Girl Scouts say yes to the BOY who wants to join them

Colorado 7-year-old Bobby Montoya wants what most little girls want: Dolls, My Little Pony figures and to join the Girl Scouts.

But there’s one problem: Bobby's a boy.

He said he wants to follow his sister in joining the group, but when a troop leader said it wouldn’t work out, the rejection left him devastated.



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Girl talk: Bobby Montoya, who looks and dresses like a girl, but whose application to join the Girl Scouts has led to the disbanding of three troops

Bobby, who said he’s been bullied for looking and dressing like a girl, told KUSA-TV: 'It's hurting my heart. It hurts me and my mom both.'

His mother, Felisha Archuleta, said she allows Bobby to dress and behave how he wants to be.

Ms Archuleta told KUSA: "He's been doing this since he was about 2 years old. He's loved girl stuff, so we just let him dress how he wants.'

She added: 'As long as he's happy.'

Mom: Felisha Archuleta, Bobby's mother, says her son has loved 'girl stuff' since he was two years old

But when she tried to sign Bobby up for Girl Scouts, she was rebuffed, and told that they couldn’t let him in because he wasn't a girl.

Ms Archuleta said she was told by a troop leader that 'It doesn't matter how he looks, he has boy parts, he can't be in Girl Scouts.'

The troop leader added that she didn’t want to get into trouble by parents or her Girl Scouts supervisor.

But today, the Girl Scouts of Colorado said it made a mistake when it rejected Bobby’s application to join.

Girl world: Bobby enjoys playing with dolls and My Little Pony figures

The Girl Scouts issued a statement to KUSA saying that a worker unfamiliar with the group's policies gave Bobby’s family wrong information.

In a statement, the group said: '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.

'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.'

The organization said requests for support of transgender kids have grown, and Girl Scouts of Colorado is working to support the children, their families and the volunteers who serve them.

Equality: The Girl Scouts of Colorado says it's working to support transgender children, their families and the volunteers who serve them