Identical twin brothers August and Liam Easton-Calabriaand have spent their lives in the Boy Scouts, but now that they are eighteen years old, only one of them will be allowed to participate in the Scouts.
That’s because Liam happens to be gay, and while the organization has budged in recent years to allow openly gay scouts, their ban on gay adults seems all but iron clad.
Now August has launched a Change.org petition “to demonstrate support for dropping the antigay ban.”
“In the eyes of the BSA, I am worthy to share Scouting with my children, but he is not,” August writes. “This heartbreaking consequence for Liam, me, and our parents goes against all I learned in Scouting.”
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
August and Liam have both reached Eagle Scout, the highest rank available, and while many Eagle Scouts go on to participate as leaders, it’s the end of the road for Liam until the Scouts evolve.
Related: After A Year Of Advocating For Acceptance, Gay Teen Becomes First To Achieve Eagle Scout
“Liam took on the responsibility of Patrol Leader at age 14,” adds August. “After two years, the Scouts in our Troop elected Liam as their Senior Patrol Leader. He earned the admiration and loyalty of our fellow Scouts because of his integrity. The fact that Liam is gay did not affect his relationship with anyone. It has nothing to do with the content of his character.”
Many scouts and former scouts have added words of support in the comments section of the petition.
“I am an eagle scout and I believe that a persons sexual orientation has no effect on their leadership abilities,” said Michael Murphy from Yucaipa, CA.
Bill Houston from Yellow Springs, OH became an Eagle Scout 71 years ago in 1944 said, “I think it’s important to remove all vestiges of homophobia in the scouting movement.”
Head here to add your signature to the petition.
h/t GayStarNews
M J Martinez Crogan
Welcome to CHRISTIANITY, where hate, bigotry and intolerance is PROMOTED
huckchuck
This is a bit off topic, but I find the story interesting because they are identical twin brothers but only one is gay. Their being identical means their DNA is exactly the same, as they started as one but the fertilized egg split in two thus creating twins. So what is interesting is that they provide evidence suggesting that being gay is, at least to some degree, a trait that is socialized and not necessarily a “born with it” thing. One’s DNA may play a part, and I’m sure it does, but it’s not the whole picture. I am not saying it’s a choice by any means, I certainly did not chose to be gay, it just was so, but the evidence suggests that I was socialized to be so (and evidence suggests this happens at a very early age). That would be the nurture side of the nature vs nurture argument. Anyways, I just thought that was interesting.
Not trying to cause controversy:)
Paco
@huckchuck: They might share the same genetic code, but conditions in the womb can cause certain genes to be expressed differently between the twins. At least, that is what a quick google search revealed. I haven’t researched it deeply.
MacAdvisor
@huckchuck:
Though you do not want to start a controversy, I fear you will be flamed unmercifully. I hope not and ask others to be respectful of huckchuck’s views.
As I understand the science currently, there is a genetic predisposition, but the strongest determining factor is the release by the mother of certain hormones during development in the womb. Hormones do not reach twins equally in the womb and so certain ones may have a greater impact on one twin more than the other. While this effect is technical an environmental one, not genetic, it happens prior to birth.
Realitycheck
@huckchuck:
Not necessarily so, in fact studies have shown that the vast majority
of twins are both gay if one of the two is gay, there are how ever variables at work, and the science of DNA is still very young.
Considering how both environment and parents have been discarded a long time ago as the cause of being gay, I would stick with DNA and hormones.
Cautioning that Hormones alone are not the cause, as that has also been discarded after many studies as the cause of being gay.
At what point people will realize that either you are gay to begin with or
you are not? Really!!!
I am gay, always was, and always will be, never had any sexual interest in
females, and never will, I think some people mistakes shades of bisexualities
as gay and hence bring forth all kind of theories.
Alan down in Florida
Genetics is very complicated. You can have the same genes but they do not necessarily both turn on (or off). For example there are identical twins in which one is a ginger and the other is not.
Andres Burrows-Garibay
Ian Sharp
jimstoic
@huckchuck: The book “The Missing Myth: A New Vision of Same-Sex Love” delves into the issue of identical twins with different sexualities. “First of all, identical twins are not as identical as we previously thought. The genome is not the static database scientists believed it was. It is, on the contrary, a surprisingly dynamic structure. The expression of numerous genes gets modified and sometimes even impaired through a mechanism that is called ‘imprinting.’ It has been recently shown that the imprinting process modifies the genome of each twin in an unequal fashion. While identical twins start with perfectly identical genetic information, differences in gene imprinting will accumulate throughout their lifetime. This means that identical twins no longer constitute the perfect genetic duplicates we thought they were and we should no longer expect a 100% match between them.”
The book looks at homosexuality as evolutionarily valuable for humankind, society, etc. The author suggests the presence of a biological switch that does not make one gay, but makes one potentially gay. It’s difficult to explain in a comment, especially since I’ve read only the first third of the book (I’m reading it now), but it supports the idea that homosexuality could be biologically rooted without requiring that it be genetically predetermined.
http://www.amazon.com/Missing-Myth-Vision-Same-Sex-Love-ebook/dp/B00BJSB11O/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=
footwork61
@huckchuck: Look up “epigenetics.” It is the science of gene expression. Science is showing that environmental exposure to a variety of things (food, chemicals, stress, infections etc.) can cause genes to change the way they function or if they are active at all.
Also, although the vast majority of science concludes that sexual orientation is an “innate characteristic,” very few believe that it is strictly physiological or genetic in nature. Love is a many-splendored thing.
aliengod
@huckchuck is right, being gay is more about socialization than genetics. However, you’re all missing the point here. Please sign the petition and let the BSA know that this rule needs to be changed.
jwtraveler
@huckchuck: How do you know they are identical? It doesn’t say that anywhere in the story. Also, one of them wears glasses and the other doesn’t. Apparently they don’t have the same eyesight genes.
transiteer
American Scouting is run by and paid for by Christian religious cults. They promote intolerance, hate, ignorance and promote stupidity as long as it’s compliant. Why would this be allowed to be? You can learn more about honesty, ethics, honour and respect, compassion and charity watching Star Wars movies than any of the fairy stories in religion.
Andrew Kalange
Dude, that’s cool
Antony Nguyen
Geez whiz i think along time ago a really nice boy jesse c. Protested scouting for all it was my first time at sf gay pride was so long ago yet its fresh in my mind someone that was not gay but believed in rights that and mary from concord mother lgbt of pflag, still sticks in my mind that i matter so thanks ! ð??¢ yes cant watch prayers for bobby the part where she sees and hugs her son but not her son during the parade total mess i am !
jockjack5
Well, at least he reached the pinnacle of scouting, the Eagle Badge.
Sort of like getting your 4th-Star in the military I suppose.
For me, too much of my scouting fun occurred during the over-night sleep-outs on cold chilly nights when we had to crawl inside each other’s sleeping-bags to, uh, keep warm. I was always too exhausted the next day to work on any Eagle Badge projects!
crowebobby
@jwtraveler: The opening sentence reads: Identical twin brothers August and Liam Easton-Calabriaand…
vive
@Realitycheck: “…studies have shown that the vast majority
of twins are both gay if one of the two is gay…”
No, not the vast majority. If one identical twin is gay, the chances are about 50% that the other is too.
jwtraveler
@crowebobby: Oops. I missed that. I still wonder about the eyesight, though.
bramos
@transiteer: At least in my troop, running through a Catholic church, none of those values come up at all. I am currently working towards my Eagle, and not once have I encountered any intolerance in my group; my leader knows I’m out and respects that, as do the other adults and Scouts old enough to grasp the concept (our youngest Scouts are 11-12). However, I cannot say the same other troops. At camps and other events with multiple troops, I can clearly see the homophobia rampant in both Scouts and adults alike. I even got yelled at by a leader from another troop for giving my friend a piggy-back ride. Depending on the group of guys you’re with, staying closeted will be the worst experience of Scouting. Once it’s off your back (if you’re lucky enough to be supported by a few), its smooth sailing.
Religion, while mentioned in the Scout Oath and Law recited at every meeting, is not that prevalent of a part in the program as one might think. The most religious experience I have had is a nondenominational prayer service and grace before meals. If anything, its the adults who would push it more than Scouting itself. Scouting promotes religion as essential to formation of a healthy mind and moral standing, but nothing more.
I am lucky to live in suburban Maryland, as liberal as they come. Scouting has taught me many important skills (Leadership, teamwork, compassion and the general first aid/outdoorsman stuff) that could not have been built the way they are without the program in my life. I do not support the BSA’s stance on LGBT Scouts, and I don’t plan on telling the Eagle board (3-6 Adults reviewing your experience in Scouting and testing you on what you’ve learned) I am gay. Your sexuality does not hinder your ability to do anything else, in Scouting or any field.
nyambura98
@jwtraveler: But the very first sentence of the article says “Identical twin brothers August and Liam Easton-Calabriaand have spent their lives in the Boy Scouts, but now that they are eighteen years old, only one of them will be allowed to participate in the Scouts.