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Ricky Martin urges Boy Scouts of America to lift ban on gays

As the Boy Scouts of America stands by its policy of "No Gays Allowed," Hollywood star and LGBT activist Ricky Martin -- along with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) -- expressed outrage against the organization.

RadarOnline.com is reporting that the decision of the Boy Scouts of America to shun gays and lesbians -- on the premise that it "is absolutely the best policy" for the 102-year-old organization -- has ignited protests.

"Hundreds of thousands of Americans, including the corporate leaders of Ernst & Young and AT&T, current Eagle Scouts, and celebrities such as 'Hunger Games' star Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore, Dianna Agron and Ricky Martin, have spoken out against the ban on gay scouts and gay scout leaders," Rich Ferraro, GLAAD spokesperson, told RadarOnline.com

This isn't the first time the Boy Scouts of America, and its partner organization, the Girl Scouts of America, which have been an icon in American culture throughout the 20th Century, have been under scrutiny over "not granting membership to open or avowed homosexuals."

Last fall Felisha Archuleta's child, seven-year-old transgender son Bobby, was rejected from the Colorado Girl Scouts because of his "boy parts."

"He dresses like a girl, and you can't tell he is a girl?" Archuleta said in an interview with ABC News. "But the Girl Scout leader told us he can't join because he has 'boy parts.'... But no one would know he's a boy unless they pulled his pants down."

Archuleta told the news organization that at two-years-old her son knew he was born in the wrong body and began dressing like a girl. She added that she decided to support him and doesn't understand "the big deal" in letting Bobby join the Girl Scouts.

Still, the organization said in a statement that it is "an inclusive" establishment.

"If a child identifies as a girl and the child's family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout," read the statement, which also said the organization is "reaching out to the family of the excluded child and will be altering its training programs so that all girls are supported."

Other celebrities urging the Boy Scouts of America to lift the ban on gays include Benicio Del Toro and celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton.

This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.

You can reach Alexandra Gratereaux at:

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