Transgender N.J. Cub Scout Invited Back After Policy Change, Mom Says

SECAUCUS, NJ — A transgender eight-year-old’s courage has reportedly paid off in New Jersey… he’s been invited back into the Cub Scouts.

It’s been almost a month since Joe Maldonado and his mother, Kristie, went public with their allegations that the Boy Scouts of America kicked the Secaucus resident out of his Cub Scout pack because of his gender identity.

But on Monday, a representative with the Northern New Jersey Council of the Boy Scouts reached out with a phone call to let him know that he’s welcome back to the group, NorthJersey.com reported.

During the call, the representative referred to the Boy Scouts’ Monday announcement that the group will allow transgender children who identify as boys to join its organization.

On Monday, the all-boys youth organization said that it will now determine membership based on the gender identity selected on an application, not by birth certificate, as it previously did.

"For more than 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America, along with schools, youth sports and other youth organizations, have ultimately deferred to the information on an individual’s birth certificate to determine eligibility for our single-gender programs," the statement said.

"However, that approach is no longer sufficient as communities and state laws are interpreting gender identity differently, and these laws vary widely from state to state."

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.

• See related article: Boy Scouts Of America Opens Door To Transgender Children

Kristie Maldonado previously said that her son – who was born a girl but identifies as a male – 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.

Read the full report here.

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,’” Maldonado said, according to the report.

“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.”

No word was immediately available as to whether the eight-year-old will accept the offer to return to his old pack. But when asked if he’d be interested in rejoining the scouts in December, Maldonado had a simple answer: “Absolutely.”

The Maldonados’ allegations inspired a wave of support from local LGBT activists and groups such as Garden State Equality, which praised Joe’s courage in going public with his story.

“We first met Joe in the summer of 2015, when his mom Kristie, a fierce advocate for her son, reached out to Garden State Equality for help in supporting Joe’s transition at school,” the nonprofit stated. “Joe is a confident young person and he has shown tremendous courage.”

However the allegations also stirred up some criticism about the case.

Sharon Kass, an “ex-gay rights” activist that one LGBT journalist called “an infamous anti-gay hate mail writer,” sent Patch the following email:

“Jodi is a mentally ill girl… It is cruel and exploitative to support a delusion, whether of a child or of an adult. The ‘sexual minorities’ movement is sick. The Left uses people for what it can get… Jodi and her family should get depth psychotherapy and family counseling immediately… The Boy Scouts of America should continue to bar people with gender identity disorder from membership. Standards must be upheld.”

• See related article: Boy Scouts and Transgender Kids: N.J. Allegations Spawn Debate

Photo: Flickr Commons

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