Pat Dollard

Tweet

Seven-year-old Bobby Montoya

(CNSNews.com) – The Girl Scouts of Colorado are allowing a 7-year-old boy to join a local troop because he is “living life as a girl.”

“We make the distinction that if a child is living life as a girl and the family brings the child to us and says my daughter wants to be a Girl Scout, we welcome her,” Rachelle Trujillo, vice president of communications with Girl Scouts of Colorado told CNSNews.com.

On Tuesday, 9news.com, a Denver-based television station, initially reported the story of the 7-year-old boy, Bobby Montoya. His mother, Felisha Archuleta, said a local troop leader told her Bobby could not join the troop because he was a boy.

But the statewide organization responded to inquiries from 9news.com by saying that Girls Scouts is “an inclusive organization” and that Bobby would be allowed to join.

“We have privacy rights that we are very respectful of with families,” Trujillo told CNSNews.com. “We do not require proof of gender when a family wants their daughter to be a member of Girl Scouts.”

Trujillo said boys who are living like boys will not be admitted.

“The child must be living life as a girl,” Trujillo said.

In a statement the Girl Scouts of Colorado gave to 9news.com, the organization said:

“Girl Scouts is an inclusive organization and we accept all girls in Kindergarten through 12th grade as members. If a child identifies as a girl and the child’s family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout. Our requests for support of transgender kids have grown, and Girl Scouts of Colorado is working to best support these children, their families and the volunteers who serve them. In this case, an associate delivering our program was not aware of our approach. She contacted her supervisor, who immediately began working with the family to get the child involved and supported in Girl Scouts. We are accelerating our support systems and training so that we’re better able to serve all girls, families and volunteers.”