The Boy Scouts of America will
consider dropping its ban on openly gay membership.
The move comes after gay rights
activist Zach Wahls delivered a petition signed by 275,000 people
calling on the group to reinstate Jennifer Tyrrell, the 32-year-old
Ohio mom who in April was ousted as den leader of her son's Boy Scout
troop because she is a lesbian. She launched the Change.org campaign
to bring awareness to the Boy Scouts' policy banning openly gay
scouts and leaders.
The Boy Scouts will consider a
resolution which would allow individual charter organizations to
decide for themselves whether to accept openly gay members and
leaders.
Spokesman Deron Smith confirmed in a
statement that such a resolution had been introduced but stressed
that its adoption wasn't imminent. “Contrary to media reports, the
Boy Scouts of America has no plans to change its membership policy.
The introduction of a resolution does not indicate the organization
is 'reviewing' a policy or signal a change in direction.”
Wahls, an Eagle Scout, met with Smith
after delivering the signatures. He told ABC News that the proposal
will first be heard by a subcommittee, which would make a
recommendation to the national executive board.
The 20-year-old Wahls made national
headlines when he defended his two-mom family at an Iowa House
hearing considering a proposed measure which would repeal the state's
gay marriage law by defining marriage as a heterosexual union in the
Iowa Constitution. A video of Wahls' testimony attracted more than
18.3 million views to become the most-watched video in 2011.
(Related: Jennifer
Tyrrell “moved” by Boy Scouts board member David Sims'
resignation.)