Scout kicked out after question on gun control
Local scout leader called topic inappropriate, disrespectful
DENVER — A Cub Scout was kicked out of his den after he questioned a Colorado state lawmaker about her position on gun control and previous comments she made about African-Americans’ health and eating fried chicken.
It was the latest political flashpoint for the Boy Scouts after President Donald Trump used his speech at the organization’s national jamboree in July to rail against “fake news” and former President Barack Obama and boast about beating Hillary Clinton.
Eleven-year-old Ames Mayfield posed the questions at an Oct. 9 event in Broomfield, between Denver and Boulder. Cub Scouts had been told to come prepared to talk to Republican state Sen. Vicki Marble about issues important to them.
Ames’ mother, Lori Mayfield, said a local scout leader later told her that the topic of gun control was inappropriate because of its political nature and that the boy’s questions were disrespectful.
The Boy Scouts, which includes the Cub Scouts, refused to comment on why the boy was asked to leave but say he will remain in scouting after finding a new group.
“The Boy Scouts of America is a wholly nonpartisan organization and does not promote any one political position, candidate or philosophy,” the organization said Friday.
Cub Scouts is for children in the first through fifth grades. They meet in groups from the same grade called “dens,” which are part of larger “packs.”
Ames was only kicked out of his den, not the larger pack. Since the other available den met while he attends classes, changing to another den within the pack was not an option. He’s joining a den in a new pack at his church, his mother said.
In online videos recorded by Lori Mayfield, the scouts asked questions about why people wanted to vote for Obama just because he was black and about Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. It was unclear which scouts asked the questions. Mayfield blurred the identities of all the children except for that of her son.
In the video showing Ames asking about gun control, he read from a printed sheet, telling the lawmaker that he was shocked that she sponsored a bill that allowed domestic violence offenders to own guns. He also rattled off a list of survey statistics about Americans’ views on the issue and spoke about the trouble Las Vegas shooting victims would have paying their bills.