The Boy Scouts of America announced Monday that the organization will change a 100-year-old rule and finally allow boys to join the group based on the gender listed on their applications, not birth certificates, the Associated Press reports.
The decision follows an incident last fall where an eight-year-old New Jersey boy was ejected from the Scouts when the group discovered that he was born female. A statement from Boy Scouts chief exec Michael Surbaugh didn't directly address that recent controversy, instead saying that the policy has been updated to reflect a broader change in society's gender definitions.
"Communities and state laws are now interpreting gender identity differently than society did in the past and these new laws vary widely from state to state," Surbaugh wrote. "Starting [Monday] we will accept registration in our Scouting programs based on the gender identity provided on an individual's application."
The Boy Scouts of America has been easing itself away from the group's homophobic past in recent years. The org finally began allowing openly gay children to join its ranks in 2013, and lifted its ban on openly gay scout leaders in 2015.
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