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US Scouts not prepared to accept gay leader
Molly Hennessy-Fiske
April 30, 2012
THE Boy Scouts aren't budging. Neither is the Ohio Cub Scout leader forced to resign for being a lesbian.
Jennifer Tyrrell, 32, wants to be reinstated as leader of her son's pack and has been crisscrossing the country winning support for her cause.
''The goal is really just to raise awareness,'' Ms Tyrrell said. ''We're hoping the Boy Scouts will do the right thing and just change the policy.''
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Officials at the Boy Scouts of America, which has an oath calling for members to be ''morally straight'', maintain they have the right as a private group to exclude gays from their ranks. That position was upheld by the US Supreme Court in 2000 but has led many state and local governments to deny support for the group. Further, the Scouts add, Ms Tyrrell knew the policy when she joined up.
She acknowledges this, saying she had been reluctant to allow her son Cruz, 7, to join the pack in Bridgeport, the eastern Ohio town where she lives with her partner, a registered nurse, and their four children.
But at the first meeting, Ms Tyrrell - who is open about her sexual orientation - said the local Cubmaster put her at ease. ''He assured me at the local level it would never be a problem,'' she said.
In September, Ms Tyrrell was drafted to lead Pack 109's Tiger Cub Scouts. She said that she told parents at their first meeting about her sexual orientation, and it wasn't an issue.
On April 10, shortly after Ms Tyrrell was laid off from her job at a hardware store, she received a phone call from a scouting official telling her she had to resign because someone had complained about her. She suspects she was removed because she had recently raised questions about Scouting finances.
''That is absolutely not the case,'' said Deron Smith, a spokesman for Boy Scouts of America. ''Her removal from the program was solely for being in violation of national policy ''
Many parents have defended Ms Tyrrell, demanding the Boy Scouts reinstate her and staging a protest outside the church where the pack held its meetings.
Read more: US Scouts not prepared to accept gay leader
Molly Hennessy-Fiske
April 30, 2012
THE Boy Scouts aren't budging. Neither is the Ohio Cub Scout leader forced to resign for being a lesbian.
Jennifer Tyrrell, 32, wants to be reinstated as leader of her son's pack and has been crisscrossing the country winning support for her cause.
''The goal is really just to raise awareness,'' Ms Tyrrell said. ''We're hoping the Boy Scouts will do the right thing and just change the policy.''
Advertisement: Story continues below
Officials at the Boy Scouts of America, which has an oath calling for members to be ''morally straight'', maintain they have the right as a private group to exclude gays from their ranks. That position was upheld by the US Supreme Court in 2000 but has led many state and local governments to deny support for the group. Further, the Scouts add, Ms Tyrrell knew the policy when she joined up.
She acknowledges this, saying she had been reluctant to allow her son Cruz, 7, to join the pack in Bridgeport, the eastern Ohio town where she lives with her partner, a registered nurse, and their four children.
But at the first meeting, Ms Tyrrell - who is open about her sexual orientation - said the local Cubmaster put her at ease. ''He assured me at the local level it would never be a problem,'' she said.
In September, Ms Tyrrell was drafted to lead Pack 109's Tiger Cub Scouts. She said that she told parents at their first meeting about her sexual orientation, and it wasn't an issue.
On April 10, shortly after Ms Tyrrell was laid off from her job at a hardware store, she received a phone call from a scouting official telling her she had to resign because someone had complained about her. She suspects she was removed because she had recently raised questions about Scouting finances.
''That is absolutely not the case,'' said Deron Smith, a spokesman for Boy Scouts of America. ''Her removal from the program was solely for being in violation of national policy ''
Many parents have defended Ms Tyrrell, demanding the Boy Scouts reinstate her and staging a protest outside the church where the pack held its meetings.
Read more: US Scouts not prepared to accept gay leader
