Girl Scouts fired me for not pushing Pride Month onto kids, mom says
The leader of a Girls Scout troop in New Jersey says she was removed from her position due to her social media posts that questioned the organization’s perceived shift towards LGBTQIA+ activism and its introduction of gender sexuality alliance clubs to scouts.
Alexandra Bougher, who is also the Bergen County chapter chair of Moms for Liberty, said she was fired in a phone call Wednesday with two members of the council of the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey. Moms for Liberty is a right-wing parents rights group that advocates against school curricula mentioning LGBTQ rights, race, and ethnicity.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremism organizations, identified Moms of Liberty as an anti-government organization and Bougher has appeared a few times on Fox News, speaking on behalf of the group.
“I’m proud to stand up for the safety of our children and will always stand up to adults that push woke indoctrination to minors,” Bougher posted on Facebook this week. “You will not groom kids on my watch.”
Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey didn’t return a phone call and emails from NJ Advance Media on Thursday asking for comment.
Bougher said Girls Scout officials declined to tell her which of her posts violated their code of conduct but theorized it may have been about her comments taking a stance against a post the Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey shared in June promoting Pride Month.
“I reposted it and I said, ‘just to be clear, my troop will not be doing this” Bougher said Thursday in a phone interview with NJ Advance Media.
“I guess that’s the one,” she said. “They actually refused to tell me which one it was, but I’m assuming it was that one since it was pulled off their site.”
Bougher, 45, had been a Girl Scout leader in her hometown of Park Ridge for seven years and led about 30 girls before being let go from her volunteer position.
She said she’s also been outspoken about other incidents involving a church that hosted a scouts event with an LGBTQ flag out front and an event in which a transgender teen spoke to the scouts about gender identity.
“This is not what Girl Scouts is about. It is highly inappropriate to talk about anything sexual in nature with small children. That’s not the role of a leader of a Girl Scout leader, and that’s not happening during our meetings.”
Bougher said she noticed the Girl Scouts becoming a more activist organization a few years ago but she continued to lead her troop and simply didn’t bring them to any of those events.
“I saw the change with Girl Scouts a few years ago when some troops were taking their kids to Black Lives Matter marches, and that was not only OK, but they were sort of pushing it like ‘this is so great, get them into activism.’”
“And we were like, this is not what Girl Scouts is about, and it’s also dangerous — bringing young children there. We sort of saw that change and some other things too, but you know, I kept my my mouth shut, I kept my troop — they’re all friends with each other. They can do those events and we’ll do our own thing, you know."
Bougher said things came to a head earlier this year when she posted on social media about other area troops attending events at a local church that hung a Progressive Pride flag.
The flag includes black and brown stripes to represent marginalized LGBTQ+ communities of color, along with the colors pink, light blue and white, which are used on the transgender pride flag.
“A pride flag is one thing but to put it in front of 5-year-olds — that is going to open up a discussion and I don’t think it’s appropriate for a troop leader to have that discussion with a child. That’s highly inappropriate to have in front of children. So we asked them to remove it. They would not. And so I made a social media post. I know (the church is) private, but when you’re hosting children’s activities can you at least remove it when the kids are there? Why is it more important to to have it up in front of children? Like, why?”
She also said kept her troop away from an ice cream social event at the church in which a 13-year-old transgender girl took part in a discussion on gender identity.
She said parents told her they weren’t comfortable with the event “and I didn’t feel comfortable with it.
Bougher said Girl Scouts officials told her on Wednesday she will no longer be a leader but wouldn’t further explain her removal.
“They said, ‘we’re here today to talk about your role as a leader,” Bougher said. “You will no longer be a leader, it’s a final decision. We will not be discussing it, we’ll not be talking about it, we’ve already done that. That’s our final decision and it’s not changing. Not only that, you are not allowed to be a member anymore and neither can your daughter.”
A photo shared by Moms of Liberty, appearing to be a screenshot of a message sent by a Girl Scout leader known as a service unit manager addressed Bougher’s dismissal by encouraging other leaders to reach out to the council, which made the decision.