NBC's Denver affiliate KUSA-TV reports that the mother of 7-year-old "transgender kid" Bobby Montoya was told by a troop leader that boys could not join the Girl Scouts. When the TV station contacted Girl Scouts of Colorado, they spurred a completely different answer. Girl Scouts are now apparently "inclusive" enough to welcome children who "identify as girls," regardless of their actual bodies.
Felisha Archuleta, the boy's mother, told KUSA she was told Bobby could not sign up. "I said, 'Well, what's the big deal?' She said 'It doesn't matter how he looks, he has boy parts, he can't be in Girl Scouts. Girl Scouts don't allow that [and] I don't want to be in trouble by parents or my supervisor.'" The Girl Scouts announced their "accelerated support" for the GLBT lobby:
"Girl Scouts is an inclusive organization and we accept all girls in Kindergarten through 12th grade as members. 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. Our requests for support of transgender kids have grown, and Girl Scouts of Colorado is working to best support these children, their families and the volunteers who serve them. In this case, an associate delivering our program was not aware of our approach. She contacted her supervisor, who immediately began working with the family to get the child involved and supported in Girl Scouts. We are accelerating our support systems and training so that we're better able to serve all girls, families and volunteers."
The whole story and interview segment afterward from KUSA (a Gannett property) was completely one-sided. No one who disapproved of encouraging "transgender" politicking was given a second of air time.
Corey Barrett of the local "LGBT Center" insisted on change to a "healthy" liberal approach: "There has definitely been this increase of questioning at an early age. I think it's all about providing a healthy environment for them for that to happen. Everyone needs to be prepared or at least have an idea from a policy and procedure stand point how they're going to address that. And make sure that the public is aware of that." KUSA's online story linked directly to their website.
Psychologist Shawn Worthy was brought into the studio to urge parents to overlook little "external manifestations" like which gender you actually are:
"If I were talking to my kids I would say, 'You know what, we determine how great people by who they are, by how kind they are, how smart they are, by what kind of people they are and not by how they dress, or the color of their skin or any other of those physical properties, because those are just external manifestations.’ I would encourage my kids to get to know the person and then make a decision if that's a good person, if that's a good friend or not."
ABC News has also picked up the story, but its online report also excluded any conservatives. Instead, the P.C. line is emphasized:
Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said she was pleased with the policy of the Girl Scout leadership, "whether it was a change of heart or it just got taken upstairs and they explained the existing policy.
"These cases should be about the children," said Keisling. "The Girl Scout leader kept saying the 'boy's parts,' and that is not the Girl Scout leader's business and, frankly, not something a Girl Scout leader should have been talking about to a parent or anyone else.
"One of the things Girl Scouts learn is inclusivity and civility, and I think they smartly realized that they can't be uncivil or exclusionary."
Kiesling said that age 7 is not too young for Bobby to decide whether he's a girl or a boy. "Who is to decide who is a boy and who is a girl?" she asked. "We see this all the time."
"I don't think it's such a big deal," said Archuleta. "We don't need therapy. Bobby doesn't need therapy. If Bobby wants to be a girl, that's what we'll do."
