The Boy Scouts’ Lincoln Heritage Council in Kentucky kicked Assistant Scoutmaster Greg Bourke out of his son’s troop last month, just because he is gay. Bourke, who has served the Scouts for five years, writes in a petition at Change.org that he has received “unanimous support from my Troop, Troop Committee, Church, Scouts, Scout Leaders and Scout Parents.”
The State of Kentucky House of Representatives last week honored him with a special “Legislative Citation” for his “dedication to Scouting and service to [his] community.”
One local mom whose son Seth was in Bourke’s troop told the Louisville Courier-Journal, “Greg made Seth the person he is.”
Despite the accolades, the Lincoln Heritage Council and Boy Scouts of America forced him to resign. His daughter’s Girl Scout troop, where he is also a leader, continues to welcome him, consistent with the Girl Scouts’ organizational policy and the personal support of his co-leader there.
I can’t imagine how Bourke’s children must feel after being told, in essence, that their father is banned from one of the ways in which he did good for children in their community, simply because he loves their other dad. Do the Boy Scouts really think they’re serving children this way?
Bourke’s expulsion comes just a few months after Cub Scout leader and lesbian mom Jennifer Tyrrell was kicked out of her son’s Cub Scout den. The Boy Scouts still have a snake in their tent.
Go sign Bourke’s petition asking the Lincoln Heritage Council to speak out against the Boy Scouts of America policy. (Thanks to GLAAD for spreading the word.)
Want to get even more infuriated? Many of the country’s largest corporate foundations—including ones that have policies against giving to organizations that discriminate based on sexual orientation—gave at least $10,000 each ($3.6 million in total) to the Boy Scouts of America in recent years, reports Andy Birkey of HuffPo. I’m sensing more Change.org petitions soon. . . .
[Updated 9/20: As expected.]