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Indiana Lawmaker Says Girl Scouts Are Destroying 'American Family Values'

Would Indiana Rep. Bob Morris approve of his fellow Republican's endorsement of this organization? 1997: Former President Reagan receives cookies from members of Girl Scout Troop #313 as a gift for his 86th birthday.
Mike Guastella
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AFP/Getty Images
Would Indiana Rep. Bob Morris approve of his fellow Republican's endorsement of this organization? 1997: Former President Reagan receives cookies from members of Girl Scout Troop #313 as a gift for his 86th birthday.

Saying that the Girl Scouts is a "radicalized organization" that promotes "homosexual lifestyles" and is aligned with honorary president Michelle Obama's "pro-abortion" viewpoint, an Indiana state legislator has told his fellow Republicans he can't support a proclamation honoring the organization's 100th anniversary.

And now, Fort Wayne Rep. Bob Morris' position and the letter he sent other legislators has gone "viral," the local Journal Gazettereports.

The proclamation, as the newspapers says, "applauded the group 'for the strong positive influence it has had on the American woman.' "

But Morris, saying he "did a small amount of web-based research," claims to have found that the Girl Scouts has "a close strategic affiliation with Planned Parenthood." He makes that assertion even as he concedes "you will not find evidence of this on the [Girl Scouts'] website — in fact, the websites of these two organizations explicitly deny funding Planned Parenthood."

All in all, according to Morris, the Girl Scouts is an organization that's "been subverted in the name of liberal progressive politics and the destruction of traditional American family values."

As for the Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michiana [sic], it has a "what we stand for" webpage here. On the specific issue of sexuality, it states that both the national Girl Scouts and the state chapter "believe that issues related to human sexuality and reproductive health are best left to parents or guardians to discuss with their daughters."

(H/T to Alan Greenblatt.)

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Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
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