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Boy Scouts of America under fire again

LGBTQ activists like Ricky Martin come out to protest

Boy Scouts of America is standing by its policy of “No gays allowed,” and some of Hollywood’s biggest LGBTQ players aren’t pleased about it.

Activist Ricky Martin is teaming up with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLADD) to express his anger towards the organization and their stance on gays.

RadarOnline.com reports that the Boy Scouts of America’s decision to not allow gays and lesbians into the organization stems from the promise that it “is absolutely the best policy” for the organization. This stance is not sitting well in the gay community.

“Hundreds of thousands of Americans, including the corporate leaders of Ernst & Young and AT&T, current Eagle Scouts, and celebrities such as ‘Hunger Games’ star Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore, Dianna Agron and Ricky Martin, have spoken out against the ban on gay scouts and gay scout leaders,” Rich Ferraro, GLAAD spokesperson, told RadarOnline.com in regards to the Boy Scouts of America’s decision to exclude gays and lesbians.

The Boy Scouts of America, and their partner organization, the Girl Scouts of America, as well, have both been under fire in the past for “not granting membership to open or avowed homosexuals.”

Last fall a seven-year-old transgender boy was rejected from Girl Scouts because of his genitals.

His mother, Felisha Archuleta, was infuriated by the Girl Scouts of America’s decision to exclude her son.

“He dresses like a girl, and you can’t tell he is a girl?” Archuleta said. “But the Girl Scout leader told us he can’t join because he has ‘boy parts.’… But no one would know he’s a boy unless they pulled his pants down.”

Still, the organizations have continued to insist said in a statement that it is “an inclusive” establishment.

“If a child identifies as a girl and the child’s family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout,” the statement said, which also said the organization is “reaching out to the family of the excluded child and will be altering its training programs so that all girls are supported.”

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