ThinkProgress interviewed Zach Wahls, the openly gay Eagle Scout and son of a lesbian couple fighting for the inclusion of gay leaders and members in the Boy Scouts. Along with catching up on the fight’s progress, they asked what he thought about the organization’s recent announcement that it’d reexamine its no-gays policy.
Wahls:
“This proposal was made after Jen Tyrrell’s petition on Change.org. So even though this has been brought up in the past, it’s never gotten nearly the level of attention that it has today. And as another departure from the past, there’s never been a group—which I actually launched in coordination with a number of other Eagle Scouts today—called “Scouts For Equality.” And we’re going to be working with a number of different groups to really build a community of scouts — Eagle scouts, former scout leaders, that sort of thing. We’re really going to work toward making this policy change.”
Wahls has continued to make great strides, and it’s wonderful to hear he has formed an official organization for the cause. Get involved at Scouts For Equality.
RLS
Jesus, Queerty get it right. Zach Wahls is not gay. He’s a straight guy with two gay moms who did that video that went viral and wrote a book.
He’s also being worshiped by the LGBT community for, well, being a straight white guy who speaks out for gay rights.
Anthony Christopher
Yeah, definitely not gay.
Kamuurie
HE’S GAY IF I SAY HE’S GAY! T_T
Hmph!
Bailey
definitely not gay… look at that tie!
Michael Bedwell
Bravo to Wahls, but he appears unaware that his is not the first group of straight and gay veteran Scouts to organize to fight the ban. Previously, there was Scouting for All and Forgotten Scouts, the latter cofounded by William Boyce Mueller, the late gay grandson of the founder of the Boy Scouts of America.
Garyinla
Zach is so well spoken –he should pursue a career in the media…CNN should hire him
Chad
Zach Wahls is a media whore and now a fame whore since he sold out his two moms to market his lame book.
No he’s not the first person to say that the BSA should allow everyone in.
I find it odd that the BSA did not allow openly bisexual or gay members considering the founder Lord Baden Powell was bisexual.
DrewNYC
I agree Zach Wahls acts as though we LGBT people can’t speak out on our own, that LGBT people have not spoken up for our rights and equality, and we need a straight white male to speak out for us, and to get equality for us.
He’s a 1 trick pony and nobody cares that he’s now a media whore and fame whore under the guise of being a straight white male LGBT activist, when in reality he just wants to get fame or media attention for himself. SMH *facepalm*
GC
I absolutely support allies, but the attention this guy is getting is just ridiculous.
Our community yet again fetishizes privilege (well-off heterosexual white man), puts it on a pedestal for the whole world to see and dumps thousands of dollars on it, as if our very own advocates are too “non-mainstream” to show their faces.
Owen
I don’t care, I love listening to a cute articulate young man, whether gay OR straight…