Pete Hegseth bullied Scouting America into scrapping LGBTQ+ spaces at the National Jamboree

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pressured Scouting America to curtail inclusive programming at its National Jamboree. The result was cancellations by Scouts who had looked forward to gathering in dedicated community spaces, including one for LGBTQ+ Scouts.The meddling in the National Jamboree, which took place last week in West Virginia, follows months of Hegseth pressuring the youth organization through its century-old partnership with the Pentagon. The man overseeing an ongoing military conflict with Iran has also expended time and resources trying to end all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within Scouting America, previously known as the Boy Scouts of America, including demanding that it eliminate certain merit badge offerings. Related: Pete Hegseth declares that Scouting America will eliminate transgender tolerance & diversity programsAt the Jamboree, the organization had planned dedicated activity spaces for girls in Scouting, Scouts of color and LGBTQ+ Scouts. But Scouting America’s leaders said Hegseth pressed them to eliminate those activities, according to the Associated Press. The decision dismayed many Scout leaders.“Scouting fundamentally is a safe place for young people to have fun,” said Samuel J. Aronson, an assistant scoutmaster who organized prior inclusivity events. “In the absence of these spaces, we’re denying all that, both the safety and the fun, to thousands of young people.”James Dale, the plaintiff in a landmark 1990s lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America, sued the Defense Department to obtain the six-page memo detailing Hegseth’s demands that the organization curtail its modern inclusive policies. While the BSA during Dale’s youth fought successfully for the First Amendment right to exclude members based on sexual orientation, the rebranded Scouting America has allowed transgender members since 2017 and girls since 2018.Related: Scouting America 'surprised and disappointed' after U.S. military threatens t