Liberalism Catches Up with Boy Scouts. Organization Faces Bankruptcy as Members Flee
After making controversial decisions over the past few years, the Boy Scouts of America is now facing bankruptcy and a massive decline in membership.
The organization has “hired law firm Sidley Austin for assistance in a possible chapter 11 bankruptcy filing,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Daily Caller reported that at its peak, the organization had a membership of approximately 4 million. Now that number has dropped to an estimated 2.3 million. The controversy the organization has faced in recent years and legal costs for sexual abuse lawsuits are both believed to be factors in the decline.
The trouble may have begun in 2013 when the organization decided to allow openly gay boys to join the ranks. From there, the changes continued to bring outrage across America.
In 2015, the Boy Scouts of America lifted the ban on openly gay scout leaders. In 2017, the changes continued and transgender boys were allowed to be members.
Boy Scouts of America lifts nationwide ban on gay leaders, @AllenSchauffler reportshttps://t.co/WpcUgku62M
— Al Jazeera America (@ajam) July 28, 2015
For the first time ever, transgender boys can join The Boy Scouts of America. pic.twitter.com/tNu5UjdsCm
— Stitch (@watchstitch) January 31, 2017
Girls were allowed in the program in 2018 — despite the fact that they have their own Girl Scouts program. The new program was given the “gender-neutral name” of Scouts BSA.
The Boy Scouts of America are getting a new name as girls join the program https://t.co/QfuJzZZZJU pic.twitter.com/hNGivgiwj5
— TIME (@TIME) May 3, 2018
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America sued, claiming trademark infringement, Reuters reported. Their problem with the new name of “Scouts BSA” was that “only GSUSA has the right to use the Girl Scouts and Scouts trademarks with leadership development services for girls.”
In a statement, they added, “We did what any brand, company, corporation, or organization would do to protect its intellectual property, the value of its brand in the marketplace, and to defend its good name.”
In August 2017, The Daily Caller reported that almost 100 sexual abuse allegations were made against the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts of America in Guam.
The organization had also kept “records of sex abuse perpetrated by scoutmasters — called the ‘perversion files’ — under wraps for decades instead of revealing them to the public,” according to The Daily Caller.
The ongoing PC culture and SJW pushes were just too much for many people who simply wanted what the organization traditionally offered for their boys. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has been a partner with the Boy Scouts program for years, announced it was starting its own program in 2020.
The Daily Caller reported that this move may cost the Scouts BSA approximately one-third of their membership.
What happens next for the organization remains to be seen. But in the meantime, other organizations have formed and are forming to fill the void left by the former Boy Scouts of America.
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