EQUALITY

Boy Scouts to Allow Transgender Children

Transgender boys were previously banned.

The Boy Scouts of America will allow transgender boys to enroll in the program, a reversal on its previous stance toward transgender children. The new policy will allow boys to register based on their gender identity, rather than by the sex listed on their birth certificate, as the Boy Scouts previously required. Boy Scouts of America recently faced a lawsuit by the family of an eight-year-old transgender boy in New Jersey, who was allegedly kicked out of his Cub Scout troop. In 2015, the Boy Scouts lifted its long-standing ban on gay troop leaders. A Boy Scouts spokesperson told the Chicago Tribune it changed its policy on transgender scouts due to states and communities changing the way gender is defined.