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As an adult, Eagle Scout Brian Peffly chose to continue a role in scouting as an assistant scoutmaster in his suburban Columbus troop. But Boy Scouts of America recently notified Peffly that it no longer will allow him to be a part of the organization.

(Brian Peffly)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- As a scout, Brian Peffly achieved Boy Scouts of America's highest rank, earning his Eagle Scout award.

As an adult, he chose to continue a role in scouting as a volunteer assistant scoutmaster in his suburban Columbus troop.

But Boy Scouts of America recently notified Peffly that it no longer will allow him to be a part of the organization, a decision he says is tied to its policy that bars openly gay adult leaders from having any role in scouting.

Now he hopes he and others like him can prod the 105-year-old organization to change what he views as BSA's discriminatory targeting of members of the LGBT community.

"I'm not going to take this lying down. I'm not going to take this quietly," Peffly said. "I want the whole country to see the effects of this discrimination."

A national issue

Peffly is one of many adults around the country who Boy Scouts of America has barred from a role in scouting because of their sexual orientation, said Zach Wahls, executive director for Scouts for Equality and an Eagle Scout himself. Scouts for Equality advocates an end to the ban on gay leaders, a change that Wahls hopes BSA could take up later this month.

"What happened to Brian is still part of a national pattern of discrimination, absolutely," Wahls said.

Boy Scouts of America had little comment on Peffly's case.

"While it is never our desire to remove anyone from scouting, this individual indicated he does not meet the requirements for a volunteer adult leadership position," a spokeswoman said in a statement.

Until recently, BSA denied membership to scouts and adult leaders who were openly gay. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the policy in a 5-4 ruling in 2000.

That changed, beginning with 2014, when BSA changed its membership standards to specifically allow openly gay scouts. But the ban on openly gay adults remains.

The policy takes a "don't ask, don't tell" approach.

"While the BSA does not proactively inquire about sexual orientation of employees, volunteers, or members, 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," the organization's adult leadership standards say.

A policy criticized



In Peffly's view, the policy is hypocritical.

A 17-year-old gay scout could be honored with his Eagle Scout award, scouting's highest rank. But the day he turns 18, he no longer is welcome.

That happened to Tanner Moody, an Eagle Scout from Oklahoma. Wahls said Moody contacted him about his case just a few weeks ago. Moody earned his Eagle Scout award in January 2014 and turned 18 the following month.

His scouting skills make him attractive to summer camps looking for staff help, but he initially turned down offers of employment. This year, though, he accepted a post. But when he told the camp director that he was gay, the job offer was rescinded.

In April, the Greater New York Councils, the local umbrella group for Boy Scouts in the New York City's five boroughs, announced it was hiring openly gay Pascal Tessier, an 18-year-old Eagle Scout, to work at one of its summer camps, defying the national policy.

"This young man applied for a job. We judged his application on the merits. He's highly qualified. We said yes to him irrespective of his sexual orientation," Richard G. Mason, a board member of the Greater New York Councils, told The New York Times.

A national BSA spokesman told The Times its stance on openly gay leaders had not changed and that Boy Scouts of America would be looking into the situation.

A few weeks later, though, the New York State attorney general's office said it would investigate Boy Scouts of America's hiring practices to determine whether BSA, as an employer, had violated a New York law that prohibits refusing to hire a person based on sexual orientation and forbids discrimination on the job.

Ohio does not have such a law.

Last year Boy Scouts of America revoked the charter of a Cub Scout pack and Boy Scout troop in Seattle when the sponsoring church organization defied the national organization and refused to replace a scoutmaster who was openly gay. Scouts in the pack and troop were told they could transfer to other units.

Revoked via voicemail

In Peffly's case, he learned his membership was revoked through a voicemail on his cell phone.

"Due to issues with your ability to comply with some of our rules and regulations, we're going to have to be revoking your registration in the Boy Scouts," Steve McGowan, general counsel for Boy Scouts of America, said in the message.

A subsequent letter from McGowan didn't elaborate.

"As I indicated in my phone message, when someone states they do not comply with policies of the Boy Scouts of America, regardless of the topic, they may no longer be considered for a volunteer adult leadership position in the organization."

But Peffly knows it is because he is openly gay.

Peffly, who also leads the Columbus-area Scouts For Equality chapter, spoke with a local television reporter about the Seattle case and acknowledged then that he was gay. The Simon Kenton Council, the governing body for scouting in Greater Columbus and 18 counties in Ohio and Kentucky, contacted Peffly's troop the next day, he said.

A young Brian Peffly is presented with his Eagle Scout award at a Court of Honor in 1996. Peffly, who is openly gay, was recently told by Boy Scouts of America he could not longer hold an assistant scoutmaster with his old troop,

Longtime role in scouting

Peffly, 35, has been involved in scouting for much of his life. He began as a Cub Scout nearly three decades ago. He earned his Eagle Scout award in 1996.

As an adult, he left scouting for some time over its issues with allowing gay members or leaders.

"It personally hurt to be involved with an organization that was actively seeking to oppress people like me," he said.

But at the invitation of people in his troop, he became involved again in early 2014.

That's also when he helped form the Simon Kenton chapter of Scouts for Equality. It is aligned with the national organization's goal to see the policy changed for the betterment of scouting.

"If the Boy Scouts discriminated against blacks or any other persons of color, they would not exist today. The same will be true with LBGT leaders," he said. "I think the more human faces that we can put on this issue, the more people will see that this really does affect a lot of people and it's wrong."

Council in a quandary

On its website, the Simon Kenton Council has posted a statement on diversity that is in opposition to the national organization's policy. It was adopted by the council in September.

"The Simon Kenton Council does not believe in denying membership in our program to a youth or adult leader on the basis of sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, or economic status," it says.

Wahls, of Scouts for Equality, said he hoped the council would speak up on Peffly's behalf, just as the New York council took a stand.

"The statement is clear. The council has said the right thing," he said. "They've clearly taken an inclusive position. The question now is will they continue to take this position, now that the hypothetical is no longer hypothetical."

But the council's chief executive, in a statement, said it cannot get involved.

"After carefully reviewing this matter, the National Council took action to revoke this individual's registration and remove him from the organization. We recognize that the actions of the National Council do not reflect our recently adopted Statement of Diversity, but as members of our national organization, we are bound by its policies," said Scout Executive Jeff Moe.

"It is never our desire to see an individual removed from Scouting," Moe said. "Our Statement on Diversity remains aspirational and we will continue to work toward change to better reflect the communities we serve in the Simon Kenton Council."

Pressing for change

Wahls is hopeful that cases like Peffly's and like Tessier's in New York will force discussion at the national level, perhaps as early as later this month. Boy Scouts of America's national annual meeting opens May 20 in Atlanta.

The hope is that someone will propose a resolution to change the anti-gay policy, Wahls said. It could then be studied and acted upon next year.

"There's a real possibility that it could enter the conversation," Wahls said. "We think that is increasingly likely, given what happened up in New York, given Brian's situation. This is clearly not going away."

Peffly says his hope is that scouting acts sooner, rather than later, so that it can make the change with honor.

"If they wait until they have no other option, there is no honor in doing the right thing and this will further tarnish all that scouting stands for," he said.