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Carly Rae Jepsen & Train Fight Boy Scouts' LGBT Ban

(ALICE@97.3) - First it was Bay Area band, Train and now Carly Rae Jepsen is standing up to the Boy Scouts of America (BSA)'s anti-gay policy by dropping out of the association's 2013 National Scout Jamboree.

Jepsen tweeted fans this morning, letting them know she was backing out of the July 16th concert in support of the LGBT community.

"As an artist who believes in equality for all people, I will not be participating in the Boy Scouts of America Jamboree this summer," she wrote. "I always have and will continue to support the LGBT community on a global level and stay informed on the ever changing landscape in the ongoing battle for gay rights in this country and across the globe."

In April 2012, GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) brought attention to BSA's anti-gay policy after Jennifer Tyrell, a mom and den leader from Ohio, was removed as leader from her 7-year-old son's Cub Scout Pack for being openly gay.

The policy made headlines again when 18-year-old scout Ryan Andresen was denied an award because he was gay. Andresen's mom later started a petition on Change.org asking the Boy Scouts to give her son the award he earned. The petition currently has 473,000 signatures.

Train
Train (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

 

Four days ago, Eagle Scout Derek Nance from Nevada also launched a petition on Change.org asking Jepsen and Train to denounce the Boy Scouts' discriminatory policy. The petition, which received 62,000 signatures, seemed to help change the minds of both artists.

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(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
 

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