4 Reactions to the Boy Scouts' Decision to Admit Girls
Trail Life USA: We are an alternative to BSA, join us.
Founded in 2013, Trail Life USA is a distinctively faith-based alternative to the Boy Scouts that now includes approximately 30,000 members in nearly 750 troops in 48 states. In an email obtained by The Christian Post, Trail USA CEO Mark Hancock decried the BSA's move because it ignores the important differences between boys and girls and does a disservice to both. Hancock said: "Increasingly, however, it seems that boys are being singled out and told that their natural traits and characteristics are somehow wrong or need to be corrected."
"We believe that, properly encouraged and nurtured by good role models, what makes a boy a boy is good, for the individual and for society." When the lines are blurred between male and female life becomes "very confusing" for boys, Hancock added, noting that boys are much more likely than girls to be in special education or be diagnosed with ADHD.
"I can assure that we have no intention of following the lead of the Boys Scouts of America. We will continue to offer a place where the wildness and the natural tendencies of boys can be encouraged and shaped, for their good and for the good of society." Trail Life USA troops offer programs, usually chartered in local churches, and are built around outdoor experiences to give young men skills and help them grow on a personal level and to be role models and leaders for their peers.