Girl Scouts Face Backlash for Decision to March in Trump’s Inaugural Parade

The Girl Scouts of the USA have a controversial weekend ahead of them–it has been announced that the organization will be attending and marching in President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural parade. And given Trump’s pretty abysmal record on women’s rights, a lot of people are really mad at the organization for making that call.

.@girlscouts And to teach little girls that they must smile, cheer and wave for a man who abuses them because “nonpartisan”? Just sad. Sad.

— Happy ValengrimesDay (@andreagrimes) January 17, 2017

@girlscouts I’m the mother of a Girl Scout and I hope you reconsider your participation. Trump does *not* honor your values, as shown below pic.twitter.com/ozT3Qm3ZrN

— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) January 17, 2017

If you wouldn’t leave a girl scout in a room alone w/ donald trump, you shouldn’t be participating in his inauguration, @girlscouts. #resist

— Imani Gandy (@AngryBlackLady) January 17, 2017

But despite the public backlash, the organization has stood by its choice. The Girls Scouts told NBC News:

At Girl Scouts, our movement is made up of individuals who hold political beliefs and convictions as varied as our nation itself. And because every girl has a home at Girl Scouts, every girl in our movement is allowed her own ideas, opinions, beliefs and political ideology. Our fundamental value is empowering girls to be leaders in their own lives. By helping them build the courage, confidence, and character to lift their voices, champion their views, and be advocates for the issues and ideas important to them, Girl Scouts supports girls as they become catalysts for change who strengthen their communities.

Of course, we are a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that by law cannot take positions on political candidates or parties — and we take this very seriously. Advocating for change on issues one cares about isn’t at odds with participating in a century-long tradition that represents the peaceful exchange of power.

The Girl Scouts has been lauded as a pretty progressive organization recently–the group has been particularly inclusive of LGBT individuals. Even more commonly, Girl Scouts has become a conservative boogeyman, accused of being too tightly tied to pro-choice organizations like Planned Parenthood. But at the end of the day, the Girl Scouts are a non-partisan organization, and it’s not particularly surprising that they’ve chosen to stick to that stance for inauguration.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.