After several decades of legal challenges and funding boycotts for the Boy Scouts of America to lift its ban on openly gay Scout leaders in 2015. Now, organization leaders have decided to allow transgender male scouts to participate in all programs. Instead of accepting only boys whose birth certificates list their gender as male, the organization will now welcome boys who identify as such is application forms.

I support this new change to the organization. When you don’t allow kids to join an organization because of what they identify as, they will be afraid to ever express themselves.

The exclusion of transgender boys has had a negative effect. Being blocked from spaces and organizations for a immutable trait such as gender identity can be painful, particularly when the exclusion occurs during formative years.

The ban on gay men and youths in Boy Scout programs was subtle, because it implicitly conveyed that gay men mentoring young boys could represent a danger. People supporting the ban also groundlessly argued that gay troop leaders could promote homosexuality.  
The Boy Scouts are recognizing transgender boys for what they genuinely are: boys. This extends the organization’s values and programs to a wider pool. It also may help an new generation of Americans think more rationally and compassionately about gender identity.