jhpics/iStock/Thinkstock(DENVER, Colo.) — An 11-year-old Cub Scout was reportedly kicked out of the program allegedly for asking a Colorado state senator some tough questions during a meeting organized by the Boy Scouts of America.
Ames Mayfield was booted last week following an Oct. 9 discussion hosted by his Cub Scout den in Broomfield, Colorado, with Republican Sen. Vicki Marble, his mother, Lori Mayfield, told ABC affiliate KMGH in Denver.
Lori Mayfield recorded the tense exchanges between her fifth-grade son and Marble and later posted the videos on YouTube. At one point in the videos, Ames asks the Fort Collins-area senator about controversial remarks she reportedly made at a legislative meeting on poverty at the Colorado State Capitol Building in 2013.
“I was astonished that you blamed black people for poor health and poverty because of all the chicken and barbecue they eat,” Ames says.
“I didn’t; that was made up by the media,” Marble responds in a quiet, measured tone. “So, you want to believe it? You believe it. But that’s not how it went down. I didn’t do that. That was false. Get both sides of the story.”
According to KMGH, Marble in 2013 said, “When you look at life expectancy, there are problems in the black race. Sickle-cell anemia is something that comes up. Diabetes is something that’s prevalent in the genetic makeup, and you just can’t help it.”
The senator continued at the time, “Although I’ve got to say, I’ve never had better barbecue and better chicken and ate better in my life than when you go down South and you, I mean, I love it. Everybody loves it.”
While responding to Ames’ question, Marble told the Cub Scouts, “I have a multicultural family and I’m very proud of it.”
“I have blacks in my family. I have blacks and Mexican — they aren’t Latino, they’re Mexican. I have Jew. Oh, and I have Native American too. And we talk about our genetics and what we’re predisposed to so we can take care of each other, and we eat everything and we exercise,” Marble said in the videos, later adding that her cultural background includes the “lousy Irish,” generating some chuckles from the audience.
“We have multicultural foods within the United States and we are very blessed to have it. And we all love it and we all eat it. And we just better figure out our genetics,” the senator said.
But it was Ames’ pointed question about gun control that got him removed from the Cub Scouts, his mother told KMGH.
“I was shocked that you co-sponsored a bill to allow domestic violence offenders to continue to own a gun,” Ames asks Marble. “Why on earth would you want someone who beats their wife to have access to a gun?”
An adult facilitating the discussion then cuts off the boy, saying, “OK, Ames, that is a really thorough question.”
Lori Mayfield told KMGH her son was booted from the scouting program a few days after the meeting. Ames was just three months away from advancing to a Boy Scout, she said.
“My son was praised for [the question] during and after the meeting,” she told KMGH in an email. “He is heartbroken his den leader kicked him out … What does that teach scouts [about asking challenging questions]?”
“He’s devastated,” she added. “He has worked so hard for everything and he really liked his current den leader.”
ABC News has reached out to Lori Mayfield for additional comment.
The Boy Scouts of America’s Denver Area Council did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment Thursday. However, a spokesperson on Wednesday told KMGH that the council is helping to find Ames another den “so that he may continue to participate in the scouting program.”
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