19 year old Eric Jones, an Eagle Scout and camp counselor for the Boy Scouts in Missouri, came out to the camp director over the weekend was fired and told to pack his bags and leave.
“He said I was deserving to be there, but he had to follow the policy of BSA,” Jones said.
Jones said that while he knew of the Boy Scouts policy, he thought that the director “would overlook it” because he had been working at the camp for nearly five years.
“This is definitely good for me. (coming out) I’m generally happy,” Jones said, describing how he feels a day later. “But most importantly, I feel discriminated,” he added.
While the BSA recently announced it would review its policy on gays after a petition campaign from GLAAD inspired by the ousting of Ohio den mother Jennifer Tyrrell, one that Eagle Scout Zach Wahls has also been heavily involved in.
According to the Daily News in a statement given to them by a BSA spokesman: “Contrary to media reports, the Boy Scouts of America has no plans to change its membership policy. We do not grant membership to individuals who are open or avowed homosexuals or who engage in behavior that would become a distraction to the mission of the BSA.”
CLICK HERE to watch the video report
What is very interesting is they will allow closeted gays – just keep your mouth shout. How sad – I was a scout leader for 8 years and enjoyed the boys in my troop – but then had to leave when the local council kicked out a very nice boy from another troop because he came out. I couldn’t stand their hypocrisy. And now even today they send me solicitations asking me to donate to this cause and that cause. Well I guess there time will come.