Joe Maldonado is a 9-year-old kid from Maplewood, New Jersey who was born a girl but identifies as a boy.
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) did not accept kids who were transgender. On January 31, 2017, the Scouts changed its longtime policy because of Joe.
He was in a Pack in Secaucus for a month when he was kicked out because of the gender on his birth certificate.
According to northjersey.com, his mother was told by BSA officials that other parents had complained. Yet, Maldonado was accepted at school and at home as a boy. He was also a scout member of Pack 87 and his gender identity was not a secret.
This was not the first time the BSA came under fire for its gender policies. Back in 2012, the BSA reaffirmed its position of not only banning openly gay Scouts but gay and lesbian leaders as well. The Supreme Court ruled that this was their right, as a private organization. Then, Eagle Scouts around the country made headlines when they sent back their badges to the organization in protest of the BSA's exclusion.
Joe did not likely know or care about any of that. He just wanted to be a Cub Scout.
Facing backlash, the BSA changed its policy. It would now accept members based on their gender identity, not just the gender they were born with.