Recently the Girl Scouts of America have announced new policies regarding transgender youth participating it its programs. They have openly declared on their website that transgender girls are welcome to be Girl Scouts. The organization has stated that what defines a girl is not physical gender but how the child is recognized by the school, community, and family. It’s a decision that has had a positive impact on the transgender community, but more conservative groups are trying to put a stop to it.
The American Family Association, has started a petition against the organization’s decision, stating, “The Girl Scouts of America has lost its moral compass and needs your encouragement to rescind this new policy.” So far, the petition has garnered 38,100 signatures. Penny Nance, who is the president of Concerned Women For America, says the Girl Scouts’ new transgender policy will create many problems. “They’re no longer Girl Scouts, they’re just scouts,” she said. Excerpts from the new Girl Scouts’ policy are below and then an excerpt from the petition. Read them, and let us know your thoughts.
Excerpt From the New Girl Scout Transgender Policy
Girl Scouts is proud to be the premiere leadership organization for girls in the country. Placement of transgender youth is handled on a case-by-case basis, with the welfare and best interests of the child and the members of the troop/group in question a top priority. That said, if the child is recognized by the family and school/community as a girl and lives culturally as a girl, then Girl Scouts is an organization that can serve her in a setting that is both emotionally and physically safe.
Excerpt From the American Family Association Petition
This means girls in the organization will be forced to recognize and accept transgenderism as a normal lifestyle. Boys in skirts, boys in make-up and boys in tents will become a part of the program. This change will put young innocent girls at risk. Adults are willing to experiment on our kids — both the boys who are confused and the girls who will wonder why a boy in a dress is in the bathroom with them.
