Boy Scouts lifts ban on transgender boys

If you're searching for some hope in the world right now, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has lifted a ban preventing transgender boys from joining the organization.

On Monday, the group announced the controversial stance that spanned more than a century would be reversed via a statement on its website.

"For more than 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America, along with schools, youth sports and other youth organizations, have ultimately deferred to the information on an individual’s birth certificate to determine eligibility for our single-gender programs," the group said to preface the announcement. "However, that approach is no longer sufficient as communities and state laws are interpreting gender identity differently, and these laws vary widely from state to state."

As of Monday, the organization vowed to accept and register children in both the Cub Scout and Boy Scout programs based on the gender they identify with on their applications, rather than their birth certificates. The change comes after a New Jersey family had sued the Boy Scouts of America in December for kicking out their son because he is transgender.

"We weren't just fighting so I could go in, we were fighting so this doesn't happen to anybody else," 8-year-old Joe Maldonado told NBC 4 New York. "And now it looks like it won't happen to anyone else. It better not." 

Though the organization lifted its ban on gay Scouts back in 2013 and its ban on gay adult leaders and employees in 2015, gender identity issues were ignored by the Boy Scouts of America for quite some time. Not so with the Girl Scouts of America, which rejected a $100,000 gift in 2015 on the condition that transgender girls would not benefit and started the hashtag #ForEVERYGirl.

The Associated Press reported that after hearing the news, Joe's mother, Kristie Maldonado, had mixed emotions.

"I'm so grateful. I really am that they're accepting and that there won't be any issues," Maldonado said. "They (other transgender youth) won't have to go through what my son went through. It's a big change for everybody that all are accepted now ... I'm so delighted that they finally called and they did say this, but I'm still angry."

Maldonado said she is open to her son re-joining the troop, provided the scout leader behind her son's initial banishment is asked to leave.

--Additional reporting by the Associated Press.