Boy Scouts of America to begin accepting transgender boys

REUTERS/Noah Berger

The Boy Scouts of America, whose stated mission is to prepare youth for life and leadership, has nearly 2.3 million members between the ages of 7 and 21 and roughly 960,000 volunteers in local councils throughout the country.

In 2013, the Boy Scouts voted to lift a ban on openly gay scouts that had been in place throughout the organization's history after gay rights advocates gathered petitions with more than 1.8 million signatures in support of ending the ban.

Two years later, the organization lifted its blanket ban on gay adult leaders after its president, former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, called the ban "unsustainable" in the face of numerous lawsuits challenging the policy on grounds of discrimination.

The Boy Scouts of America said on Monday (30/01/2017) 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.