Lesbian Scout leader ousted; parents upset

Jennifer Tyrrell and her 7-year-old son have had many rewarding experiences with the Boy Scouts of America, but their participation in the national organization came to an end because she is gay, and the group does not allow open or avowed homosexuals in their membership.


Tyrrell learned the news on April 10. The loss has been devastating.
“We were like a family, so in essence … we lost our scouting family, but they also lost two members of their scouting family,” the former Tiger Cubs den leader from Bridgeport, Ohio, told msnbc.com, at points breaking down into tears.
“The best time in our lives we’ve had in the last year, it’s gone … because we can’t be scouts any more. I can’t stop crying,” she later added.

Tyrrell, a 32-year-old stay at home mother of four, said she agreed to become the den master on the day she signed up her son, Cruz Burns, for the local troop, last year. She had concerns about the Boy Scouts' policy against homosexuals, but a Cubmaster said that – locally -- they wouldn’t have problem.
“He said they would stand, you know, hand in hand with us and stand behind us all the way. Well, actually, that's been true,” she said. “I've never had a problem.”
Boy Scouts spokesman Deron Smith said Tyrrell was removed from the program for being in violation of the national policy regarding homosexuals.
“This policy was understood by her and her fellow volunteers, but not followed, upon her registering in the program,” he wrote in an email to msnbc.com.


Tyrrell told parents at their first meeting about her sexual orientation. Some already knew her because she had coached youth baseball and volunteered at school, organizing class parties and reading to children.


"She wasn't trying to hide anything," said Dunn, whose son is among the dozen or so members of the boys-only pack. "Nobody I know of has ever made a single complaint against her."


Tyrrell said she was removed in April, right after she was asked to take over as treasurer of the local Boy Scout troop — which oversees Tiger Scouts, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts — and she raised questions about the finances.


She said the Boy Scout Council for the region told her she had to resign because she is gay.


"In this case, the policy was understood by her and her fellow volunteers but not followed," said Deron Smith, a spokesman for the Boy Scouts of America at its headquarters in Irving, Texas. "When a fellow pack leader made a complaint about it, to a local Scouting professional, they followed the policy."


The organization said it believes Scouting is not the right place for youngsters to be exposed to issues of sexual orientation.


Tyrrell said she is not certain who complained, but she felt betrayed.


So did parents, who organized a protest last week outside the church where the pack held its meetings. They demanded Tyrrell be reinstated.


Crystal Sabinsky said: "My son asked me last night, `Why did Jen leave? Why is she in trouble?' He doesn't understand."

"The only people who were hurt were the kids," Dunn said "They're asking questions they shouldn't have to ask at this point."


Parents of the Tiger Scouts, a program for first-grade boys before they become Cub Scouts, said they never heard Tyrrell mention her sexuality to the children. Club rules require a parent or other adult to accompany each child to every meeting.


"I had no clue she was a lesbian. It doesn't really make a difference to me," said Don Thomas, whose grandson is in the pack. "She did a fantastic job, and the kids loved her. You couldn't ask for a better den leader."


Gay rights groups have taken up Tyrrell's cause, starting an online petition to get the Scouts to change their policy.


"The extent that people care is amazing," Tyrrell said. "We're a perfectly normal family. We're not dangerous. We're not predators. We're just normal, everyday people."