US: Boy Scouts reject leadership application from gay scout outed on Facebook
The Boy Scouts of America have rejected the leadership application of a gay scout who was outed by friends on a Facebook post.
Arizona Eagle scout Garrett Bryant, 19, was told that he would be ineligible for a leadership position, after BSA found out he was gay through a comment on his Facebook.
After he updated his relationship status to ‘In a relationship’, a non-Scouting friend asked ‘what’s his name?’, alerting staff despite Bryant’s self-imposed secrecy.
He told the New York Daily News: “I viewed my sexuality as something I was going to keep private.
“It was my private life. I wasn’t going to share it with the BSA.
“But I couldn’t control other people outing me, even if by accident.
“Following the rules as being an Eagle Scout apparently weren’t enough for me to stay on camp staff.
“They made an issue of my sexuality. I was perfectly content with staying in the closet with the Scouts.”
When his application for a summer job was turned down, he says he was told “homosexuality” was the reason.
He added: “I felt just extreme sadness. I am not one to cry easily. It was pretty intense.”
The Boy Scouts voted to allow gay members last May, but gay people are still barred from adult positions.
Gay scoutmaster Ed Henderson told NBC: “How will they even know these people are gay unless they start digging into people’s Facebook posts?
“It’s going to create a witch hunt.”
