Spirit Day Ambassadors Zach Wahls and Jennifer Tyrrell have both spoken out in support of Ryan Andreson, whose application for Eagle Scout was rejected by the Boy Scouts of America simply because he’s gay.
Wahls, who founded Scouts for Equality, met with Ryan at the Change.org office.
The nation was first introduced to Ryan's story after his mom started a Change.org petition garnering more than 350,000 signatories who agreed that he should receive his Eagle Scout rank. They joined the more than 330,000 individuals who asked the BSA to reinstate Ohio Mom and Spirit Day Ambassador Jennifer Tyrrell, who was kicked out as den leader of her son’s scout troop because she is gay. Tyrrell sent a letter to her local council asking her local leaders to join those around the country who have stood up against discrimination. You can read her letter here.
Tyrrell spoke out in support of Ryan, saying “What happened to Ryan and to me, as well as so many other Americans that we’ve read about over the past few months, has to end.”
Ryan will join Jennifer, Zach and millions of Americans by going on October 19th for Spirit Day. Celebrities like Wendy Williams, Shay Mitchell, and Pauly D are joining landmarks like the New York Stock Exchange and the Reuters building in Times Square by going purple. Even Facebook and the NBA have signed on.
Another Spirit Day Ambassador is encouraging the presidential candidates to come out against bullying by signing a new petition asking them to wear purple on October 19th for Spirit Day.
The petition was created by Katy Butler, who previously created a Change.org petition calling on the MPAA to change the rating of BULLY from ‘R’ to ‘PG-13’. The rating was finally changed, helping bring this important film to young people across the nation.
You can read more about the work GLAAD has been doing with Jennifer and Zach to change the Boy Scouts' anti-gay policies. You can also take the pledge to go purple for Spirit Day and join millions of others standing against bullying.
