In this Wednesday, June 17, 2015 photo, Boy Scout David Fite, 15, watches a Gay Pride party for youth at the Center on Halsted in Chicago. Fite had earned all the merit badges he needed to become an Eagle Scout, but he still needed to come up with a community service project to be considered for the honor. Troubled for years by scouting's anti-gay policies, the usually quiet kid decided to make some noise with his proposal: He'd honor Chicagoâs gay community, including young people made homeless when their families pushed them out. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)
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CHICAGO (AP) - David Fite had already earned the 21 Boy Scout merit badges needed to earn the coveted rank of Eagle. But he still had to complete a community service project.
Now 16, he'd always been a gung-ho scout, dutiful, polite and committed. But he'd also been disappointed with the organization's longstanding ban on openly gay scouts and leaders, so much so that he'd considered quitting. "I knew it wasn't right," said Fite, who has many family friends who are gay or lesbian - some of them honorary "aunts" and "uncles" who've given him money for camp and other scouting projects over the years.
Instead of leaving his beloved Troop 115, the usually quiet teen decided to make some noise, writing letters and speaking out with other scouts and adults who also opposed the bans. And he knew his Eagle project was his best chance to make a statement. Though the Boy Scouts lifted the ban on openly gay scouts in 2013, the ban on gay leaders remained when laid out his proposal early last year: community service projects in Chicago's main gay and lesbian neighborhood.
It's what a Boy Scout does, he said - stands up for his family and his community.
"In my mind, I knew I was doing the right thing," he said.
His plan had two parts. First, he, family members, including his mother, Jennifer Fite, and grandparents, and a group of volunteers and students at Chicago's Nettelhorst School would decorate around the school for the nearby Gay Pride Parade in June 2015. Then he and his mom would host a meal and dance party and distribute backpacks, transit cards and other gifts for young people who gather regularly for support and socializing at the Center on Halsted, which serves Chicago's lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual residents. Some are homeless or "couch surfing" with friends because their families have kicked them out.
It was shortly after Fite completed his Eagle project that the Boy Scouts lifted their ban on openly gay leaders, too. These changes have not been without controversy. Several religious denominations, including Mormon and Southern Baptist, collectively sponsor close to half of all Scout units. In response to the changes in policies on openly gay scouts and leaders, some churches have considered creating their own scouting organization. Boy Scout officials in states such as Utah also say they've had trouble raising funds since the bans were lifted.
For Fite, part of his Eagle project's purpose was to show the gay community "that not everybody in the Boy Scouts is like that."
In September, he made his final project presentation to the local Scout council, detailing what he had done and showing photos. He entered the session nervously, but emerged smiling broadly: He won final approval. He received his Eagle award at a ceremony at a Roman Catholic Mass last month - and said earning the award on his own terms felt important.
"I'm also proud of the Boy Scout organization for making this change and being the change that other people want to see in the world," he said. "I think it says that if you fight hard enough, you can change anything."
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Martha Irvine, an AP national writer, can be reached at mirvine@ap.org or at http://twitter.com/irvineap
In this Friday, May 15, 2015 photo, Boy Scout David Fite, 15, prepares to hang hand-made cloth streamers with volunteer Carlos Pabon outside the Nettelhorst School in Chicago. With the help of Pabon and others, David decorated the street scene in preparation for the city's nearby Gay Pride Parade. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
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In this Friday, May 15, 2015 photo, students tie cloth strips on a fence outside the Nettelhorst School in Chicago. With the help of the students and other volunteers, Boy Scout David Fite decorated the street scene in preparation for the city's nearby Gay Pride Parade. The school is in the heart of the neighborhood known as Boystown. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
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In this Friday, May 15, 2015 photo, Boy Scout David Fite hangs a disco ball in a tree outside the Nettelhorst School in Chicago for a project in preparation for the city's nearby Gay Pride Parade. In the midst of a ban of openly gay Scout leaders, for Fite, part of his Eagle projectâs purpose was to show the gay community "that not everybody in the Boy Scouts is like that." (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
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In this Wednesday, June 17, 2015 photo, Jasean Purdis, left, laughs with Boy Scout David Fite as David judges a dance competition at a Gay Pride party for youth at the Center on Halsted in Chicago. Among other projects, David, hosted the party to support the city's gay community and earn his Eagle honors. He and his mother also served a meal and gave away prizes, including transit cards, backpacks and other supplies. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)
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In this Sunday, June 28, 2015 photo, parade-goers walk by a decorated school fence on their way to Chicago's Gay Pride Parade. With the help of his family, students at the Nettelhorst School and other volunteers, Boy Scout David Fite decorated the street scene in rainbow colors. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
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In this Sunday, June 28, 2015 photo, Boy Scout David Fite and his mother, Jennifer Fite, right, watch the Chicago Gay Pride Parade. David says he had been disappointed with the Scoutsâ longstanding ban on openly gay scouts and leaders, so much so that heâd considered quitting. "I knew it wasnât right," said Fite, who has many family friends who are gay or lesbian (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
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In this Monday, Sept. 14, 2015 photo, Boy Scout David Fite waits for his chance to present the results of his Eagle project in Chicago. Eagle is the highest rank in the Boy Scouts and is earned when a scout has 21 merit badges and completes a community service project, which he plans and executes. David was nervous because he knew his project, which focused on Chicago's gay community, might be controversial to some people in and outside of scouting. The committee approved his Eagle award, which he received in January 2016. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
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A priest blesses Boy Scout Eagle awards during a Catholic Mass in Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016. David Fite, flanked by two other scouts, was among those who received the Eagle rank at the service. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
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A fellow Eagle scout presents David Fite with his Eagle neckerchief during a ceremony at a Catholic church in Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, as Fite's scoutmaster, Jerome Lasky, stands behind him. To earn Eagle rank, David earned 21 merit badges and organized a two-part community service project to support and help the city's gay community. He started the project when the Scouts' ban on gay leaders was still in place. That ban was lifted in the summer of 2015. David says his motivation was the many family friends he has who are gay or lesbian. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
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David Fite wears his new Eagle award on the left pocket of his Boy Scout shirt in Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016. To earn Eagle rank, David earned 21 merit badges and organized a two-part community service project to support and help the city's gay community. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
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New Eagle scout David Fite, center, and his grandfather, Rich Laue, embrace each other, as David's mother, Jennifer Fite, smiles during a celebration at a Catholic church in Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016. To earn the Boy Scout's highest rank, David earned 21 merit badges and organized a two-part community service project to support and help the city's gay community. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
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In this May 28, 2011 photo provided by Jennifer Fite, her son, David, foreground, stands with family friends during a vacation in St. Petersburg, Fla. David, a longtime Boy Scout, earned 21 merit badges and did a two-part community service project in Chicago's gay community in a quest to earn the coveted rank of Eagle. David says his many family friends who are lesbian or gay - some of these "honorary aunts" included - were part of his motivation for choosing the project. (Courtesy of Jennifer Fite via AP)
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This July 16, 2011 photo provided by Jennifer Fite shows her son, David, 12, in Chicago before heading to Boy Scout camp in Michigan. David first learned about the Boy Scout's bans on openly gay scouts and leaders when he was at camp. He came home and told his mother he wanted to quit. She encouraged him to stay in the scouts, since he loved it so much, and to fight for change within the organization, which he did. (Courtesy of Jennifer Fite via AP)
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In this Friday, May 15, 2015 photo, Boy Scout David Fite stands outside the Nettelhorst School in Chicago. With the help of his family, students at the school and other volunteers, David decorated the street scene in preparation for the city's nearby Gay Pride Parade the following month. The project was part of David's efforts to support the gay community and to earn the rank of Eagle in the Boy Scouts. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)
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