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The Boy Scouts of America have filed for bankruptcy protection. While they may survive in some revised form, smaller and weaker than before, the Boy Scouts of old, as a great institution in American life, may be no more. Frankly, they have been on a downward trajectory for some time. In a world in which consumer-electronics, from cell phones to game consoles, have taken over the entertainment options for children, modernity itself contributed greatly to the Boy Scouts’ decline. But there is a difference between a weakening and a destruction… a difference between the natural loss of popularity and a...

WASHINGTON (WMAL) – Boy Scout history will be made this weekend at Nationals Park. Saturday for the first time ever an all-girl Cub Scout den will lead the flag ceremony at the start of a Major League Baseball game. Since Saturday will be a first in the history of baseball, all media coverage will go to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The Nationals take on the Diamondbacks Saturday at 4:05 p.m.

When Ames Mayfield’s Cub Scout den met with a Colorado state senator last week, the 11-year-old came prepared with a long list of typed-up questions. Ames pressed the Republican state senator, Vicki Marble, on an issue he knew was important to her: gun legislation. The Cub Scout in Broomfield, about 20 miles north of Denver, asked her a slew of questions about previous bills she had sponsored in support of the right to bear arms, and he wasn’t shy about inserting his opinion. “I was shocked that you co-sponsored a bill to allow domestic violence offenders to continue to own...

In a moment of historic significance, Joe Maldonado put on a Cub Scout uniform on Tuesday night as he became a member of Pack 20 in Essex County while his mother held back tears — one week after the Boy Scouts of America changed its national policy to allow transgender children to be scouts....

Kristie Maldonado and her son, Joe -- who gained national attention when he was barred from his local Cub Scouts pack because he is transgender -- plan to file a discrimination complaint against the regional chapter of the Boy Scouts of America. The complaint claims that the Boy Scouts of America's Northern New Jersey Council, which oversees a number of local scouting troops, violated the state "public accommodation" law by kicking the Secaucus boy out of the local Pack 87 in November, a month after he joined. The complaint, which was obtained by The Jersey Journal yesterday, is expected to...

The Boy Scouts of America announced Monday that it will allow transgender children to enroll in scouting programs. Boy Scouts chief executive Michael Surbaugh said in a video message that the organization will now accept boys based on the gender a parent puts on a child’s scouting application, ending a policy of accepting boys based on the gender listed on a child’s birth certificate. “We realized that referring to birth certificates as the reference point is no longer sufficient,” Surbaugh said in a video message. “Communities and state laws are now interpreting gender identity differently than society did in the...

The Boy Scouts of America said on Monday the group would begin accepting transgender boys, bucking its more than a century-old practice of using the gender stated on a birth certificate to determine eligibility. "Starting today, we will accept and register youth in the Cub and Boy Scout programs based on the gender identity indicated on the application," Boy Scouts of America communications director Effie Delimarkos said in an emailed statement. Delimarkos' cited shifting definitions of gender under state laws, which can "vary widely from state to state," in explaining the change.

The Boy Scouts of America says it will allow transgender children who identify as boys to enroll in its boys only programs. The organization announced Monday that it had made the decision to base enrollment in boys only programs on the gender a child or parent lists on the application to become a scout. The organization had previously held a policy that relied on the gender listed on a child's birth certificate. A spokeswoman for the organization says it made the decision based on states and communities changing how gender is defined. A transgender child in Secaucus, New Jersey, was...

SECAUCUS, N.J. -- The family of an eight-year-old boy in New Jersey says he was kicked out of Cub Scouts because he is transgender. Joe Maldonado was born a female. His mom signed him up for Cub Scouts and said she was very clear about his transgender status. But after about a month, she got a call from the Scouts' head counsel, saying he could no longer be part of the organization. "I felt bad for my son he was having a good time," his mom Kristie Maldonado said. "They had a barbecue, the last day they had a Halloween...

From the moment he joined, 8-year-old Joe Maldonado eagerly looked forward to camping trips and science projects as a member of the Cub Scouts. But his expectations were dashed after his mother said she received a phone call from a scouting official who told her that Joe would no longer be allowed to participate because he was born a girl. Kristie Maldonado said she was stunned because her son had been a member of Cub Scout Pack 87 in Secaucus for about a month, and his transgender status had not been a secret. But some parents complained, an official from...

A former Boy Scout confessed in emotionally charged court testimony to killing his former troop leader, but said it was due to the repeated sexual abuse and rape he suffered at the hands of the man, beginning at the tender age of 8. “From the time I was 8 years old until I was 12, I was sexually assaulted and raped by Dennis Pegg,” said Clark Fredericks, a former scout who spoke in a tense Newton, New Jersey, courtroom about the reasons for his killing. Pegg also served as a Sussex sheriff’s officer, NBC New York reported. He was killed...

Well that was then. Boy Scouts President Robert Gates Calls for End of Ban on Gay Troop Leaders The new policy is coming quicker than you can say Jack Robinson. In effect gay scout leaders are now permitted since Gates says he will not revoke the charter of troops that allow homosexuals leaders.  Any parents who leave their sons in the Boy Scouts are insane. Homosexuals represent about 3% of the population; they commit about thirty percent of child sex abuse. Not every homosexual is an abuser, but those who are look for opportunities to be around children -- especially...

Parents are outraged after a pack of California Cub Scouts on a nature hike ended up on a nude beach. The group of fourth graders, parents and volunteers was hiking along the San Diego coastline on Jan. 24 when they stumbled upon dozens of naked people at the clothing optional Black's Beach. One of the scouts' mothers said, "I was nauseated because I had never seen a bunch of nude people just walking around holding hands, strange people that I don't know."

A San Diego Cub Scout troop got a lesson in human anatomy on a recent outing with their troop leader — and some parents are upset. Diane and Erik Lekven are outraged that a hike on Jan. 24 ended up at a nude beach.

Jennifer Tyrrell, the den leader who was "fired" by her local Cub Scout troop for being gay, said that her 7-year-old son Cruz will not remain in the national organization because of its discrimination against gay leaders and scouts. In March, the Boy Scouts of America removed Tyrrell from her position, telling her that her sexual orientation "did not meet the high standards" of conduct set by the Boy Scouts of America "We can no longer support an organization that has these policies and we hope to get them changed," said Tyrrell. "That is our main goal."

Boy Scout/Cub Scout Charter Discussion Bob Casey—Pack 303, Britt Kennedy-Troop 303, Brad Schnell, PTO liaison, and Joe Mueller from the Greater St. Louis area council represented the Boy Scouts and answered questions. PTO members checked in at the door and received a blue card to be exchanged for a written ballot. The voting process was explained. Issues: Executive Committee role in supervising scouting activity and concerns if this is the role of the PTO. Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts are the only organizations that the PTO charters. Issues were brought to the Exec Council this summer and the PTO Exec council did...

What would we do without the heroes in the Keene Police Department? Thank goodness they are here to keep us safe from the criminal Cub Scouts selling us cotton candy and the volunteers at the Hundred Nights shelter selling us baked goods! Here’s the news story from the Sentinel. I heard there was video taken, but I haven’t seen it pop up yet. Many businesses and nonprofit organizations name Pumpkin Festival as their most profitable selling day or fundraiser. But a few fundraisers were cut short by police and festival organizers. Police shut down three vendors for operating without permits...

SANDY -- Boy Scouts are going to be very excited when they see the huge track being built for a special Pinewood Derby race to be held Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium. It's not just the biggest track in Utah, it's the biggest ever. For the first time, the race wasn't only for Boy Scouts -- registration was open for anyone race, and everyone is invited to watch. The Pinewood Derby track will be more than 325 feet long when it's done, and it's going to break a world record. World's Longest Pinewood Derby Saturday, August 28 9:00 a.m. to...

First grader Zachary Christie was recently suspended for bringing a Cub Scout camping utensil with him to school. The utensil combines a fork, spoon and a knife into one tool and Christie wanted to use it at lunchtime. His school has a "zero-tolerance" policy on weapons and the camping tool violates the district's rule. He is facing 45 days in the district's reform school. Did school officials go too far?