Girl Scouts welcomes transgender girls [View all]
(CNN)Transgender girls are welcome in the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, a stance that has attracted controversy from some conservative groups over the past week.
"Our position is not new," said Andrea Bastiani Archibald, the Girl Scouts USA's chief girl expert. "It conforms with our continuous commitment to inclusivity."
*Claiming that Girl Scouts has lost its "moral compass," the American Family Association created an online petition on May 13 to ask the organization to restrict its membership to "biological girls." It's attracted more than 38,000 e-signatures as of Wednesday.
A day after the petition was created, Archibald wrote a blog post citing Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low as the source of diversity that is essential to the organization.
"Our mission to build 'girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place' extends to all members, and through our program, girls develop the necessary leadership skills to advance diversity and promote tolerance," Archibald wrote.
The Girl Scouts' stance means that one of the most popular activities for girls is clearly accessible to transgender girls, said Ellen Kahn, director of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Children, Youth & Families program, which focuses on LGBT rights.
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/20/living/girl-scouts-welcomes-transgender-girls-feat/index.html
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