The Boy Scouts' New York chapter has
hired an openly gay Eagle Scout, ignoring the group's national ban on
openly gay adults.
The Boy Scouts' Greater New York
Councils announced Thursday that it had hired Pascal Tessier, an
18-year-old Eagle Scout.
Richard G. Mason, a board member, told
the AP that they found Tessier to be “highly qualified on all the
merits” and that the organization was executing on its
anti-discriminatory policy.
“We believe in it very firmly,”
Mason
said.
While the Boy Scouts of America (BSA)
ended its ban on openly gay scouts in 2013, anyone over 18 who is gay
may not participate in the organization.
Last year, Tessier became the Boy
Scout's first openly gay Eagle Scout.
Zach Wahls, executive director of
Scouts for Equality, cheered the hire.
“This is a watershed moment,” Wahls
said in a statement. “We are proud to see such an important Boy
Scout council standing up for the full inclusion of gay members.”
The Boy Scouts' national spokesman,
Deron Smith, would only say that the BSA was “looking into the
matter.”