In 2015 The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) made history when they lifted their ban on gay troop leaders, which proved to be another leap within the LGBT community. The Girl Scouts organization, who aren’t affiliated with the Boys Scouts of America, have been allowing transgender girls into their troops since 2012.
In early February of this year, BSA decided to allow transgender boy scouts the ability to participate in all programs after a boy from New Jersey made a powerful statement regarding the ban on transgender boys from their programs.
“I’m more angry than sad, my identity is a boy. If I was them, I would let every person in the world go in. It’s right to do,” nine-year-old Joe Maldonado said to the New Jersey newspaper The Record after he was kicked out of his Cub Scout troop because of his gender.
According to New York Times, the connotations of banning people because of sexual or gender identity reflect negatively on any organization or business because they imply diversity is unwelcome. Gay troop leaders were permitted because of the message it sent to kids, implying homosexuality was ‘inherently evil.’
As more organizations begin to accept the amount of diversity among the American people and it’s apparent their need is to build a safe and accepting environment where every kid will have an equal opportunity to thrive.