While the Boy Scouts' National Council debates on whether to lift it's ban on gay scouts, an openly gay scout challenges the current policy.
In a video, 19-year-old Eric Jones, an Eagle Scout active in the organization and employed at a summer camp in Missouri tells the camp director he is gay, and captures the confession on video. According to The Advocate:
"The director, whose face and voice are obscured in the footage below, had a strong, if not wholly unexpected, reaction. The director laments being forced to remove Jones from the program, saying, 'I really wish you hadn't done that.' The director claims Jones' "lifestyle" isn't a problem for him personally, and so the blame for being kicked out is placed squarely on Jones for having divulged it."
Jones's video is part of Ryan James Yezak's documentary Second Class Citizens. The film is currently still in production and Yezak is looking for funding to finish and begin screening it. To donate to the campaign go here, and watch the video below.
UPDATE: The Boy Scouts have voted to lift its ban to allow gay scouts into the organization. Though gay adults are still banned from being leadership roles--which is strange/hypocritical, considering most scouts go on to become troop leaders/scout masters themselves. But baby steps I guess.
The new policy goes into effect January 1, 2014.
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