A contingent of active and former members of the Boy Scouts of America led thousands Sunday, June 29, in New York City’s 44th Annual Pride Parade — a historic move in celebration of the organization’s inclusion of out gay youth and in protest of its existing ban on out gay adult members.
The group of more than a dozen — spanning generations of Boy Scouts, Eagle Scouts, leaders in uniform, and volunteers — presented the American flag and acted as the parade’s color guard, leading over 14,000 parade participants through Manhattan. Crystal Bueno, a Cub Scouts leader from Brooklyn, said their service in the march was “emotional and bittersweet.”
“Just this year on Jan. 1, the Boy Scouts of America lifted their ban on membership for gay youth,” Bueno said at a press conference prior to the parade. “For that, we march in celebration that gay youth are finally welcome to be part of the wonderful American tradition of scouting; however, the Boy Scouts of America still holds a membership policy that bans LGBT adults from serving as volunteers.”
Existing BSA policy allows for out gay youth to serve as members, but upon turning 18, LGBT scouts could be forced out and adults could be barred from volunteering in the organization. In an interview with BuzzFeed, Bueno questioned why — in 2014 — the BSA sees including LGBT adults as an issue.
“Why are we even still debating this?” she said and wondered why she is more qualified to serve as a scout leader than out LGBT adults and why gay scouts like Pascal Tessier, who is widely regarded as the first gay Eagle Scout, could face expulsion from scouting when he turns 18 in August. Tessier was among the Eagle Scouts who carried a flag and marched in Sunday’s parade.
Instead of carrying an American flag or a rainbow pride flag, another member of the group, David Knapp, carried a sign, reading “88 year old Boy Scout leader kicked out for being gay.” Knapp said he’s been fighting the BSA for over 20 years — or since he was outed as gay while serving as a volunteer officer in Madison and Guilford, Conn., and subsequently removed by the local council.
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Story: http://www.buzzfeed.com/tonymerevick/boy-scouts-nyc-pride