Leroy N. Soetoro
2017-02-07 02:13:09 UTC
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2017/0201/Boy-Scouts-to-admit-
transgender-boys-Why-the-shift
The Boy Scouts of America now allows transgender boys to enroll in its
scouting programs, but local units sponsored by churches and other faith-
based groups can opt out.
FEBRUARY 1, 2017 The Boy Scouts of America said Monday it will allow
transgender children who identify as boys to enroll in its scouting
program, reversing a century-old practice of determining a childs
eligibility through the gender written on their birth certificate.
But the announcement comes with a caveat.
Churches and other faith-based sponsors of local Cub and Boy Scout
programs will have the right to make decisions [about transgender boys]
based on religious beliefs, a spokeswoman for the Boy Scouts confirmed
for The Christian Science Monitor on Tuesday.
Additionally, we will work with families to find local scouting units
that are the best fit for their children, the spokeswoman wrote in an
email.
The new practice marks a shift in how quickly an organization that has
long personified traditional American ideas of boyhood and masculinity
adjusts to a country changing right in front of its eyes. When the
scouting movement was founded a century ago in Britain by Robert Baden
Powell, an English veteran of the Boer War, he wrote in the Scouts 1908
manual that each boy should be like one brick among many others in the
wall holding up a house, an ode to uniformity and soldier-like readiness.
When it was confronted with cultural conflicts involving race and, later,
sexual identity, Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was slow to respond to
change. During the Civil Rights era, some local groups' refusal to admit
African-American Scouts led to complaints of segregation. And only after
three decades of criticsm and legal battles did the organization lift its
ban on gay Scouts, in 2013, and on gay Scout leaders, in 2015.
But the recent decision to become inclusive of transgender boys came after
weeks of conversation, not years, the organization said in a written and
video statement.
I think it sends a clear message the Boy Scouts have turned a corner in
how theyre approaching these kinds of issues, says Zach Wahls, co-
founder of Scouts for Equality, a nonprofit that advocates for stronger
protections in the organization for gays and transgender people.
Boy Scouts of America is one of our countrys preeminent civic
organizations. Them choosing to acknowledge gender identity is a really
big step forward, continues the Eagle Scout, mentioning BSA's millions of
members and iconic status. The fact they were able to do this without a
protracted public campaign is pretty remarkable.
But the fine point of this policy, to allow local exceptions because of
religious beliefs, also shows the organizations continued attempts to
maintain the support of the faith-based groups that sponsor about 70
percent of its troops, while still keeping pace with societal changes.
Even so, Monday's diplomatic approach was met with criticism.
The Boy Scouts of America sacrificed its last vestige of integrity on the
altar of political correctness, wrote Todd Starnes, a Fox News columnist
and commentator, in an article titled Its time for churches to sever
ties with Boy Scouts.
"It's very sad news," adds Mark Hancock, chief executive officer of Trail
Life USA, a Christian-based scouting organization founded in response to
BSA lifting its ban on gay Scouts.
"We dont want to see boys psychologically or spiritually scarred by the
confusing message that it gives them," he says about transgender children.
"It's about protecting kids and giving them a good, healthy experience. I
can't imagine how I would be able to structure any policies to prevent
them from being harmed in that kind of environment."
The policy that BSA implemented with its announcement on Monday allows
transgender children who identify as boys to enroll in its boys-only
programs. The organization previously relied only on the gender written on
a childs birth certificate. Now, eligibility will be determined by the
gender a parent or child lists on the application to become a Scout.
The organization said the change came in response to the national debate
about gender identity and transgender rights, with cities and states
wrestling with whether and how they should regulate gender identity in
public restrooms and at schools.
For more than 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America, along with schools,
youth sports and other youth organizations, have ultimately deferred to
the information on an individuals birth certificate to determine
eligibility for our single-gender programs, the organization said in a
written statement as well as a video statement from Chief Scout Executive
Michael Surbaugh. However, that approach is no longer sufficient as
communities and state laws are interpreting gender identity differently,
and these laws vary widely from state to state.
But public image may also play a role: The Girl Scouts have already
allowed transgender girls into its groups, and BSA faced negative
publicity and the legal threat of a civil rights complaint for an 8-year-
old transgender boy who was removed from a Cub Scout in northern New
Jersey after a month. Joe Maldonado was forced out of his Cub Scout unit
in December after some parents complained about the fact that he had been
born a girl.
Joes mother, Kristie Maldonado, told The Record newspaper that she filed
the complaint with state officials last week, charging the Northern New
Jersey Council of the Boy Scouts with discrimination. She said she was
considering moving forward with the complaint, but received a call from
the Boy Scouts on Monday night informing her Joe would be welcomed back.
However, the new policy also allows units sponsored by faith-based groups
to opt out because of their religious beliefs. About 70 percent of local
Cub and Boy Scout units are sponsored by faith-based groups, of which the
Mormon church is far and away the largest: in 2015, about 430,000 of the
country's 2.6 million Scouts belong to BSA units sponsored by The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to the Deseret News in
Salt Lake City, Utah.
In a Tuesday press release, church leadership announced that it is
studying the BSA's announcement. In 2015, the Mormon church took a
deliberate, month-long pause to reexamine its affiliation with the
Scouting programs when Boy Scouts of America chose to end its ban on gay
adult leaders. However, it has continued to support Scouting units, after
BSA assured the church and other religious sponsors that local groups
would be able to appoint Scout leaders based on their values.
In July of that year, the Boy Scouts ended its blanket ban on gay Scout
Leaders, after years of resistance starting in the 1980s and 1990s. In
2000, the Boy Scouts won a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that upheld the ban,
after the defense argued that the Scout oath to be morally straight
implied an opposition to homosexuality and was part of the Scouts core
message. But in the next decade, the Boy Scouts faced a petition with more
than 2.2 million signatures in favor of admitting gay Scouts, and an
investigation by the New York Attorney Generals Office to determine
whether the organization had discriminatory employment practices.
In light of that history, the new policy sends a strong message, despite
its limits, say gay and transgender rights advocates.
The fact the boy scouts are taking such a clear and positive step and
making it explicit really is a signifier of the growing American
understanding of transgender people and the need to end discrimination,
says Evan Wolfson, a gay rights advocate and the lawyer who argued in
front of the Supreme Court in the 2000 case, Boy Scouts of America v.
Dale. The fact theyre taking this step when there is so much bitterness
and hostility to transgender and gay people still among the shrinking base
of the right wing is a very welcome and encouraging sign to the country.
But, he adds, Boy Scouts shouldnt franchise discrimination by allowing
religious-sponsored units to exclude gay Scout Leaders or transgender
boys.
Jen Manion, a history professor at Amherst College, says the practice also
speaks to the role of children in the debate about gender identity and
acceptance in the United States. Apart from Joe, a transgender teenager on
a Los Angeles-area baseball team has drawn attention in the sports world,
and individual students have become the face of legal debate over school
restrooms and changing facilities.
I think with young people you have these tremendously courageous kids,
some of them with supportive parents and supportive communities, she
says. They are really putting themselves out there educating,
educating, educating. I like to think that its part of a bigger
movement.
http://www.twincities.com/2016/08/30/south-st-paul-teacher-spouse-
investigated-for-sex-with-boys-court-documents-say/
South St. Paul teacher, spouse investigated for sexual contact with boys,
court documents say
A South St. Paul elementary school teacher and his husband, who were found
dead of an apparent murder-suicide last week in Washington state, were
under investigation for having sexual contact with a 16-year-old boy and
inappropriate conduct with at least two other underage boys, according to
court documents.
According to Dakota County court documents released Tuesday, a 16-year-old
boy and his parents went to police Aug. 14 to report an ongoing sexual
relationship with Babbitt and Deyo.
Further investigation revealed other underage boys had experienced similar
sexual activity with the pair, who hadnt been charged with a crime.
--
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party has run out of gas.
Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for ending the disaster of the
Obama presidency.
ObamaCare is a total 100% failure and no lie that can be put forth by its
supporters can dispute that.
Obama jobs, the result of ObamaCare. 12-15 working hours a week at minimum
wage, no benefits and the primary revenue stream for ObamaCare. It can't
be funded with money people don't have, yet liberals lie about how great
it is.
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he has been in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
With a little luck, we'll see compulsive liar Hillary Clinton in jail too.
transgender-boys-Why-the-shift
The Boy Scouts of America now allows transgender boys to enroll in its
scouting programs, but local units sponsored by churches and other faith-
based groups can opt out.
FEBRUARY 1, 2017 The Boy Scouts of America said Monday it will allow
transgender children who identify as boys to enroll in its scouting
program, reversing a century-old practice of determining a childs
eligibility through the gender written on their birth certificate.
But the announcement comes with a caveat.
Churches and other faith-based sponsors of local Cub and Boy Scout
programs will have the right to make decisions [about transgender boys]
based on religious beliefs, a spokeswoman for the Boy Scouts confirmed
for The Christian Science Monitor on Tuesday.
Additionally, we will work with families to find local scouting units
that are the best fit for their children, the spokeswoman wrote in an
email.
The new practice marks a shift in how quickly an organization that has
long personified traditional American ideas of boyhood and masculinity
adjusts to a country changing right in front of its eyes. When the
scouting movement was founded a century ago in Britain by Robert Baden
Powell, an English veteran of the Boer War, he wrote in the Scouts 1908
manual that each boy should be like one brick among many others in the
wall holding up a house, an ode to uniformity and soldier-like readiness.
When it was confronted with cultural conflicts involving race and, later,
sexual identity, Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was slow to respond to
change. During the Civil Rights era, some local groups' refusal to admit
African-American Scouts led to complaints of segregation. And only after
three decades of criticsm and legal battles did the organization lift its
ban on gay Scouts, in 2013, and on gay Scout leaders, in 2015.
But the recent decision to become inclusive of transgender boys came after
weeks of conversation, not years, the organization said in a written and
video statement.
I think it sends a clear message the Boy Scouts have turned a corner in
how theyre approaching these kinds of issues, says Zach Wahls, co-
founder of Scouts for Equality, a nonprofit that advocates for stronger
protections in the organization for gays and transgender people.
Boy Scouts of America is one of our countrys preeminent civic
organizations. Them choosing to acknowledge gender identity is a really
big step forward, continues the Eagle Scout, mentioning BSA's millions of
members and iconic status. The fact they were able to do this without a
protracted public campaign is pretty remarkable.
But the fine point of this policy, to allow local exceptions because of
religious beliefs, also shows the organizations continued attempts to
maintain the support of the faith-based groups that sponsor about 70
percent of its troops, while still keeping pace with societal changes.
Even so, Monday's diplomatic approach was met with criticism.
The Boy Scouts of America sacrificed its last vestige of integrity on the
altar of political correctness, wrote Todd Starnes, a Fox News columnist
and commentator, in an article titled Its time for churches to sever
ties with Boy Scouts.
"It's very sad news," adds Mark Hancock, chief executive officer of Trail
Life USA, a Christian-based scouting organization founded in response to
BSA lifting its ban on gay Scouts.
"We dont want to see boys psychologically or spiritually scarred by the
confusing message that it gives them," he says about transgender children.
"It's about protecting kids and giving them a good, healthy experience. I
can't imagine how I would be able to structure any policies to prevent
them from being harmed in that kind of environment."
The policy that BSA implemented with its announcement on Monday allows
transgender children who identify as boys to enroll in its boys-only
programs. The organization previously relied only on the gender written on
a childs birth certificate. Now, eligibility will be determined by the
gender a parent or child lists on the application to become a Scout.
The organization said the change came in response to the national debate
about gender identity and transgender rights, with cities and states
wrestling with whether and how they should regulate gender identity in
public restrooms and at schools.
For more than 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America, along with schools,
youth sports and other youth organizations, have ultimately deferred to
the information on an individuals birth certificate to determine
eligibility for our single-gender programs, the organization said in a
written statement as well as a video statement from Chief Scout Executive
Michael Surbaugh. However, that approach is no longer sufficient as
communities and state laws are interpreting gender identity differently,
and these laws vary widely from state to state.
But public image may also play a role: The Girl Scouts have already
allowed transgender girls into its groups, and BSA faced negative
publicity and the legal threat of a civil rights complaint for an 8-year-
old transgender boy who was removed from a Cub Scout in northern New
Jersey after a month. Joe Maldonado was forced out of his Cub Scout unit
in December after some parents complained about the fact that he had been
born a girl.
Joes mother, Kristie Maldonado, told The Record newspaper that she filed
the complaint with state officials last week, charging the Northern New
Jersey Council of the Boy Scouts with discrimination. She said she was
considering moving forward with the complaint, but received a call from
the Boy Scouts on Monday night informing her Joe would be welcomed back.
However, the new policy also allows units sponsored by faith-based groups
to opt out because of their religious beliefs. About 70 percent of local
Cub and Boy Scout units are sponsored by faith-based groups, of which the
Mormon church is far and away the largest: in 2015, about 430,000 of the
country's 2.6 million Scouts belong to BSA units sponsored by The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to the Deseret News in
Salt Lake City, Utah.
In a Tuesday press release, church leadership announced that it is
studying the BSA's announcement. In 2015, the Mormon church took a
deliberate, month-long pause to reexamine its affiliation with the
Scouting programs when Boy Scouts of America chose to end its ban on gay
adult leaders. However, it has continued to support Scouting units, after
BSA assured the church and other religious sponsors that local groups
would be able to appoint Scout leaders based on their values.
In July of that year, the Boy Scouts ended its blanket ban on gay Scout
Leaders, after years of resistance starting in the 1980s and 1990s. In
2000, the Boy Scouts won a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that upheld the ban,
after the defense argued that the Scout oath to be morally straight
implied an opposition to homosexuality and was part of the Scouts core
message. But in the next decade, the Boy Scouts faced a petition with more
than 2.2 million signatures in favor of admitting gay Scouts, and an
investigation by the New York Attorney Generals Office to determine
whether the organization had discriminatory employment practices.
In light of that history, the new policy sends a strong message, despite
its limits, say gay and transgender rights advocates.
The fact the boy scouts are taking such a clear and positive step and
making it explicit really is a signifier of the growing American
understanding of transgender people and the need to end discrimination,
says Evan Wolfson, a gay rights advocate and the lawyer who argued in
front of the Supreme Court in the 2000 case, Boy Scouts of America v.
Dale. The fact theyre taking this step when there is so much bitterness
and hostility to transgender and gay people still among the shrinking base
of the right wing is a very welcome and encouraging sign to the country.
But, he adds, Boy Scouts shouldnt franchise discrimination by allowing
religious-sponsored units to exclude gay Scout Leaders or transgender
boys.
Jen Manion, a history professor at Amherst College, says the practice also
speaks to the role of children in the debate about gender identity and
acceptance in the United States. Apart from Joe, a transgender teenager on
a Los Angeles-area baseball team has drawn attention in the sports world,
and individual students have become the face of legal debate over school
restrooms and changing facilities.
I think with young people you have these tremendously courageous kids,
some of them with supportive parents and supportive communities, she
says. They are really putting themselves out there educating,
educating, educating. I like to think that its part of a bigger
movement.
http://www.twincities.com/2016/08/30/south-st-paul-teacher-spouse-
investigated-for-sex-with-boys-court-documents-say/
South St. Paul teacher, spouse investigated for sexual contact with boys,
court documents say
A South St. Paul elementary school teacher and his husband, who were found
dead of an apparent murder-suicide last week in Washington state, were
under investigation for having sexual contact with a 16-year-old boy and
inappropriate conduct with at least two other underage boys, according to
court documents.
According to Dakota County court documents released Tuesday, a 16-year-old
boy and his parents went to police Aug. 14 to report an ongoing sexual
relationship with Babbitt and Deyo.
Further investigation revealed other underage boys had experienced similar
sexual activity with the pair, who hadnt been charged with a crime.
--
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party has run out of gas.
Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for ending the disaster of the
Obama presidency.
ObamaCare is a total 100% failure and no lie that can be put forth by its
supporters can dispute that.
Obama jobs, the result of ObamaCare. 12-15 working hours a week at minimum
wage, no benefits and the primary revenue stream for ObamaCare. It can't
be funded with money people don't have, yet liberals lie about how great
it is.
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he has been in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
With a little luck, we'll see compulsive liar Hillary Clinton in jail too.