George Takei, the actor best known for his role as Lt. Hikaru Sulu on “Star Trek,” will don a Boy Scouts of America uniform and share a car with former Boy Scout leader Jennifer Tyrrell during the 43rd Annual LGBT Pride March in New York City, which takes place on 24 June.
The two will ride in the official Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation car with their respective spouses and will sport matching Boy Scout uniforms to protest Tyrrell’s exclusion as a Scout leader for being gay. “I was a Boy Scout, and I have wonderful memories of my Boy Scout days and we had no issues like what has come up in recent times,” the openly gay Takei told the NY Daily News. “I’m saddened and shocked by the policy the Boy Scouts have… The Girl Scouts [of America] have no problem with it.” Tyrrell was a leader for her 7-year-old son’s Boy Scout troop in Bridgeport, Ohio, until April when the organization asked her to step down, noting that her sexual orientation “did not meet the high standards” of conduct set by the Boy Scouts of America. After she was forced to give up her post, her son, Cruz , was deactivated from his troop. Tyrell launched a change.org petition with an aim to gather 300, 000 signatures petitioning the Boy Scouts of America to change their policies.
