Beginning on Thursday, Scouts for
Equality began counting down the days until the Boy Scouts of
America's (BSA) board weighs in on a resolution that seeks to end its
ban on openly gay adult leaders and volunteers.
“COUNTDOWN TO #BSA VOTE – Jen may
be able to rejoin #Scouting on Mon 7/27 after being removed 3 yrs
ago,” Scouts for Equality tweeted on Saturday along with a photo of
Jeniffer Tyrrell, the Ohio volunteer who was removed from her son's troop
because she's gay.
(Related: Boy
Scouts “fire” den leader Jennifer Tyrrell for being gay)
On July 13, the 17-member executive
committee of the BSA unanimously approved the change.
Approval by the 80-member National
Executive Board is needed before the blanket ban is officially ended.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, has criticized the resolution
as a “half measure.”
The change in policy would still allow
troops run by churches to “choose adult leaders whose beliefs are
consistent with their own,” according to an internal memo.
“There are differences of opinion,
and we need to be respectful of them,” Michael Harrison, a leader
from California, told The New York Times. “It doesn't mean
the Mormons have to pick a gay scoutmaster, but please don't tell the
Unitarians they can't.”