Petitions demand scouts end gay ban

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ORLANDO, Fla., May 30 (UPI) -- Zach Wahls said he isn't trying to ambush the Boy Scouts of America by delivering petitions demanding they allow gays to be both members and scoutmasters.

The 20-year-old Iowa City Eagle Scout has gathered more than a quarter-million online signatures calling for an end to the group's ban on gay and lesbian participation, The Miami Herald reported Wednesday.

"This isn't a gotcha moment," said Wahls. "It's to encourage one of the great cultural institutions in this country to change a policy that many of us feel are (sic) out of date."

Wahls, who has two lesbian mothers, said he would present his petitions in Orlando where the Boys Scouts of America is holding its national meeting this week.

He planned to speak with Boy Scouts spokesman Deron Smith.

Last month, Wahls published a memoir about being raised by Terry Wahls and Jackie Reger, a lesbian couple who married three years ago in Iowa.

Wahls said Iowa scouts permitted Terry and Jackie to both be scout moms.