Boy Scouts everywhere will no longer be able to partake in the summer childhood pastime of squirt guns and water balloon fights. The Boy Scout Organization will ban water-gun fights.
A blog post by Bryan Wendall, an Eagle Scout and editor at various Scouting publications, reminded Scout leaders that new policies now prohibit the use of water guns and water balloons.
The ban is detailed inside the “2015 Boy Scouts of America National Shooting Sports Manual,” which regards water guns as firearms.The manual states: “Pointing any type of firearm or simulated firearm at any individual is unauthorized.”The passage goes on to say that Scout leaders may plan events such as paintball or laser tag, as long as the Boy Scouts shoot at targets and “neither living nor human representations.”
Wendall writes that a Scouter said of the rule, “A Scout is kind. What part of pointing a firearm [simulated or otherwise] at someone is kind?” And when it comes to water balloons, Boy Scout rules specify they can’t be filled to any size larger than a ping-pong ball.
SOURCE: DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE
