Dallas-Based Boy Scouts Of America To Allow Transgender Children In 'Boys Only' Programs

DALLAS, TX — In a break from tradition, Boy Scouts of America officials announced on Monday they will allow transgender children who identify as boys enroll in its "boys only" programs.

Previously, enrollments into Boy Scouts programs were contingent on a gender listed on a child's birth certificate. According to media outlets, the policy change was sparked by a recent case in Secaucus, N.J. where an eight-year-old transgender child was asked to leave his Scout troop after parents and leaders discovered the child is transgender.

But Boy Scouts officials said the change was made not in response to that case, but based on the broader conversation occurring across the country as it relates to gender identity.

"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 organization said in a prepared statement. "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."

The move for the Dallas-based organization comes at a time when Texas conservative lawmakers are aggressively pushing for a so-called "bathroom bill" that would ban transgender individuals to use public bathrooms matching their gender identities — a charge being led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has taken to broadcast media, both local and national, to expound on his bathroom-regulating mission.

In his full court press to promote the mulled "bathroom bill," Patrick has framed the issue as one intended to keep women and children safe from "predators" in response to critics assailing the proposed legislation as discriminatory.

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