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Trending: The Boy Scouts Changed His Life, See How He's Changing the Scouts
The teen says he will now advocate for the Boy Scouts to allow gay leaders.
Kensington, Md. – Pascal Tessier might be the first openly gay Eagle Scout.
Tessier, who had been outspoken in advocating the Boy Scouts of America lift a ban on gay members, earned the rank this week, reports WISTV.com. The scouts lifted its ban on gay members Jan. 1.
While there is no official tracking of gay members, Tessier is likely the nation's first openly gay Eagle approved under the new policy, according to the advocacy group Scouts for Equality.
Although the ban against gay scout members was lifted, a ban against gay leaders remains. It's a ban Tessier plans to challenge. "On my 18th birthday, I'm planning on applying to be an adult leader for the Boy Scouts so that we push the issue," he told.
Tessier, 17, and his Bethesda-Chevy Chase Boy Scout Troop held a demonstration earlier this year at the National Capital Area Council of Boy Scouts, demanding that openly gay youth be admitted to the BSA, reports NBC Washington.
Last spring, as a junior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Tessier spoke with the national media as Boy Scout national leaders were considering changing the policy. He told The Washington Post he would be "devastated" if he were not allowed to earn Eagle Scout status because of his sexuality.
He told CBS News This Morning it was time that the Boy Scouts lifted the ban.
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"Simply because you've been teaching something for a long amount of time doesn't mean it's right," he said.
Tessier said he was glad he would still be able to call himself a Boy Scout and become an Eagle Scout, but he said he would remain an activist on the issue.
Find out what's happening in Bethesda-Chevy Chasewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"There's so much more to do," he told CBS News. "I'm not stopping. That's for sure."
President Obama and gay rights groups nationwide supported lifting the ban and the Tessier family spoke against the ban in an earlier video interview with the BBC.
He told the Post his experience as a Scout has been life-changing and he "wouldn’t be the person I am today without the Boy Scouts."
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