Scout official resigns, supports ousted gay leader
BRIDGEPORT, Ohio — A board member for a regional Boy Scouts group has resigned over the removal of a lesbian den mother in eastern Ohio, calling the group’s ban on gays discriminatory.
Parents in Bridgeport have rallied behind Jennifer Tyrrell, saying she was a great leader and they want her back.
David Sims of the Ohio River Valley Council resigned from the council’s board Friday after learning Tyrrell’s story.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation released Sims’ resignation letter. Sims says his family has a long history with the Scouts and that he understands Tyrrell’s removal is legal. But he says that’s not how people should be treated.
The Scouts say that as a private organization they have a right to exclude gays. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the ban.