Announcing: Morally Straight, the event!

Hello, dear readers. I hope you enjoyed getting to know each other a bit more in last week’s thread. That was a preview for what I’m trying to do more of in this newsletter: build community. And with that, I have a very exciting announcement to make: Morally Straight is hosting its first (virtual) event on May 23rd!

Here are the details:

On May 23, 2013, the Boy Scouts of America announced a decision that was decades in the making: The organization would end its contentious ban of gay youth members. While activists across the country cheered this win, they also set their sights on future campaigns that would make the BSA a welcoming place for all. Eight years later, much progress has been made, but the work is not done. On the anniversary of this milestone, we will gather to reflect on where we have been and where we are going.

This event is free and open to the LGBTQ+ Scouting community and allies. It will be held on everyone’s favorite platform, Zoom. Here’s a peek at what the program will include:

• A brief history about how the Boy Scouts’ ban on gay youth came to be, how it came to an end, and where we’ve been since then.
• A live interview with Zach Wahls, co-founder of Scouts for Equality, focused on learning more about his advocacy and his hopes for the organization.
• A conversation in small breakout rooms where you’ll have the opportunity to meet new members of the community, share your experiences and imagine a better, more inclusive future for the BSA.

Registration is now open, and you can grab your spot here on Eventbrite. Spots in the breakout rooms are limited, so don’t wait too long to register. The event is open to anyone, not just subscribers to this newsletter, so feel free to share the link far and wide!

While this is all very exciting, I want to make sure I’m clear about what this event is, and isn’t. First things first: This event is not sponsored by or officially affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America. It is being organized independently by me and a team of queer scouts and allies.

In keeping with the spirit of this newsletter, the event will have an editorial and journalistic approach. My goal is to create community, foster conversations and ask questions, but I will not be advocating for any specific policies or programs.

I sincerely hope you’ll consider joining us. When I first came out as queer in this organization, I knew hardly a handful of other openly queer Scouts. More than five years later, that community has grown exponentially, and yet there are precious few spaces where we can come together. While Zoom is not ideal, it does give us the benefit of bringing together hundreds of people from around the country, and I would love to have you all be a part of that.

If you’ve got questions or want to learn more about the event, feel free to reply directly to me and I’d be happy to help. I’ll also be teasing more details about the program in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

Until then, you can register for the event here, and as an added bonus you can RSVP on Facebook to let the world know you’re going.