--- description: A Seattle community is standing by its openly gay Scoutmaster even though the BSA has revoked his leadership status and now their charters title: Boy Scouts of America Shuts Down Troop for Standing by Gay Scoutmaster image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LGBT](/tag/lgbt/) ## LGBT Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Boy Scouts of America Shuts Down Seattle Troop Over Gay Scoutmaster  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 21, 2014 3:20 PM CUT  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 21, 2014 3:20 PM CUT The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has [shut down a Seattle troop](https://www.scoutsforequality.com/campaign-news/boy-scouts-shuts-down-seattle-methodist-troop-for-retaining-gay-scoutmaster-geoffrey-mcgrath/ "undefined") for its refusal to remove an openly gay scoutmaster. The BSA has revoked the charters of the Rainier Beach United Methodist Church and its two scouting units, Troop 98 and Pack 98, for standing by Geoffrey McGrath after the BSA ousted him as a scoutmaster in March, according to Scouts for Equality, a group that lobbies against discrimination in the scouting movement. The church’s reverend Monica Corsaro has refused to remove McGrath from his leadership position. “Based on our religious principles, we will continue to act as an autonomous church that does not discriminate,” she said in a statement to Scouts for Equality. “We will continue to have our troop meetings here, every Thursday night, with business as usual.” The BSA’s director of communications, Deron Smith, said the organization had no choice but to withdraw the church’s charter as it refused to follow the terms of its chartered-organization agreement and policies. “We are saddened by this development, but remain committed to providing all youth with the best possible scouting experience where the scouting program is the main focus. We are contacting the parents and leaders of the units to inform them of the chartered-organization change.” The BSA permits gay people to become scouts, but not to take adult leadership positions. McGrath is believed to be the [first openly gay adult](http://time.com/45697/lgbt-groups-condemn-removal-of-openly-gay-scout-leader/ "undefined") to have his leadership status revoked by the BSA. He acknowledged his sexuality to the BSA in March after an NBC story about the troop’s inclusiveness prompted the scouting movement to inquire about his orientation. “The Boy Scouts’ decisions only serve to hurt a group of boys who need the values and leadership of someone like scoutmaster McGrath,” Zach Wahls, the executive director of Scouts for Equality, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the BSA’s decision calls into question its commitment to leadership and values by perpetuating an outmoded policy rooted in fear and discrimination. History will show that today’s announcement is a self-inflicted wound.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/70116/boy-scouts-seattle-troop/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/70116/boy-scouts-seattle-troop/"},"headline":"Boy Scouts of America Shuts Down Seattle Troop Over Gay Scoutmaster","datePublished":"2014-04-21T15:20:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:24:31.800Z","description":"A group that lobbies against discrimination in the scouting movement says Boy Scouts of America has revoked the charters of a Methodist church for refusing to remove scoutmaster Geoffrey McGrath after he came out as openly gay","url":"https://time.com/70116/boy-scouts-seattle-troop/","keywords":["LGBT","Boy Scouts"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/lgbt/","name":"LGBT"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/70116/boy-scouts-seattle-troop/","name":"Boy Scouts of America Shuts Down Seattle Troop Over Gay Scoutmaster"}}]}] ```