Boy Scout Members to Help Lead NYC Pride March

by Kelsey Schappell | 06/26/2014 | 5:15pm

Boy Scout Members to Help Lead NYC Pride March

Current and past Boy Scout members will serve as the color guard during the 44th annual march down Fifth Avenue.

The annual Pride March in New York City is this weekend -- and it's being led by an unlikely group.

The Boy Scouts of America organization has been caught up in controversy over its policies related to LGBT membership. Gay members weren't allowed to participate until last May, and LGBT adults are still barred from serving as leaders.

This year, some Boy Scout members are continuing to push for LGBT rights within the organization. For the first time ever, three generations of New York-area Boy Scouts will help lead the city's Pride March.

Crystal Bueno, the co-leader of the Brooklyn chapter of Scouts for Equality, said her group's participation in the march is bittersweet.

"It's a message of hope in that we've made a huge step forward in acceptance," said Bueno. "And it's a message of protest to the BSA because [they] still have a way to go."

Bueno said New York is such a diverse city, embracing the LGBT community should be a given.

"These are our neighbors. These are our friends. They aren't the others. These are people that we know," she said.

Bueno said it's unclear if scouts will face any repercussions for their participation in the Pride March, but the Greater New York Boy Scout Council has previously emphasized its support for LGBT members.

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