Boy Scouts' New York Chapter Hires Nation's First Openly Gay Eagle Scout
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - The Boy Scouts' New York chapter has hired the nation's first openly gay Eagle Scout as an employee, which is in public contrast to the national scouting organization's ban on openly gay adult members.
The Boy Scouts' Greater New York Councils said they have hired Pascal Tessier, an 18-year-old Eagle Scout who has been a vocal advocate of opening the 105-year-old organization to gay scouts and leaders.
Board member Richard G. Mason said the councils see Tessier as "an exemplary candidate for employment as a camp leader.''
Boy Scouts' New York Chapter Hires Nation's First Openly Gay Eagle Scout
"We welcome him," Mason said in a statement.
Mason told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell the local policy is clear.
"We do not discriminate frankly on any basis, including sexual orientation," he said. "It is not relevant for us."
The Boy Scouts of America didn't immediately respond to an inquiry about the hire. The national organization changed its policy in 2013 to allow openly gay kids as scouts, but not adults as leaders, after a bitter debate over its membership policy. The change took effect in January 2014.
Liberal Scout leaders and gay rights groups celebrated the shift at the time but called for allowing gay adults to participate, too. Conservatives involved with the scouts, including some churches that sponsor scout units, decried letting any gays-- including kids-- participate, and some threatened to defect if the ban were lifted.
The Boy Scouts of America has said it doesn't "proactively inquire'' about members' sexual orientation, in effect, a form of "don't ask, don't tell.'' But it has expelled adults who were open about it, including a gay troop leader in Seattle who was removed last year after he disclosed his orientation during a TV interview.
"We do not want our policy of non-discrimination to be affected by the national policy. New York City and New York State law clearly prohibit employers from excluding qualified men and women from employment based on sexual orientation," Mason said.
Regardless, some local Boy Scout councils have let it be known they are open to gay employees. But the New York councils' move presents an unusually acute departure from the national policy.
Tessier achieved scouting's highest rank last year after being one of the most prominent openly gay scouts speaking out to change the ban on gay participation.
The Kensington, Maryland, teen said then he was relieved finally to have his Eagle badge approved by the scouts' national headquarters in Irving, Texas.
"Even if I had been kicked out along the way, I wouldn't have changed anything,'' he said. "The whole experience was something worth having, not only for myself but also for all the other people involved, and for all the people it affects.''
In 2012, a New Jersey state senator decided to forgo an award from a local Boy Scouts group because of the organization's exclusion of openly gay members.
(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
