RantCrush Top 5: May 12, 2017

The Mormon Church has had a relationship with the Boy Scouts for over a century, but now they’re calling it quits. The Boy Scouts have faced some criticism over the past few years for not being inclusive enough. Then, in 2015, the organization said it would allow gay scout leaders. The Mormon Church took offense and said it was “deeply troubled” by that decision. And at the end of January, the Boy Scouts started accepting transgender boys as members. For LGBTQ rights groups, this was a huge step in the right direction.

The Mormons begin their retreat from Boy Scouts. Scouts are losing their biggest sponsor but keep the LGBT agenda. https://t.co/ig1zT6IfGJ

— Fr Matthew Schneider (@FrMatthewLC) May 11, 2017

Now the Mormon Church has said that it will no longer participate in the Boy Scouts’ programs for kids aged 14 and older, as teens are not “being served well” by those programs. The Associated Press estimates this could mean the departure of up to 180,000 teenagers, as more than 300,000 Mormon boys currently participate in Boy Scouts activities.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.