Eric Andresen: Scout Policy Change Falls Short

The Boy Scouts' potential change of policy on gay Scouts is a "small step" in the right direction that "falls short of actually helping young people" like Ryan Andresen of Moraga, said Andresen's father Eric Friday.

An announcement Friday morning was that the national Boy Scouts organization said it will pursue a policy to lift the ban on gay youth members while continuing to exclude gays as adult leaders.

Eric Andresen was quoted in a Friday press release by Change.org. Eric and Karen Andresen, Ryan's parents, launched a petition last year on Change.org urging the Scouts to award Ryan his Eagle Scout award when he was rejected, after coming out to his Boy Scout troop. That petition showed 477,843 supporters Friday.

"Had this proposed policy been enacted just a few months ago, my son Ryan would've received his Eagle award," said Eric Andresen. "But now that he's 18, under this proposed policy, he would once again be rejected by the Boy Scouts. It's a small step in the right direction, but it still sends a dangerous message to young people and excludes talented leaders like Jen Tyrrell and Greg Bourke."

Jen Tyrrell is a gay mom from Bridgeport, Ohio, who was ousted as the leader of her son's Cub Scout pack in April 2012 because of her sexual orientation, according to Change.org. Greg Bourke is a gay assistant Scoutmaster who was removed from his son's Boy Scout troop because of his sexual orientation, the press release stated.