Scout leader ousted from troop after she was discovered to be a lesbian after six years of service

A lesbian mother has been kicked out as a leader of her son's Boy Scout troop because of her sexuality.



Denise Steele ran her 12-year-old son's scout group for six years, during which time they won the Blue and Gold Award, one of the highest achievements for Boy Scouts, every year.

But now she has been removed from the troop after one of her fellow assistant scoutmasters discovered she had a woman partner, according to the Loudoun Times in Virginia.

Kicked out: Denise Steele (second from right) lost her job as scout leader after her relationship with Jackie Funk (far right) was discovered. Her children are Jaden, 9, (far left) and Jackson Steele, 12

Ms Steele has been involved in a domestic partnership with Jackie Funk for nearly 20 years and the couple live in Potomac Falls with children Jackson, 12, and Jaden, 9, as well as Ms Steele's nephew Will, 10.



Although the Boy Scout leader made no secret of her homosexuality, it was never an issue until she helped take the boys away on a camping trip.

'Some of the guys would come down and ask her advice,' Ms Funk told the Times. 'Being a woman, forget about the gay part, it didn't matter.



They respected her for her commitment and what she offered and how much she put into it. They respected her.'



Ms Steele went on to help run the local Boy Scouts after starting out as a den leader for Jackson's Cub Scout troop.

And there was no problem initially when she signed on to train as an assistant leader for the Boy Scout group, even though it was chartered by the conservative Christian Fellowship Church.

Love: A note Jaden Steele wrote for her mothers, who have been a couple for 19 years, is on the refrigerator next to photos of her brother Jackson

She completed the course that usually takes up to a year in just three weeks and was said to be enjoying supporting her son and his friends.



But questions were raised after Ms Funk came to pick her up at the end of a weekend camp out.



According to the Times, another assistant scoutmaster Skip Inabinett, discovered Ms Steele was a lesbian and claimed that was grounds for her removal.



Ms Steele and Ms Funk claimed to the local newspaper that Inabinett 'bullied' the lesbian scoutmaster, saying her sexuality was a sin, and urged the national Boy Scouts of America organisation to get rid of her.

Ousted: Denise Steele was sacked as scout leader after six years of service



The Boy Scouts organisation says it believes that 'open homosexuality is inconsistent with its values' and recommends that parents and sponsors share that belief.

'There is no next step for us. She's removed permanently. Issues like this get awareness,” Ms Funk said.



'The only way the Boy Scouts are going to change is if it impacts your wallet, donations go down because of this or they continue to see a drop of enrollment.



'At some point, if they recognize that their beliefs and their lack of being open and inclusive is affecting them, eventually that's going to be the only way they are going to change.'



'I think it's disappointing – it's a sad day for Boy Scouting. I think the actions are really out of sync of what scouting stands for,' Eric Ianson, a friend of Ms Steele's and an Eagle Scout, told the Times.

