ThinkProgress.org: Rock Band Train Won’t Perform For Boy Scouts Unless It Lifts Anti-Gay Ban

I am not going to go jump on a limb and say that Train is on my Top 10 favorite bands list… but I do like some of their music and currently have “Calling All Angels” and “Ordinary” on my iPod. For all the ass backward thinking I am used to reading or hearing about, I have to say this is quite admirable for them to take such a big stance as they are doing.

Will it be enough for the Boy Scouts to change their outdated and unethical policy? Probably not… but Trains decision to make this move shows that the country is growing very weary of the
neo-conservatives and religious groups antiquated and discriminatory positions on equal rights for all.

From ThinkProgress.org:

Rock Band Train Won’t Perform For Boy Scouts Unless It Lifts Anti-Gay Ban

By Zack Ford on Mar 4, 2013 at 9:55 am

This year, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) booked Train and Carly Rae Jepsen to perform at the National Scout Jamboree this July. Derek Nance, an Eagle Scout and Scout Leader who recently came out on YouTube, started a petition calling on the two performers, both of whom have expressed support for marriage equality and other LGBT issues in the past, to condemn the BSA’s policy of banning gays. Train has already responded to the petition, stating on their website that they will not perform at the Jamboree unless BSA changes the policy before then:

When we booked this show for the Boy Scouts of America we were not aware of any policy barring openly gay people from participation within the organization. Train strongly opposes any kind of policy that questions the equality of any American citizen. We have always seen the BSA as a great and noble organization. We look forward to participating in the Jamboree this summer, as long as they make the right decision before then.

Jepsen has yet to respond to the petition. When she was asked about the gay twist at the end of the music video for her breakout hit “Call Me Maybe,” she told Time Magazine, “If my video is encouraging that mind frame with other children and other people – well, it’s about time, I guess!” Hopefully, she also follows through on that commitment to LGBT acceptance and takes a similar stance against the Scouts’ policy.