On Monday, former gay den leader Jennifer Tyrrell, gay Eagle Scout Will Oliver, gay former Scoutmaster Greg Bourke, and Eric Andresen, father of a gay Scout denied his Eagle Scout award, will deliver 1.4 million signatures to the Boy Scouts of America’s headquarters in Irving, signatures that urge the Scouts to drop its gay ban.
From a statement emailed to the press:
“More than 1 million people have joined Change.org campaigns urging the Boy Scouts of America to end their national anti-gay policy, and today, those signers are seeing their work and their support delivered right to the Boy Scouts of America, for one final push as the Boy Scout board determines the future of the organization,” said Mark Anthony Dingbaum, senior campaign manager at Change.org. “Jennifer Tyrrell, Will Oliver, Greg Bourke, and the Andresen family have proven that long-standing institutions of discrimination are no match for cutting-edge online tools and powerful storytelling.”
Earlier this week, the BSA announced it was considering changing its policy toward gay scouts and leaders, shifting that decision to individual troops and packs. Some have seen that as a positive response to growing criticism; some have questioned whether the BSA has just abdicated responsibility and pushed the difficult decision onto its membership. (And it remains to be seen how many of those troops, if given the ability, would allow gay scouts or leaders. Close to 70 percent of troops are chartered by churches.) Either way, 11 a.m., Monday, 1.4 million signatures.
