The Girls Scouts have introduced a new policy that extends membership to transgender children, or any child who identifies as a female.
The Girls Scouts of America have introduced a new policy last week, accommodating transgender and other youth that identify as girls. Conservative groups throughout the country responded to the situation, some with petitions to change the policy.
Andrea Bastiani Archibald, the Chief Girl Expert at the Girl Scouts of America, published a post online that stated the reasoning behind the new policy.
"Girl Scouts has valued and supported all girls since our inception in 1912. There is not one type of girl. Every girl's sense of self, path to it, and how she is supported is unique," began Archibald.
She then alluded to the "foundation of diversity" that the GSUSA was built upon. "If a girl is recognized by her family, school and community as a girl and lives culturally as a girl, Girl Scouts is an organization that can serve her in a setting that is both emotionally and physically safe. Inclusion of transgender girls is handled at a council level on a case by case basis, with the welfare and best interests of all members as a top priority," she wrote.
Several groups spoke out against the policy change, including the American Family Association. The organization created an online petition, which currently has some 35,000 signatures, to convince the GSUSA to rescind the policy.
"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," said the American Family Association.
"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," wrote the group. It also mentioned the loss of a "moral compass" and a 27 percent drop in membership since 2003.
