Honest and Fair, Friendly and Helpful, Considerate and Caring, Courageous and Strong

I will do my best to be

Honest and Fair,

Friendly and Helpful,

Considerate and Caring,

Courageous and Strong…

These are the opening phrases of the Girl Scout Law. And over the last few months, we’ve heard them used in a few different contexts.

We watched as the Girl Scouts of Colorado did their best to live to the letter of this law by allowing Bobby Montoya, a transgender girl, to join the Girl Scouts of Denver, Colo.  We saw them slightly twisted when several troops in Louisiana, in protest of that decision, decided to disband, their leaders resigning. And we saw them stretched to their limit—and possibly their breaking point—when the video of a young California girl calling for a ban on Girl Scout cookies in protest of the decision popped up and went viral.

In the face of all of this—ignorance and resignation threats from troop leaders across the country—the Girls Scouts of Denver held firm in their decision. PFLAG National applauds and supports them.

Tragically, exclusion, discrimination, and rejection are common experiences for many transgender and gender non-conforming young people. In fact, in the 2009 report by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, "Injustice at Every Turn," 57 percent of transgender respondents said that they experienced significant rejection when coming out as transgender to immediate family, including parents, guardians, and siblings. In school, 31 percent of these same respondents reported harassment by teachers or staff in K-12 settings.

Ultimately, it is family acceptance that offers the best protection against the many threats to the health and well-being of our children. And if it is a Girl Scout’s duty to “make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout,” then why should Bobby Montoya lose out on this important aspect of acceptance?

We commend the Girl Scouts of Colorado for offering support to Bobby Montoya and her family, and providing education to the other families and volunteers in the greater Denver Girl Scouts community.

And, for what it’s worth? We’ll be eating a lot of Thin Mints and Samoas here at the PFLAG National offices this year.

 

Follow Jody Huckaby on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pflag

Comments

[istanbulite]

04:02 AM on 01/14/2012

Jody, thanks so much for your great article. My daughter was in the Girl Scouts for 8 years in the 90s. Her troop was a miniature United Nations with the added plus of physically handicapped. It was one of the best experiences of her life. My partner and I were the only dads involved, but it worked splendidly. I know that the other girls learned that families can be defined in many different ways. God bless Bobby for her bravery and courage. Beliefs are changed one person at a time. We too, will be ordering tons of thin mints.

[thebigbike]

09:44 PM on 01/13/2012

My mother was a Girl Scout professional for many years and she wold have supported the Colorado Girls Scouts inclusionary position totally. Having no children of my own, I'll just be doubling or tripling my cookie order this year (after checking to see if the local councils in my redredredredred area have a reasonable position)

[BrotherRog]

08:44 PM on 01/13/2012

John, Thank you for helping bring this situation to the masses. There is no room for bigotry in organizations entrusted to instill values of good citizenship and patriotism. Here's the piece I wrote up about this. "Fight bigotry. Eat Girl Scout Cookies!" http://wp.me/pWVFb-17l5

[Vlad TheEmailer]

03:40 PM on 01/13/2012

Here's my 2 cents.

Completely ignoring the transgender issue for a start... in my opinion boys should be able to join girl scouts and girls should be able to join boy scouts if they have an interest in the group's activitities. It should be at the particular troop / pack leaders discretion taking into account the kids maturity levels, comfort levels etc. The parents of the 'other sex' kid should know that there may be concessions that have to be made and there may be certain activities that are not open to their child. Both organisations have policies and procedures in place to try and keep the kids as safe as possible without actually wrapping them in bubble wrap. That said, I fail to see how a male child that identifies themselves as a female poses any threat to another girl.