Two twin brothers are on the precipice of legally becoming adults -- and they are about to receive radically different treatment from an organization they both know and love.
Liam and August Easton-Calabria are seniors in high school and have been actively involved in the Boy Scouts since they were 11 years old. The pair have taken an almost identical path within the scouting program, right down to each having earned the exact same 22 merit badges.
Now, after earning the honor of becoming Eagle Scouts, the future remains uncertain because the boys will soon turn 18 and because Liam is an openly gay teenager. While the Boy Scouts voted to lift a ban on openly gay scouts last May, the ban still remains in effect for adult troop leaders and will soon applying to Liam.
"It was an interesting revelation to see the Boy Scouts come together as a non-inclusive organization," Liam told reporters. "I don't think it's true to the scouting way. I mean, absolutely, scouting should be an inclusive organization."
In April Geoffrey McGrath made headlines for fighting a decision by the Boy Scouts that would force him out of the organization for being an openly gay man. The church that sponsored McGrath's troop stood behind the troop leader and vowed to help fight his termination by the scouting program. This led the Boy Scouts to sever ties with the church and no longer authorize it as a charter partner.
Check out the video above to hear more from Liam and August Easton-Calabria.
(h/t Towleroad)
Correction: An earlier version of this story, based on other reports, stated that Geoffrey McGrath is the twins' scout leader. This is not the case and the text has been changed to reflect this.
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