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Bay Area Board Endorses Gay Teen's Eagle Scout Bid

MORAGA (CBS / AP) -- A Bay Area Boy Scouts review board has challenged the Boy Scouts of America's prohibition on gay members by approving a local teenager's application for Eagle Scout status.

Eric Andresen said Tuesday that a four-member board of the Mt. Diablo-Silverado Council unanimously signed off on his son Ryan's bid after the teen's Scoutmaster refused to do so once Ryan came out as gay last fall.

Andresen said the endorsement is a moral victory that for now will have little practical effect for his son.

The council's staff executive is refusing to forward Ryan Andresen's application onto the national Boy Scouts organization for final approval.

Boy Scouts of America spokesman Deron Smith said Ryan does not meet the Scouts' membership criteria.

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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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