Boy Scout show under pressure for gay disclaimer
An Eagle Scout wants News Corp.'s Nat Geo Channel to add a message to a new program that says the organization discriminates against gays.
A 20-year old gay college student -- who earned the Boy Scouts' highest rank, the Eagle Scout badge -- is urging News Corp.'s (NWS) Nat Geo Channel to denounce the Boy Scouts' policy of banning gays when it airs "Are You Tougher than a Boy Scout?"
The student, Will Oliver, has gathered more than 3,000 signatures for his petition at Change.org, which urges the network to "speak out now to protect gay youth and leaders like me."
At the heart of the issue is a long-standing policy from the Boy Scouts of America that bans openly gay boys and gay or lesbian adults from volunteering as leaders. Gay rights groups have taken issue with the ban, and President Obama last year said he disagreed with the group's decision to uphold the ban following a two-year review.
"Like several of my early Den mates, I attained the rank of Eagle after a decade of participation in Scouting. I attribute many of my own values today from the lessons taught by the Scouting program: trustworthiness, kindness, bravery," Oliver wrote in the petition. "I also happen to be gay."
Oliver said he came out of the closet after leaving the scouting group, according to the New York Post.
Oliver argues that he doesn't want Nat Geo to cancel the show, but to add a disclaimer that would "make a strong statement to the BSA's leadership about the grave injustice of their policy."
Nat Geo, which is owned by News Corp.'s Fox Cable Networks division, told the Post it does "not discriminate in any capacity." It added, "[W]e certainly appreciate all points of view on the topic, but when people see our show they will realize it has nothing to do with this debate -- and is, in fact, a competition series between individual scouts and civilians."
A representative for the Boy Scouts of America said the group "values the freedom of everyone to express their opinion."
The show is slated to air this spring.
More on Money Now
| Tags: | Television |
You think for being an Eagle Scout and displaying an Eagle Scout badge on his left pocket in addition to being a patrol leader that this scout would wear his council patch correctly. I mean the Boy Scouts are graded at uniform reviews. The council patch is supposed to be on the sleeve and not the shoulder. I think the council patch is sewn onto the sleeve correctly but that the sleeve attaches to the rest of the shirt way to high on the shoulder. You can see the fabric pulling awkwardly around the patch. In addition the neckerchief slide is way too low and sloppy. Someone needs to talk to the scouts of troop 961 in the Sam Houston Council. If the photo was staged by the news organization, MSN, or the journalist, Aimee Picchi, without researching uniform dress, that just demonstrates poor quality journalism and they have embarrassed troop 961.
DATA PROVIDERS
Copyright © 2013 Microsoft. All rights reserved.
Quotes are real-time for NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. See delay times for other exchanges.
Fundamental company data and historical chart data provided by Thomson Reuters (click for restrictions). Real-time quotes provided by BATS Exchange. Real-time index quotes and delayed quotes supplied by Interactive Data Real-Time Services. Fund summary, fund performance and dividend data provided by Morningstar Inc. Analyst recommendations provided by Zacks Investment Research. StockScouter data provided by Verus Analytics. IPO data provided by Hoover's Inc. Index membership data provided by SIX Financial Information.
Japanese stock price data provided by Nomura Research Institute Ltd.; quotes delayed 20 minutes. Canadian fund data provided by CANNEX Financial Exchanges Ltd.
RECENT POSTS
While incompetent bosses like Michael Scott and Andy Bernard typically can’t survive in the workplace, office romances are a very real part of corporate culture.
- Southwest Airlines turns less legroom into $773M
- 'American Idol' gets sorry ratings for season finale
- Powerball's wacky sense of humor
- Millions of Facebook's users are actually pets
- Can crowd funding rescue the LA Times?
- Domino's debuts a DVD that smells like pizza
- Average US retirement age climbs to 61
- McDonald's aims to slim down its 145-item menu
- Bathroom reading goes digital with iPad TP stand
MARKET UPDATE
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 ended this week with a bang, roaring to a new all-time high on the back of stronger-than-expected economic data, influential leadership, and an ongoing appreciation for the Fed's monetary policy support.
The bullish bias was evident in premarket action as the S&P futures pointed to a higher start without the benefit of any definitive news catalyst. Stocks indeed benefited from a blast of buying interest at the opening bell on this ... More
More Market News
TOP STOCKS
All hail the bull market, which ended the week with a big rally. But it also is starting to look a little like 1987, which suffered an epic blow-out.
MSN MONEY'S
- Shared
- Commented
- Viewed
