N.J. Mom Says Boy Scouts Kicked Out Her Transgender Son

SECAUCUS, NJ — According to New Jersey mother Kristie Maldonado, it wasn’t her transgender son’s fellow Cub Scouts that first complained about his participation in the group … it was their parents.

As a result of those first complaints, her 8-year-old son, Joe – who was born a girl but identifies as a male – has now been asked to leave his local Cub Scout pack, the Secaucus mother alleged in a report published Tuesday.

Joe Maldonado joined Pack 87 in Secaucus in October, but about a month later a Boy Scout official allegedly told his mother that he would no longer be welcome in the group due to his gender identity, NorthJersey.com reported.

The parents’ complaints were surprising because her son has been living as a male for more than a year and is accepted as a boy at school, Maldonado said.

“Not one of the kids said, 'You don’t belong here,’” Madonado said, according to the report.

Now, Maldonado said that her son is missing out on the camping trips and science projects that he’d been looking forward to.

“It made me mad,” the child told NorthJersey.com. “I had a sad face, but I wasn’t crying. I’m way more angry than sad. My identity is a boy. If I was them, I would let every person in the world go in. It’s right to do.”

Justin Wilson, the executive director of Scouts for Equality, said that the Boy Scouts of America are not known to have rejected any scouts because of their gender identity before the Maldonados’ accusations.

An executive with the Northern New Jersey Council of Boy Scouts acknowledged calling Kristie Maldonado last month but declined further comment about the details of that call, referring questions to their national office.

A Boy Scouts spokesperson declined to comment on whether the organization has an official written transgender policy but stated that the group’s Cub Scouts programs are for boys age 7 to 10 and that "the classification on the participant’s birth certificate” would be used to “confirm legal status.”

Boy Scouts representative Effie Delimarkos later commented to NBC Philadelphia about the allegations, stating that “… their child does not meet the eligibility requirement to participate in this program, so Boy Scouts of America leadership reached out to the family to inform them and share information on alternative programs.”

Earlier this year, the Boy Scouts told the Associated Press that they would admit transgender children to their coeducational programs but not to programs that are for boys only, such as the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.

The national Girl Scouts organization - which is not affiliated with the Boy Scouts - has accepted transgender members for years, the Associated Press stated.

The eight-year-old told NBC Philadelphia that he didn’t understand why he can’t be a scout.

“I really don’t know,” Maldonado said. “It’s just not fair.”

When asked if he wanted to rejoin the scouts, Maldonado replied “absolutely.”

Read an in-depth report about the Maldonados' allegations here.

File Photo: Flickr Commons

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