A Cub Scout in Broomfield has been kicked out of his den, allegedly for asking pointed questions of a Colorado state senator at meeting organized by the Boy Scouts. 
 
 Eleven-year-old Ames Mayfield, a fifth-grader at Prospect Ridge Academy and a Scout for five years, on Oct. 9 asked Sen. Vicki Marble, R-Fort Collins, questions about gun control, and about comments Marble made at a 2013 legislative hearing on poverty about mortality rates among African-Americans. 
 
 The boy’s mother, Lori Mayfield, on Wednesday said Ames was kicked out of his den, or Scout group, as a result. 
 
 “He is still kind of reeling from this,” Mayfield said. “He is really sensitive, my heart breaks for him.” 
 
 Ames’ questions, and other Scouts’ questions, were recorded and posted on YouTube by Mayfield in a video titled “Vicki Marble denies chicken-gate.” 
 
 “I was astonished that you blamed black people for poor health and poverty because of all the chicken and barbecue they eat,” Ames said to Marble at the Scout meeting. 
 
 “I didn’t, that was made up by the media,” Marble replied. “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.” 
 
 In 2013 Marble 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. 
 
 “Although I’ve got to say,” she continued at the time. “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.” 
 
 On Oct. 9, at the den presentation, Marble, speaking to the Scouts in calm, measured tones, responded, in part, to Ames’ question: “We have multicultural foods in 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.” 
 
 Marble went on to tell the Scouts that she’s from a multi-ethnic background that includes “black, Mexican…Jew…Native American” and the “lousy Irish!” People in the audience chuckled. 
 
 “Decisions about who is in or out of a den are internal organizational matters that I won’t second guess,” Marble, majority caucus chair, said Wednesday night in an email to The Post. “I don’t blame the boy for asking the questions, since I believe there was an element of manipulation involved, and it wasn’t much different from the questions I normally field in other meetings. The invitation to meet with the scouts was never intended to cause friction and controversy.” 
 
 Prior to the den meeting, Ames researched Marble, his mother said, as the Scouts knew she would be speaking. Ames formulated the questions he would ask, she said. 
 
 “The only coaching I gave him was to be respectful,” Mayfield said. “Don’t be argumentative, preface things ‘with all due respect.'” 
 
 A den leader was upset by Ames’ line of questioning, Mayfield said. She is looking for a new den for Ames to join. 
 
 “I felt my son followed directions. He asked hard questions, but he was not disrespectful,” she said. 
 
 “The Denver Area Council is evaluating this matter closely and will treat all parties with dignity and respect,” said Nicole Cosme, marketing director of the Boy Scouts of America Denver Area Council. 
 
 Cosme added that the Boy Scouts is “a wholly nonpartisan organization and does not promote any one political position, candidate or philosophy.” 
 
 Other Scouts asked Marble about the border wall, fossil fuels, and voting for President Barack Obama. No other Scout was dismissed from the den, Mayfield said. 
 
 Ames was offered membership in other dens, Cosme said. She declined to go into detail about the meeting with Marble. 
 
 “We would like Ames to stay in Cub Scouts and become a Boy Scout,” Cosme said. ||||| BROOMFIELD, Colo. — A Broomfield 5th grader was kicked out of the Cub Scouts, reportedly for simply asking a politician a few tough questions. 
 
 
 
 The boy was just three months shy of becoming a Boy Scout when he faced removal from his den last week. His Cub Scout den in Broomfield hosted Republican state senator Vicki Marble for a question and answer discussion on Monday, Oct. 9. 
 
 
 
 Students asked about gun control, the proposed border wall and Marble's infamous and racially charged remarks from 2013 on foods of the south and disease in African Americans. 
 
 
 
 But the questions apparently went too far. 
 
 
 
 Cub Scout mom, Lori Mayfield, captured the exchanges between Marble and the scout group. She posted the questions and answers on YouTube. 
 
 
 
 At one point, her son, Ames, asked Marble about controversial remarks she made in 2013 regarding blacks, fried chicken and poverty. 
 
 
 
 "Why do you (inaudible) black people for poor health and poverty because of all the chicken and barbecue they eat?" the scout asked. 
 
 
 
 "I didn't,” replied Marble. “That was made up by the media. 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." 
 
 
 
 Her recollection is apparently a bit rusty. 
 
 
 
 Here's part of what the senator said at a poverty reduction meeting in 2013: 
 
 
 
 “When you look at life expectancy, there are problems in the black race,” Marble said. “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 then went on. “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.” 
 
 
 
 Denver7 asked Marble about the racially charged comment at the time. 
 
 
 
 "Do you think you were reinforcing stereotypes?" 
 
 
 
 “No,” she said. “I don't think so. It's what's going to be in these (medical) reports. And reality is not sensitive. Cancer is harsh.” 
 
 
 
 “Do you think your comments were insensitive?” 
 
 
 
 “I can’t answer that,” Marble said. “People respond differently. I’ve had black people e-mail me and say, ‘You’re right. Don’t back down.’” 
 
 
 
 At the scout meeting last week, it was Ames' question about gun control that got him booted from his pack according to his mom. 
 
 
 
 The question went on for two minutes and 15 seconds. Here’s a portion: 
 
 
 
 "I was shocked that you co-sponsored a bill to allow domestic violence offenders to continue to own a gun,” Ames said. “Why on earth would you want someone who beats their wife to have access to a gun?" 
 
 
 
 The den leader then cut off Ames. 
 
 “Ok. Ames, that is a really thorough question," said the leader. 
 
 
 
 A few days after the meeting, Ames was kicked out. 
 
 
 
 His mother, Lori, said in an e-mail, “My son was praised for (the question) during and after the meeting." 
 
 
 
 “He is heartbroken his den leader kicked him out,” Mayfield said. “What does that teach scouts (about asking challenging questions)?” 
 
 
 
 We contacted the Denver area council of the Boy Scouts Wednesday. 
 
 In an e-mail to Mayfield, they said, “…it is up to the chartered organization to determine the eligibility of (scouts)." 
 
 
 
 A spokesperson told Denver7 the council is helping to find Ames another den, "so that he may continue to participate in the scouting program." 
 
 
 
 “He’s devastated,” said Mayfield. “He has worked so hard for everything and he really liked his current den leader.”
– A Colorado state senator was visiting, and Ames Mayfield had questions for her. Specifically, questions about gun control, as well as comments the lawmaker made back in 2013 regarding black people. As a result, Ames was kicked out of the organization that Sen. Vicki Marble was visiting. That organization is a Cub Scout den, and Ames is an 11-year-old fifth-grader. His mom tells the Denver Post the den leader was upset by Ames' questions for Marble on Oct. 9 and kicked him out; specifically, the den leader stopped the line of questioning after Ames asked, "Why on Earth would you want someone who beats their wife to have access to a gun?" the Denver Channel reports. His mom insists Ames did the research in advance of the meeting and came up with the questions on his own ("the only coaching I gave him was to be respectful"), though the GOP senator seems to disagree. "I don't blame the boy for asking the questions, since I believe there was an element of manipulation involved," Marble emailed the Post. Ames' other Q's stemmed from a 2013 legislative poverty hearing during which Marble noted life expectancy "problems in the black race," such as sickle cell anemia and diabetes, then added, "Although I've got to say, I've never had better barbecue and ... chicken and ate better in my life than when you go down South." At the den meeting, Ames said he "was astonished that you blamed black people for poor health and poverty because of all the chicken and barbecue they eat." Marble responded, "That's not how it went down. ... That was made up by the media." She also praised "multicultural foods" in the US but said, "We just better figure out our genetics." The Scouts' Denver Area Council is evaluating the matter; the Mayfields are seeking a new den.