Photo from Flickr Creative Commons by Lunchbox LP
  • Photo from Flickr Creative Commons by Lunchbox LP

Carly Rae Jepsen announced on her Twitter Monday that she would be joining Train in stepping down from her headlining spot at the National Scout Jamboree this year, due to the gay Scout member and Scout leader ban the Boy Scouts of America have in place and are currently debating.

The urge for these two acts to pull out of the Jamboree, which will take place in West Virginia on July 15-24, was a result of a petition started by Eagle Scout Derek Nance on Change.org.

“After serving 10 years as a Boy Scout camp leader, I decided I couldn’t lie about who I was any longer and came out as gay. Now, because of the Boy Scouts of America’s hurtful anti-gay policy I’m no longer allowed to be part of an organization that has been an instrumental part of my life,” said Nance in the petition.

The petition was put online Thursday night, and by Friday, Train had announced on their website that after they saw it, they decided to pull out of the Jamboree unless the Scouts change their stance on the ban.

“When we booked this show for the Boy Scouts of America we were not aware of any policy barring openly gay people from participation within the organization,” the band said. “Train strongly opposes any kind of policy that questions the equality of any American citizen. We have always seen the BSA as a great and noble organization. We look forward to participating in the Jamboree this summer, as long as they make the right decision before then.”

As of Monday afternoon, Nance’s petition has more than 65,000 supporters, allowing the artists to see that their fans care about this issue.

The Boy Scouts of America announced on Monday, Jan. 28 that they were considering lifting the gay ban that has been in place since 2000, when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the ban with a 5-4 vote. Then, on Wednesday, Feb. 6 they decided to postpone the decision on the ban until May, according to The New York Times.

As for now, though, the bands have decided to take a stand and step down from headlining the Jamboree. But who knows, they could be back if the ban is lifted in May.

This article appears in Mar 7-13, 2013.

2 replies on “Carly Rae Jepsen Joins Train in Leaving National Scout Jamboree”

  1. I am grateful to Carly Rae, Train, and others for standing up to discrimination. It is through such actions that change happens. I hope and expect that BSA will make the right decision in May and end the ban. If not they risk continuing their trajectory towards becoming the Boy Scouts of Conservative Christians rather than the Boy Scouts of America, of all America.
    Once the ban is lifted it will be a total non-issue and the fears of the right-wing will not materialize at all, just as happened with the military.

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