Filmmaker and Eagle Scout Todd Bieber is among the many people recently fighting for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to drop its anti-gay ban. With help from fellow filmmakers from The Onion and The Late Show, Bieber helped a troop of Scouts earn their Cinematography Merit Badge by working with them to produce a short film entitled "Attack of the Evil Mutant Scouts."
The Boy Scouts announced recently that the organization is considering allowing youth members who identify as gay to join the Scouts and would officially vote on the issue at the end of May. The Boy Scouts has not announced any plans to include adult gay members. If the resolution passes, it will allow gay youth to join in Scouting only until they reach the age of 18, at which point they will be asked to leave the organization.
Bieber, who is a writer, filmmaker, podcaster, and who is currently the Creative Director for UCB Comedy, is a perfect example of the many adults who can offer great experiences and learning oppurtunities to youth who are currently unable or unwilling to lead a group of Scouts because of their policies.
GLAAD first started calls for the Boy Scouts of America to end its ban on gay scouts and scout leaders in April 2012 after Jennifer Tyrrell, a mom and den leader from Ohio was removed from her 7-year-old’s Cub Scout Pack for being gay. Tyrrell’s Change.org petition has attracted more than 343,000 signatures in support of ending the Boy Scouts’ ban on gay Scouts and leaders before she began a second petition in response to the BSA's new proposal. For more on GLAAD's work on this campaign, including a timeline of key events and way to take action, visit http://www.glaad.org/scouts and http://www.glaad.org/denmother.
The final cut of "Attack of the Evil Mutant Scouts:"
Behind the scenes documentary short "Gay Filmmakers and Boy Scouts:"