Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Meet Gambian President Jammeh, the Human Rights Violator Next Door

This week, HRC ran a full-page advertisement in the local Potomac, MD newspaper The Gazette highlighting the horrific anti-LGBT human rights abuses of Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. Jammeh owns a home in the suburban community that is reported to be worth $3.5 million. 

“The citizens of Potomac should know that an individual with a truly horrific anti-LGBT human rights record lives just a few doors down from them,” said Ty Cobb, Director of HRC Global. “Those who target LGBT people, throw them in prison, and subject them to torture should not be welcome in our towns, our neighborhoods, or our country. We hope that this ad raises awareness about President Jammeh and the state of human rights in The Gambia.”

In November, HRC condemned the passage of draconian new anti-LGBT legislation that could lead to life in prison for LGBT people in The Gambia. Immediately after signing this into law, Jammeh’s security forces began detaining those they suspected of being LGBT, and torturing them to provide “names” of others. Three LGBT people now await trial for “committing unnatural offenses,” while others have fled.

In December 2014, HRC presented a petition with over 18,000 signatures to the White House, calling on the Obama Administration to take action against President Jammeh, in December 2014. HRC’s call was accompanied by a videohighlighting the abuses of President Jammeh and his anti-LGBT rhetoric. 

Later that month, the White House announced that it had suspended The Gambia’s eligibility for trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA). A White House spokesperson confirmed to BuzzFeed News the connection between that suspension and the human rights situation in The Gambia.

“The United States must send a message to all Gambians -- and others around the world -- that it does not support the human rights abuses being committed by President Yahya Jammeh’s regime,” said Ty Cobb, Director of HRC Global. "The U.S. government can send this critical messages by immediately implementing visa bans on Gambian officials involved in these abuses, and investigating whether the Department of Justice has legal authority to freeze their assets in the United States.”

In January, HRC joined 13 other human rights groups in urging the Obama Administration to take additional action against Gambian leaders following the regime’s ongoing crackdown and persecution of LGBT citizens, and called on it to demand that the Gambian government provide more information about the health and safety of individuals who have been detained on the basis of their sexual orientation.The letter also called on the U.S. government to to bar President Jammeh and his associates from entry to the U.S.; and to consider freezing his assets currently held in the U.S.

Nonetheless, President Jammeh continues to act with impunity, imprisoning an unknown number of LGBT people without charge, while spreading fear throughout his country. He appears to be following up on his declaration last year that “we will fight these vermins called homosexuals or gays the same way we are fighting malaria-causing mosquitoes, if not more aggressively.”

NOM IS NEAR DEATH: HRC REPORTS LACK OF FUNDING AND SUPPORT CRIPPLING THE ORGANIZATION

The Human Rights Campaign issued a press release today that contained results from a study they conducted on the National Organization for Marriage's funding and found the organization is rapidly losing support. HRC examined NOM's tax filings from 2013 and found that the organization's funding for the year dropped a whopping 50 percent from 2012, raising only $5.1 million in funds this year. Only two donors account for donating half of those funds alone, which indicates NOM's support base merely consists of a very few wealthy people and a minuscule amount of the general public.

The NOM Education Fund also dropped nearly $3.5 million in funding; a drop of almost 70 percent since the previous year. NOM ended the year more than $2.5 million in debt. Fred Sainz, the HRC Vice President of Communications, urges NOM to give up the ghost already.

Said Sainz:

“If I were Brian Brown, I’d be worried that my two or three mega-donors are soon going to come to terms with the fact that they’d largely be better off flushing money down the toilet. Americans certainly aren’t buying what NOM is selling, and it’s only a matter of time before the trickle of money keeping the lights on at NOM HQ dries up.”

NOM fought to keep their 2013 990s secret however, HRC made an in-person request for the public financial documents on Monday morning and again Tuesday – in both instances, NOM didn't produce the documents. Federal law requires organizations to publicly release their 990s the same day an in-person request is made. HRC filed a complaint with the IRS in order to force NOM to abide by the law. 

Within the last year NOM suffered crippling blows to its core purpose and mission with the number of states allowing gay marriage jumping from 15 to 33 states, with 62 percent of the nation's population living in states that allow same-sex marriage. Both Democratic and Republican appointed judges are striking down marriage bans and the Supreme Court of the United States judges decreed that federal court rulings granting marriage rights to same-sex couples to become the law of the land in 11 states in the last two years: California, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Kansas, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Indiana, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Recent poll results show that NOM’s radical and exclusionary brand of anti-LGBT rhetoric is falling on deaf ears. An HRC survey of 1,200 registered voters conducted June 6-10 this year by Republican pollster Alex Lundry of TargetPoint Consulting, found that the number of Americans strongly opposed to national marriage equality dropped to 28 percent. Of the people polled, only three percent would challenge the Supreme Court of the United States judges if they struck down marriage bans across the country.

NOM President Brian Brown, realizing his organization is becoming obsolete in the states, took his rhetoric to Russia to support a bill – now law – banning the adoption of Russian children by same-sex couples or parents living in countries where marriage equality is legal. Although Brown would experience success in Russia, NOM's death knell is ringing loud and clear here in the states, but the organization continues to shuffle on like an undead zombie; aimless and spouting incoherent nonsense.

HRC Launches Deep South Television Campaign for LGBT Equality

The Human Rights Campaign today launched the first-ever LGBT public education campaign in the Deep South - All God's Children.

The first television ad features Mary Jane Kennedy, a self-described "Bible-believing born-again Christian," telling the story of her middle son coming out to her as gay and why she thinks people of faith could do a better job embracing the LGBT community.

The Associated Press reports:

TV commercials will begin airing Monday in Jackson, the state's largest city and prime media market, with Kennedy featured as a mom who struggled to understand her own sons' sexuality and believes God loves them, just like everyone else. The commercials also will be available online, as will banner ads on websites.

Other commercials may follow in Alabama and Arkansas depending on the reception and results of the Mississippi campaign. The Mississippi effort — which will cost $310,000 — is part of an $8.5 million, three-year effort launched six months ago in the three states.

Watch the spot,

Human Rights Campaign backs use of daily HIV-prevention pill

The largest U.S. gay-rights organization Saturday endorsed efforts to promote the use of a once-a-day pill to prevent HIV infection and called on insurers to provide more generous coverage of the drug.

HRC headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Some doctors have been reluctant to prescribe the drug, Truvada, on the premise that it might encourage high-risk, unprotected sexual behavior. However, its preventive use has been endorsed by theCenters for Disease Controland Prevention, the World Health Organization, and many HIV/AIDS advocacy groups.

The Human Rights Campaign, which recently has been focusing its gay-rights advocacy on same-sex marriage and anti-discrimination issues, joined those ranks with the release of a policy paper strongly supporting the preventive use of Truvada. It depicted the drug as “a critically important tool” in combatting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

“HRC does not take this position lightly,” the policy paper said. “We recognize there is still ongoing debate … and that there are those out there who will disagree with our stance.”

Truvada has been around for a decade, serving as one of the key drugs used in combination with others as the basic treatment for people with HIV. In 2012, the Food and Drug Administration approved it for pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP – in other words, for use to prevent people from getting sexually transmitted HIV in the first place.

“Today, there is an unprecedented chance to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, in part through PrEP’s aggressive prevention of new HIV infections,” said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “There is no reason – medical or otherwise – to discourage individuals from taking control of their sexual health and talking to their doctor about PrEP.”

The CDC says studies have shown that Truvada, when taken diligently, can reduce the risk of getting HIV by 90 percent or more. Research discussed at the International AIDS Conference in July found that use of the drug does not encourage risky sex and is effective even if people skip some doses.

As part of its announcement, the Human Rights Campaign called on insurers, regulators and Truvada’s manufacturer to take steps to reduce costs, raise public awareness, and make the option available to all medically qualified individuals who could benefit from it, regardless of ability to pay.

CONTINUE READING

HRC Head Chad Griffin: Obama Should Consider LGBT Successor To Eric Holder

"Some Attorneys General wait for history, others make history happen. Attorney General Holder made history for the LGBT community. He was our Robert F. Kennedy, lightening the burden of every American who faces legal discrimination and social oppression. We owe him a profound debt of gratitude for his legacy of advocacy and service. President Obama faces a historic opportunity in light of Attorney General Holder's departure. The President has expressed a commitment to appointing a cabinet that reflects the full diversity of the American people, and there are many richly-qualified candidates available to serve as the first openly-LGBT cabinet secretary. It would be a natural extension of this administration's enduring commitment to equality to send a message of visibility and inclusion by nominating such a candidate to serve in this historic role." - Human Rights Campaign Chad Griffin, via email.

Vice President Joe Biden Blasts Global Human Rights Abuses Against LGBT People

Vice President Joe Biden delivered a powerful speech to approximately 1,000 folks at the Human Rights Campaign Gala in Los Angeles last night focusing on the still-unpassed Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the importance of promoting LGBT rights internationally.

The Washington Blade reports:

“I travelled to most countries in the world, and I can tell you, they’re looking to us as an example, as a champion of LGBT rights everywhere,” Biden said during his 30-minute speech.

Noting that being gay is illegal in 80 countries, Biden laid out the challenges faced by LGBT people overseas. In places like in Jamaica, he decried the practice of “corrective rape” for lesbians, and was critical of the anti-gay law in Nigeria that makes entering into same-sex marriage or supporting LGBT rights punishable with time in prison.

The vice president also criticized Russia, which has recently been condemned by the United States by military incursion into Ukraine, over its law banning pro-gay propaganda to minors.

“By the way, as the great Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov said, ‘A country that does not respect the rights of its citizens will not respect the rights of its neighbors,’ and we’re seeing that today in Ukraine,” Biden said.

Buzzfeed adds that Biden also called the anti-gay discrimination in the U.S. "barbaric":

“Hate can never be defended because it’s a so-called cultural norm,” he said. “I’ve had it up to here with cultural norms.”

He called on Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, which would outlaw discrimination by most private employers against people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

HRC Blasts Brian Brown, Scott Lively, and Paul Cameron Over Anti-Gay Deeds in Russia

HRC's Corporate Equality Index Shows Southern Companies Evolving On Gay Rights

In the early 90s, Southern restaurant chain Cracker Barrel drew criticism from gay-rights activists for firing openly gay employees under a policy that required workers to display “normal heterosexual values which have been the foundation of families in our society.”

The company's policies largely reflected the times. Sodomy was still a crime, and it was legal in many parts of the country -- and continues to be today -- to fire someone based on their sexual orientation. But experts say that Cracker Barrel's stance has evolved, a sign that the movement's victories go beyond the big cities of the coasts and the Midwest.

In an annual survey assessing corporate practices relevant to LGBT employees published this week by Human Rights Campaign, Cracker Barrel was given a score of 45 out of 100, a 10-point boost from the previous year. The survey from the national gay rights group examines the largest businesses in the United States, and gives a score based on a range of practices, including drafting an anti-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation and gender identity, and creating LGBT employee affinity groups.

According to the campaign's report, called the Corporate Equality Index, this year corporations around the United States reached new heights in their support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers; 304 businesses achieved a top rating of 100, more than any previous year. In 2002, the first year the survey was conducted, just 13 companies achieved a perfect score. Most significantly, hundreds of major businesses weighed in during 2013 on public policy decisions either by signing an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, or by joining a coalition of companies publicly supporting an federal anti-gay workplace discrimination bill.

Although companies like Texas-based Exxon Mobil -- where executives have repeatedly ignored shareholder pressure to protect gay and lesbian employees from discrimination -- and the Georgia fried-chicken chain Chick-fil-A -- whose president stated that legalizing same-sex marriage "invited God's judgement" -- continue to make headlines for their opposition to gay rights, a slow, but steadily growing trend is reshaping business practices across the South.

"This rising tide of LGBT corporate engagement has picked up previously unlikely boats in the form of dozens of businesses across the South and Midwest taking initial steps," HRC's report says.

Deena Fidas helps run the Corporate Equality Index, and often travels to the South to help companies -- including Cracker Barrel -- seeking to improve their ratings. She said she believes companies approach the issue by assessing whether these changes improve their businesses, instead of weighing moral or political values.

"When you strip away some of the language around social issues, you see that where many Southern businesses have landed is a viewpoint, backed up by their own policies and practices, that LGBT equality makes the most sense for them as a business," she said.

Several Southern-based companies that have improved their scores in recent years confirm this attitude.

"Our mission is about pleasing people," said Terry Deas, Cracker Barrel's director of diversity and outreach told The Huffington Post. In 2013, the company focused on adding LGBT content to its employee training seminars, participating in local LGBT educational events, and trying to recruit more LGBT employees and partner with LGBT-owned companies. "It was all about living the mission of our company."

Deas declined to talk about the company's policies more than 20 years ago when gay employees were fired if their sexual orientation was revealed, because he said he has only been with the company for a year and a half.

Darden Restaurants, a Florida-based restaurant company that owns brands including Red Lobster and Olive Garden, received the full 100 points on the index last year for the first time. Darden executive Samir Gupte said the improvements Darden has made in the last several years were integral to the company's bottom line. "If we don't create an environment where everyone can bring their true self to work, we're going to miss engaging our employees, retaining the best people in the business and then delivering a great guest experience," Gupte said.

The idea that businesses must be LGBT friendly to compete in the global marketplace is as good a marker as any to measure the success of the gay-rights movement, said Bob Witeck, a gay-rights advocate and communications expert who specializes in working with corporations to improve their policies.

"When I started about 20 year ago, companies saw this as far more risk-far less reward. They thought they'd be giving up more than they'd gain," he said. "Today that equation has flipped and clearly corporations get it."

Although nearly all conservative Southern politicians remain set against legalizing gay marriage, or protecting gay employees in the workplace, Fidas said that in her work with Southern companies she does see signs that voters are shifting faster than their elected officials. At a recent training session in Atlanta on LGBT workplace diversity, she asked the employees of various corporations in the audience to share their earliest memories of learning about LGBT people. One woman shared that her father was a Baptist minister and that as a little girl, she and her friends were told that certain musicians and choir members in the church were "like that" -- meaning gay.

"Her reference point was that they showed respect for gay people by never acknowledging that they knew they were gay," Fidas said. "What I think you're seeing is some workplaces' policies and benefits catching up with these evolving understandings of the LGBT community and the fact that these have always been our friends, our neighbors and family members."

National Organization for Marriage's Political Advocacy Arm Ended 2012 With a $2.7 Million Deficit

Yesterday, we reported that the Human Rights Campaign had filed a complaint with the IRS to compel the National Organization for Marriage to publicly release financial documents related to its political advocacy spending in 2012. With the reports now published and viewable on their site as a result of the complaint, it appears NOM may have been hiding the information because of the revelation that the organization found itself more than $2.7 million in the red as a result of its political advocacy arm's spending. You'll recall 2012 being a disappointing year for gay marriage opponents, with pro-equality victories in four of the five same-sex marriage ballot measures by year's end. Buzzfeed breaks down more of the reports' findings:

The organization raised nearly $14.5 million in contributions, with the bulk of it - more than $9.4 million - going to the political advocacy arm. The advocacy arm also reported receiving more than $1.6 million in reimbursement of expenses.

Although the names of the donors are redacted, the largest donor to NOM was a person who gave the organization's political advocacy arm more than $2.6 million. Another donor gave $1.9 million to the political advocacy arm, while a third game $1.5 million.

The second largest donor to the organization gave $2 million to the educational arm, while another gave a little more than $1 million. 

The political advocacy arm - a 501(c)(4) organization - reported more than $13 million in expenses, with the education arm - a 501(c)(3) organization - reporting a little less than $3.5 million in expenses

.

The organization contributed more than $1 million to the ballot referendum campaigns in Maryland and Washington, as well as to the campaign for a marriage amendment in Minnesota. The organization gave more than $1 million to the "NOM ME Fund," presumably its contribution to fighting the Maine marriage equality initiative.

NOM's sole 2012 ballot victory occurred in May, when North Carolina voters approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

HRC: NOM Illegally Withholding 2012 Tax Records

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is once again illegally withholding key financial tax documents from the public, HRC reports: 

 

Federal law requires organizations to publicly release their 990s the same day an in-person request is made. As a result, HRC has filed a complaint with the IRS in order to compel NOM to abide by the law.

“NOM’s inability to meet one of the most basic accounting standards for any organization makes you wonder what exactly is going on – are they simply demonstrating the same flagrant disregard they have for numerous state campaign finance laws, or is there something in these documents that reflects even more poorly on the organization and their failed work?” said Fred Sainz, HRC Vice President of Communications. “Brian Brown apparently had enough time on Friday to pull together a fundraising email feigning outrage at the marriage equality victory in Hawaii, but didn’t have time to ensure his organization was running in accordance with the law. NOM should do the right thing and immediately release these financial documents that the public has a right to see.”

They add:

According to NOM’s 2011 990s, obtained by HRC last year, the anti-LGBT organization raised only $6.2 million, a precipitous drop from the $9.1 million it raised in 2010. The documents also revealed that nearly 75 percent of NOM’s fundraising came from just two deep-pocketed donors.

What are they hiding this year?

Cindy McCain Petitions John McCain to Support ENDA

An HRC organizer nabbed Cindy McCain at a Staples in Phoenix, and got her to sign a petition on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), and send it to her husband, the Washington Post reports:

Arizona is a key state, since activists are targeting both McCain and his fellow Republican Sen. Jeff Flake; McCain has opposed the bill in the past, while Flake has not voted on the issue since taking office in January...

...At the moment, it does not appear that Cindy McCain has changed her husband's mind. In an e-mail, McCain's spokesman Brian Rogers wrote, "Senator McCain enjoys and appreciates having discussions on the important issues of the day with all the members of his family, and he respects their views."

Some bigots are really hard to turn.

HRC Responses to NOM President’s Moscow Trip

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) issued a press release on Thursday in response to recent news of National Organization of Marriage (NOM) president Brian Brown’s visit to Moscow in support of the passage of anti-gay legislation.

"This goes well beyond marriage," said Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin. "Apparently NOM is expanding its portfolio to include the international persecution of LGBT people. We knew that Brian Brown had it out for gay people in America, but it’s now become clear that he’s hell-bent on ruining the lives of gays and lesbians worldwide." Full story here!

From Coke To Visa, HRC Gets Tough With Top Sponsors Of Sochi Olympics

Human Rights Campaign (HRC) president Chad Griffin is getting tough with sponsors of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Griffin last night sent a strongly-worded letter to ten top corporate sponsors who are spending vast sums to align their brands with what is quickly becoming a tarnished one: the Olympics.

“Your logos and marketing will appear alongside every event, indelibly linking your brand to what happens in Sochi,” Griffin told the CEOs. “By staying quiet at this moment you run the risk of being associated with profoundly anti-LGBT behavior.

HRC is asking CEOs from Dow Chemical, Coca Cola, General Electric, McDonalds, Proctor & Gamble, Panasonic, Samsung, Omega, Visa, and Atos to do the following:

1. Adopt a clear and unequivocal public position in opposition to anti-LGBT laws like the one adopted by the Russian government.

2. Denounce targeted violence against LGBT people in Russia and demand investigation and accountability from Russian authorities.

3. Ask the IOC to obtain concrete, written commitments from the Russian government about the safety of international Olympic athletes and attendees—and urge the IOC to reject future Olympic bids from countries with laws that outlaw support for LGBT equality.

4. Affirm unequivocal support for non-discrimination and equality, and ensure that policies and practices reflect this commitment.

5. Put marketing and creative advertising resources to use—helping to build awareness and demonstrate support for LGBT equality in Russia and globally.

6. Support the local LGBT community in Russia.

Griffin notes “there is a shadow over the 2014 Winter Olympic Games…generated by the documented hate-based violence against lesbian, gay bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Russia.” And he specifically points to Russian president Vladimir Putin and his war on gays as the cause, citing his “draconian laws.”

Brian Brown is in denial. And not the river in Egypt.

Human Rights Campaign president is pure joy. It just radiates from his being. And why shouldn't it? This has been a truly amazing week (and Pride month) for every LGBT person and supportive ally. The gains are almost too tremendous to process!

Then there's National Organization for Marriage president Brian Brown. Watch both gents, as they appeared on this morning's edition of This Week with George Stephanopolous :

Clown Car of Anti-Gay Hate Group Leaders Unloads in Front of HRC Headquarters: VIDEO

The Human Rights Campaign has posted a highlight video of Peter "Porno Pete" LaBarbera's parade of jokers who picketed in front of its headquarters yesterday.
Have a laugh.
Some choice quotes from LaBarbera:

"The escalation of homosexual power is bad for America....The deviant sexual revolution represented by the HRC headquarters behind us is built on a foundation of lies....You could fill a small book with the fake gay hate crimes that have been staged over the years....Most sins don't get their own Pride parade."

From Mission America's Linda Harvey:

"And children will be led into darkness, deception, and sin... HRC wants children to embrace the stress and anxiety of gender confusion. How wicked."

From Diane Gromley, American Family Association:

"What is their to be proud of when the sexual activity in which one chooses to engage leads to increased health risk and early death...Gay is definitely not okay as the human body responds to being misused during unnatural homosexual sex."

From Patrick Mangan, Citizens for Community Values of Indiana:

"There are thousands of former homosexuals in our country today and it is estimated that there are more who have come out of it than are in it....This is not a civil right. What is being asked for is special rights...blah blah blah The Poison Tree."

Also Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber and Eric Holmberg of Apologetics Group.

NOM’s Penchant for Insulting Same-Sex Parents Hits New Low

Brian Brown compares loving gay and lesbian parents to families hit by divorce, death

04/25/2013

Washington – The so-called National Organization for Marriage president, Brian Brown, hit a new low yesterday, responding to the passage of a marriage equality bill in the Rhode Island state Senate by proclaiming: "It's bad enough when families break down through divorce or death, but it's unconscionable when a state encourages this through policies that deprive children of the love of both a mother and a father. This is a very sad day for Rhode Island."

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, called on Brown to issue an immediate apology for ridiculing no less than two million parents.

“Brian Brown should apologize immediately– this represents a new low even for someone who has made a career out of demeaning LGBT people and their families,” said Griffin. “Same-sex parents are raising two million kids across this country. Brian Brown owes an explanation to those families as to why, in his eyes, they are not worthy of the same dignity, rights, and protections as other families.”

No credible scientific research has given any credence to arguments that children of same-sex parents are at any sort of disadvantage. Just last month, the independent and non-partisan American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) endorsed marriage equality precisely because it’s good for kids. The well-respected group said that marriage, as well as adoption, helps protect children’s right to maintain relationships with both parents, eligibility for health benefits, and financial security. Other prominent groups supporting same-sex adoption include the Child Welfare League of America, the National Adoption Center, and the National Association of Social Workers.

Thoughts on this?

I personally don't think they went far enough. But at least it is a step in the right direction. I just hope that gay scouts without supportive leaders will be subject to bullying.

Boy Scouts from Troop 1367 participate in a flag retirement ceremony in Woodbridge, Va., June 14, 2011. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post/Getty Images)

By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer

NEW YORK April 19, 2013 (AP)

Searching for compromise on a divisive issue, the Boy Scouts of America is proposing to partially lift its long-standing exclusion of gays — allowing them as youth members but continuing to bar them as adult leaders.

The proposal, unveiled Friday after weeks of private leadership deliberations, will be submitted to the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA's National Council during the week of May 20 at a meeting in Texas.

The key part of the resolution says no youth may be denied membership in the Scouts "on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone." A ban would continue on leadership roles for adults who are openly gay or lesbian.

Gay-rights groups, which had demanded a complete lifting of the ban, criticized the proposal as inadequate.

"Until every parent and young person have the same opportunity to serve, the Boy Scouts will continue to see a decline in both membership and donations," said Rich Ferraro, a spokesman for the gay-rights watchdog group GLAAD.

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said the BSA was too timid.

"What message does this resolution send to the gay Eagle Scout who, as an adult, wants to continue a lifetime of Scouting by becoming a troop leader?" he asked. More