The quote reads as follows:
The Maryland Assembly rejected a similar “gender identity” bill last year when it realized that the Boy Scouts could be forced to hire cross-dressing women as Scout leaders.
I am a “recovering” Scoutmaster. Prior to transition, I was the Scoutmaster of my local troop where my son was a Scout. I was trained as a leader in Scouting and later went on to become an instructor of that same training, as well as completing the highest level of training in Scouting, the Wood Badge. For those in the know, I am an “Owl”.
At the time of my transition, I sent an open letter to the members of my troop. I offered to completely step away from the troop. The troop, wanting to make sure that they had followed policy and procedure notified the District level (county) and then notified the Council level (regional, “Baltimore”) about my transition. The response -- it was a troop matter. A similar process was conducted with the Methodist Church that sponsors the troop. The church administration responded, “We have trans clergy, this is not an issue.”
Therefore, the decision about my continued participation in Scouting was left to the adults I had worked with over the last few years. Their decision -- they asked me to stay on, and as a registered adult leader. The reality is that the vast majority of “Scouters” are all volunteers. There are very few paid professional Scouting leaders.
In September 2011, I led a Scouting event that I had created with my troop. Rocket weekend. The troop would join the Maryland Delaware Rocketry Association (MDRA) on the eastern shore of Maryland and participate in daylong rocket launching. Since I am a rocketeer I would lead the outing. Therefore, I did, my first as my “new” self with the Scouts. The reaction of my Scouts to my new “presentation”, nothing. Bupkis. Nada. Like nothing had ever changed. My oldest son, soon aging out of Scouting, came with us and helped the younger Scouts. The reaction of the other leaders was all positive and friendly. Let me quote the present Scoutmaster: “Thank you, Sharon, I do not know how we would do this without you.”
Some have challenged why I have remained in Scouting. The answer is simple. I prefer to make change from within. These Scouts and Scout leaders now have a positive example of a Trans person among them. If I am not there, then they have no reference point. My presence creates change, my absence does not.
The last point in this debunking is the claim that the bill last year died because of Scouting. What a fiction. It died because the Senate President killed it in a procedural vote, the history of which is well documented. So my message to CRG is: Get your facts straight, and if you are going to make claims about trans people and the things we do, or don’t do, please at least make some effort to provide evidence. In addition, as we dissect each of these claims you are going to find that there just isn’t any supporting evidence, and most of what you say is fiction, based in fear. I say respectfully, prove it.
The bottom line is there is nothing in a trans rights bill that forces anybody to do anything other than the right thing. My experience has shown that if you give most good people the chance to do that they will. This bill insures that the playing field is level from the start and that, like my Scout troop, people, employers and organizations will value you for what you bring to the table, and nothing else will matter.
Sharon Brackett
Board Chair
Gender Rights Maryland
