Jim Bob Duggar, Star Of TLC's '19 Kids And Counting,' Sounds Off On Transgender Girl Scout Controversy

Star Of TLC's '19 Kids And Counting' Sounds Off On Trans Girl Scout Controversy

Jim Bob Duggar, star of TLC's hit reality TV show "19 Kids And Counting," is sounding off on the Girl Scouts' transgender controversy.

A boycott of Girl Scout cookies, which was launched earlier this month by a 14-year-old scout known only as "Taylor," came in response to the national organization's decision to allow a transgender girl to join a troop in Colorado.

"Taylor" took to YouTube in an impassioned speech in which she laid out the reasons that the trans girl, Bobby Montoya, should not be allowed to join the Girl Scouts and argued that a boycott of the famous cookie sale would put pressure on the organization to change its decision.

Duggar, speaking with Buzzfeed while on the road campaigning for Rick Santorum, said: "Our family loves Girl Scout cookies and I don't think allowing a boy in the Girl Scouts is a good thing."

He continued:

"I think the founders of the Girl Scouts would be truly upset to hear this direction. If they're wanting to create a new scout program where girls and boys would join together, that might be an option. But whether somebody declares they're a boy or girl and can join either one -- it isn't even logical and it goes against the core principles the group was founded on."

Though three scout leaders in Louisiana recently quit and dissolved their troops as a protest against Montoya being admitted into the Girl Scouts, overall she has received an outpouring of support from both current and former Girl Scouts, as well as the general public -- including HuffPost Gay Voices readers -- who have pledged to buy extra boxes of cookies this year as a form of solidarity.

For their part, the Girl Scouts organization has remained committed to being inclusive and offered the following statement regarding Montoya's participation: "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."

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