Boy Scouts kick transgender boy out of pack

SEACAUCUS, N.J. — Joe Maldonado was a member of a New Jersey Cub Scout pack for only a month before he was told that he wasn't allowed to continue with his pack.

The reason was because Joe was born Jodi. Joe was born a girl, but is transgender. Joe's mother, Kristie Maldonado, did not hide the fact when she signed her child up for scouts.

Joe was allowed to participate in the Cub Scout pack for a month until the Northern New Jersey Council told Maldonado that, despite her child identifying as a boy for more than a year and being accepted as a boy at school, he was not permitted to be part of the boys-only group after some parents complained about him, North Jersey.com reported.

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Maldonado said none of the children voiced concerns about her child.

"Not one of the kids said, 'You don't belong here,'" Maldonado told North Jersey.com.

Joe said he is upset that he can't participate in the pack anymore.

"It made me mad. I had a sad face, but I wasn't crying. I'm 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," Joe said.

Maldonado said she was told that Boy Scouts use birth certificates to determine eligibility, CNN reported.

A statement from the Boy Scouts of America confirmed that the organization uses "an individual's birth certificate and their biological sex" as a determination of who can join.

Effie Delmarkos, Boy Scouts of America's director of communications, said Joe doesn't "meet the eligibility requirements to participate in this program."

Delmarkos said Joe and his family have been given information on other programs in which Joe can participate.

The Boy Scouts last year lifted a ban on gay adults as scout leaders. It allowed openly gay children to join the organization. three years ago

Girl Scouts of the USA, which is not affiliated with Boy Scouts of America, take a different stance.

The Girl Scouts' policy says: "If the child is recognized by the family and school/community as a girl and lives culturally as a girl, then Girl Scouts is an organization that can serve her in a setting that is both emotionally and physically safe."

Read more here and here.

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