A new petition from Eddie Kurtz, a straight former Boy Scout is urging the California Legislature to pass SB 323, ending tax breaks for youth groups that discriminate against members based on their sexual orientation, including the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).

The petition on MoveOn.org’s online petition website, SignOn.org has been signed by over 5,000 Californians.

Sign the petition HERE.

I had a friend from what seems a lifetime ago get in contact with me last week. I was thrilled to see her name pop up, and I immediately returned a little note. We've been writing back and forth catching each other up on our lives.

Unlike me, this friend had the courage to come out, leave our home town and live her own life away from the prying eyes and three-party phone lines and family living on every corner or town. She has been with her partner since 1977, living openly and not worrying about what the world thought or felt or did. She was simply living her life.

IRVING, Texas – The Boy Scouts of America today delayed its decision on whether to make the Scouts inclusive by ending its policy that banned gay members.

The national board was expected to vote on the issue today, but announced instead that it would hold off until May after taking a vote of the 1,400 members of the National Council that will be meeting in Grapevine, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.

The Scouts are under enormous pressure to change its discriminatory policy, and President Barack Obama on Super Bowl Sunday said he is in favor of including gays in Scouting.

In a pre-Super Bowl interview on Sunday, President Obama reaffirmed his opposition to the Boy Scouts' ban on gay scouts and leaders. The Boy Scouts Board of Directors is expected to vote on a resolution that would end the national policy barring gay participants next week.

Contact the Boy Scouts and tell them to end the ban here.