8-year-old leads way for transgender Boy Scouts

Tuesday, January 31, 2017
SECAUCUS, NJ (KTRK) -- A historic decision by the Boy Scouts of America has transgender rights supporters calling an 8-year-old boy a trailblazer.

Joe Maldonado is a transgender boy who led the way to Monday's decision allowing scouts just like him into the 107-year-old organization.
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Maldonado and his parents filed a legal complaint after he was asked to leave his Cub Scout troop in New Jersey.

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The family says other parents and leaders forced the 8-year-old boy out after they found out he was born a girl.

Now, the Boy Scouts of America have reversed course, ending its previous membership police that relied on the gender listed on a child's birth certificate for registration.



Officials at the organization now say any child identifying as a boy will be permitted to enroll as a scout.
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Maldonado said he hopes he and other transgender scouts are accepted just the way they are.

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"I want them to be comfortable with how I am, what my destiny is, and what my identity is," he said.

The decision by national Boy Scout leaders in only the latest in a string of new policies regarding gender identity and sexuality.
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In 2013, the Boy Scouts paved the way for openly gay youth to join the organization.

Then, in 2015, the scouts ended a blanket ban on gay adults service as troop leaders and volunteers.

In this Feb. 4, 2013 file photo, shows a close up detail of a Boy Scout uniform worn during a news conference in front of the Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Irving, Texas.

AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File


RELATED STORIES: BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
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