Ryan Andresen sat down with BuzzFeed to talk about his struggles with bullying and what it was like to be denied his Eagle Scout rank by the Boy Scouts of America.
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Ryan Andresen seen in his Boy Scout uniform pictured with Troop 212 in Moraga, California. Even though he completed all of his requirements for Eagle Scout, he was ousted from the troop because of his sexual orientation, which didn't agree with the Boy Scouts of America's principle "duty to God."
When did you first come out to your troop?
I came out in general in the summer of 2010. My scout master definitely knew by February of 2011.
Were you aware of the Boy Scout's policies? Were you ever worried about being kicked out or being denied Eagle Scout?
I didn't know about the ban on gays until they reprinted it over summer. No one had really talked to me about it and then I just shrugged it off.
Did you feel betrayed by your Scout leader?
Yeah, very much. The whole time he was leading me on, encouraging me to be doing the project. I wasn't planning on sticking with Boy Scouts and he encouraged me to keep going. He was basically my role model for quite awhile. I'm still very shocked and he still hasn't talked to me.
