David Crary July 02, 2021 - 9:43 PM
NEW YORK (AP) â Jessica Stern, soon to become the State Department s special diplomatic envoy for LGBTQ rights, sees a mix of promising news and worrisome developments almost everywhere she looks, both at home and abroad.
In the United States, Sternâs admiration for President Joe Bidenâs moves supporting LGBTQ rights is offset by her dismay at other developments. These include persisting violence against transgender women of color and a wave of legislation in Republican-governed states seeking to limit sports participation and medical options for trans youth.
âI donât think thereâs a country or region thatâs all good or all bad,â she told The Associated Press on Friday. âWhen you look around the world, you see progress and danger simultaneously.â
AP News Digest 3:20 a m
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New US LGBTQ-rights envoy sees reasons for hope and worry
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New US LGBTQ-rights envoy sees reasons for hope and worry
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Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts suffer huge declines in membership
David Crary
The Associated Press
America’s most iconic youth organizations the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA have been jolted by unprecedented one-year drops in membership, due partly to the pandemic, and partly to social trends that have been shrinking their ranks for decades.
While both organizations insist they’ll survive, the dramatic declines raise questions about how effectively they’ll be able to carry out their time-honored missions – teaching skills and teamwork, providing outdoor adventure, encouraging community service.
Membership for the BSA’s flagship Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA programs dropped from 1.97 million in 2019 to 1.12 million in 2020, a 43% plunge, according to figures provided to The Associated Press. Court records show membership has fallen further since then, to about 762,000.