Boy Scouts ban water balloons and water gun fights

More summer time fun taken away in the name of political correctness. Beginning this summer, the Boy Scouts of America announced a ban water balloons and water gun fights.

Page 99 of the 2015 Boy Scout handbook now states: “Water guns and rubber band guns must only be used to shoot at targets, and eye protection must be worn.”

“For water balloons, use small, biodegradable balloons, and fill them no larger than a ping pong ball,” page 100 of the handbook states.

The Michigan Crossroads Council of Boy Scouts of America, which serves more than 68,000 Scouts statewide, as come out in full support of the new ban.

“Our mission is to prepare young people for life and part of that duty is to ensure our youth become civically-minded adults. Pointing a simulated firearm at another individual is not aligned with our Scout Oath nor Scout Law.

“We can understand some may feel this ban is extreme but preparing young people for life starts in a child’s most impressionable years. We are ​committed to our mission here statewide, locally, and nationally," Crossroads Marketing and Communications director Kerrie Mitchell said.

The new rules were exposed by Bryan Wendell in a blog post on Scouting Magazine website.

“Why the rule? A Scouter once told me this explanation I liked quite a bit: “A Scout is kind. What part of pointing a firearm [simulated or otherwise] at someone is kind?" Wendell, who is is senior editor of “Boys’ Life,” “Scouting” and “Eagles’ Call” magazines, wrote.

Not surprising, the new rule is not sitting well with more than a few people.

“What a load of politically correct crap. What’s the point of super-soakers if you don’t shoot them at others to get wet and cool off on a hot day?

“And water balloons no bigger than a ping-pong ball? Have you ever been hit by a water balloon that isn’t big enough to explode? It hurts more than one that is properly filled.

"This is such a load of BSA garbage!!!!” a guy named Dave commented on Wendell's blog post.

“Sometimes I just have to laugh out loud at how idiotic some things in our society have become. We can’t squirt each other with water guns because it is a ‘simulated’ gun. I can’t believe BSA is so worried about the PC police that it has a policy like this,” added commenter Gary said.

“Yes, let’s carry every policy to the absurd extreme. That will certainly help scouts shed that geeky image,” another commenter said.

I wonder if President Obama will have anything to say about this?