatures but we need your help to get there.
17-year-old Pascal Tessier, one the first openly gay Eagle Scouts, started the petition with Scouts for Equality in support of ousted gay Scoutmaster Geoff McGrath. He is asking Amazon to suspend its financial support of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) until the organization lifts its ban on LGBT adults in leadership positions.
Despite its clear policy to "not engage in, support, encourage, or promote intolerance, discrimination or discriminatory practices based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age," the Amazon Smile program includes the BSA on its list of charities to which shoppers can donate. While the BSA has lifted its ban on gay and bisexual youth, policies remain in place to exclude participation from those who are LGBT and over 18 years old.
AmazonSmile also supports the notoriously anti-LGBT groups NOM (National Organization for Marriage) and Exodus International.
Pascal's Change.org petition reads:
Until the BSA is fully inclusive, Amazon Smile should pause its support for the Scouts.
As one of the country’s first openly gay Eagle Scouts, I know firsthand that gay Scouters (like Geoff and my older brother Lucien) can help grow Scouting. There is nothing in Scouting’s principles that conflicts with being LGBT--and the fact that Geoff and I are both Eagle Scouts is proof of that. Geoff’s Scouting units had his back, just like my Scout troop has my back. By removing Geoff, the BSA is depriving the youth in these units of the opportunity to be a Scout and they are telling all their youth that discrimination is okay.
That’s a harmful message for all youth, gay and straight alike, and it has no place in Scouting.
Sign the petition today for your name to be included when GLAAD, Scouts for Equality, Pascal, Geoff, and more Scouts and equality supporters urge Amazon to stand up for fully inclusive scouting.
