Girl Scouts’ Acceptance of Transgender Girls Prompts Troops to Dissolve

Progress never seems to come without some backlash, as evidenced by the response to Girl Scouts of Colorado’s recent statement about its acceptance of transgender girls.

The refreshingly supportive statement came about in response to the initial rejection of 7-year Bobby Montoya’s application to join. Montoya identifies as a girl, but was assigned a male gender at birth. The child wanted to be a Girl Scout like her older sister, and the Colorado branch of the national organization (clearly not affiliated with Boy Scout of America) said that Montoya should be welcomed.

“If a child identifies as a girl and the child’s family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout,” the organization said in a statement released through GLAAD.

While the statement is clearly step toward equality for transgender and gender non-conforming children, not everyone sees it that way.

In response to the Girl Scouts’ welcoming attitude, some troop leaders have decided to pack up and leave the organization. According to the Huffington Post, three troop leaders affiliated with the Northlake Christian School in Louisiana have resigned.

The Christian Post reports:

Susan Bryant-Snure is one of the leaders who resigned. She has three daughters among the 25 girls who had been active scouts there.

Bryant-Snure told Baptist Press that the Girl Scouts’ action is “extremely confusing” and an “almost dangerous situation” for children. “This goes against what we (Northlake Christian School) believe,” she said.

Northlake is now looking into aligning with American Heritage Girls, a nonprofit “dedicated to the mission of building women of integrity through service to God, family, community and country. The organization offers badge programs, service projects, girl leadership opportunities and outdoor experiences to its members.”

AHG was formed in 1995, in part over the Girl Scouts’ decision to allow scouts to substitute another word or phrase for “God” in their promise.

AHG Founder Patti Garibay told CP that her group has not dealt with any transgender issues and that they only accept girls ages five to 18. She said the issue with Girl Scouts is definitely a concern parents need to know about.

The AHG is also officially affiliated with BSA. The two groups apparently signed a Memorandum of Mutual Support regarding their efforts to maintain “faith-based groups.” Go figure.

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