Entertainment

Derick Dillard, Duggar-In-Law, Backtracks On Transgender Boy Scout Connection

Published on: February 4, 2017 at 9:29 PM
By Steph Bazzle

Derick Dillard, Duggar son-in-law, reality star, and missionary, recently spoke out about the decision by the Boy Scouts of America to allow transgender boys to join their organization. Speaking as a scout himself, and as someone currently connected to the organization, Dillard decried the decision, calling it sad.

However, he may have either had second thoughts about how he described his connection to the organization, or may have even been asked to speak as an individual rather than as a possible representative of the organization, because shortly after he tweeted his complaints, Dillard withdrew one of his statements, leaving only a simpler tweet that did not connect him to the organization.

Inquisitr reported on Derick Dillard’s initial reaction, and included his tweet.

“As an Eagle Scout myself and the brother of an Eagle Scout and a BSA District Executive, yes, this is sad.”

However, that tweet no longer exists. Perhaps Dillard rethought the response to a Twitter user who spoke in support of the Boy Scouts of America’s decision.

On January 30, Derick Dillard tweeted, quoting a tweet from Josh Duggar’s former employer, the conservative lobbying group Family Research Council, which, in turn, spoke of the BSA’s change in rules.

Dillard received a lot of negative feedback, some referencing Josh Duggar, and some suggesting that Derick should seek a new job outside reality television.

However, a few of the responses, in particular, seemed to grab the Duggar son-in-law’s attention.

One was from a woman who disagreed politely, saying that as the mother of scouts, she is very proud that the organization is becoming more inclusive.

Derick quoted her tweet in his response, arguing, “…yes, this is sad,” and identifying himself as “…an Eagle Scout myself and the brother of an Eagle Scout and a BSA District Executive.”

Identifying herself as a fan, but continuing to politely disagree, the scouting mom responded to Derick twice more.

Like the rest of the Duggar family, Derick Dillard is very public with his conservative political views — he attends pro-life events, declared his support of Donald Trump publicly, considers Santa a lie and a distraction from Jesus, and of course, married into a family known for activism against transgender rights.

However, despite Dillard’s willingness to be public with his religious, political, and social beliefs, he seems to have had second thoughts about this tweet at least, because he later deleted it, leaving only the shorter one.

Derick did then respond to other social media users regarding whether he would treat transgender people equally in the mission field, saying that he will “continue to” do so. Though “continue” may suggest that he has done so in the past, Derick did not elaborate on whether he has ever spoken to a trans person in the course of his ministry, or, if so, whether his ministry focused on conversion.

Though Derick Dillard both said and indicated through hashtags that he opposed discrimination, he and Ben Seewald, another Duggar son-in-law, have clashed before on the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Duggar family also has a history of supporting organizations and politicians that oppose LGBT rights.

With that history, it’s odd that Derick Dillard would delete an opinion about transgender rights — and curious that he would delete one tweet about it and not the other.

The primary difference between Dillard’s two tweets is, of course, that in one, he identified himself as a scout and a District Executive for the Boy Scouts — so it’s entirely possible that the Duggar son-in-law merely chose (or was asked) to make his disagreement with the decision personal, without the connection to the organization.

[Featured Image by Derick Dillard/Instagram]

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