Boy Scout camp leader Derek Nance has released a YouTube video in which he reveals he is gay and encourages other gay members of the organization to follow his lead.
Part of the Mataguay Scout Ranch for 10 years, Nance worked his way up from outdoor skills instructor to the camp’s program director. While Nance is “out” to his friends and family, he had hidden his sexuality from his co-workers due to the Boy Scouts of America’s anti-gay policy. The 102-year-old organization reaffirmed this discriminatory policy last summer when the BSA’s spokesperson, Deron Smith, said being anti-gay was “absolutely the best policy.”
Nance says Tim Griffin, a former Scout who was fired last year for being gay, was the catalyst for his personal admission.
In the video below, Nance says,
“The only way we will change the Boy Scouts’ discriminatory policies is if those of us who are on the front lines representing them to thousands of Scouts every single summer start engaging in some open dialogue on this issue. Lawsuits by the ACLU or confidential reviews by the Boy Scouts are not going to change policies. The first step to coming to an agreement on this issue is to drop the old pretenses and stereotypes and to start actually talking.”
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