A Cub Scout pressed a lawmaker about gun control. Then his den kicked him out his mother said.
Ames Mayfield
When Ames Mayfield's Cub Scout den met with a Colorado state senator last week  the 11-year-old came prepared with a long list of typed-up questions. He excitedly raised his hand to ask his first one.
 Ames  pressed the Republican state senator  Vicki Marble  on an issue he knew was important to her: gun legislation. The Cub Scout in Broomfield  about 20 miles north of Denver  asked her a slew of questions about previous bills she had sponsored in support of the right to bear arms  and he wasn't shy about inserting his opinion.
"I was shocked that you co-sponsored a bill to allow domestic violence offenders to continue to own a gun "  Ames  said  according to a video posted to YouTube by  his  mother. "Why on earth would you want someone who beats their wife to have access to a gun?"
After  Ames 's questions went on for more than two minutes  a leader in his group cut him off to allow the state senator to answer. Both the senator and the leader commended him for his "thorough" list of questions.
But after the meeting  the leader of  Ames 's Cub Scout pack  which oversees various dens  requested a meeting with his mother. The leader told  Ames 's mother  Lori Mayfield  that her son was kicked out of his Cub Scout den  the mother said in an email to The Washington Post.
The son's den leader was apparently upset over  Ames 's questions  particularly the one on gun control   Mayfield  said. The mother was told her son's question was disrespectful and too political.
"I had to go home and tell my son he was kicked out  " Mayfield  said. "My son was heartbroken because he really liked this den leader and couldn't understand why his question was inappropriate."
 Ames  was less than four months away from transitioning from the Cub Scouts to the Boy Scouts   his  mother said.
The Scouts did not explicitly say  he  was kicked out of the den. In a statement to The Post and local media outlets the Denver Area Council of the Boy Scouts said only that he remains a member of the larger pack  and that the organization is working with the family to offer him options that will "allow him to continue his Scouting experience in a way that fits his and his family's needs."
But local news reports of  Ames 's apparent removal from his den drew anger across social media  with many arguing that  Ames  was punished for asking tough questions of a state lawmaker. After all  the den had specifically assigned the scouts to prepare questions for the senator.
 Ames 's story drew the attention of gun control advocate and former Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona  who was shot in the head by an assailant in 2011  suffering a severe brain injury.
"This is exactly the kind of courage we need in Congress " Giffords tweeted Thursday. " Ames   call me in 14 years. I'll campaign for you."
Giffords's husband  astronaut Mark Kelly  called  Ames  and his mother Thursday night to talk about what happened  according to Fox 31.
The focus of the Cub Scouts' assignment   Mayfield  said  was to meet with a government leader and discuss an important issue facing the community. Cub Scouts were instructed to decide on one or two questions  and to be prepared to ask the official about an issue in the local news.
 Ames  researched the senator before the meeting and decided he would focus his questions on gun control  his mother said. After all  the majority of the videos on Marble's site deal with gun rights legislation.
"Given that the Las Vegas shooting happened  I felt that it should be a reasonable thing to ask "  Ames  told a Denver Fox affiliate. "I don't feel like I did anything wrong."
When Ames Mayfield's Cub Scout den met with a Colorado state senator last week  the 11-year-old came prepared with a long list of typed-up questions. He excitedly raised his hand to ask his first one.
 Ames  pressed the Republican state senator  Vicki Marble  on an issue he knew was important to her: gun legislation. The Cub Scout in Broomfield  about 20 miles north of Denver  asked her a slew of questions about previous bills she had sponsored in support of the right to bear arms  and he wasn't shy about inserting his opinion.
"I was shocked that you co-sponsored a bill to allow domestic violence offenders to continue to own a gun "  Ames  said  according to a video posted to YouTube by  his  mother. "Why on earth would you want someone who beats their wife to have access to a gun?"
After   [TGT]  's questions went on for more than two minutes  a leader in his group cut him off to allow the state senator to answer. Both the senator and the leader commended him for his "thorough" list of questions.
But after the meeting  the leader of   [TGT]  's Cub Scout pack  which oversees various dens  requested a meeting with his mother. The leader told  Ames 's mother  Lori Mayfield  that her son was kicked out of his Cub Scout den  the mother said in an email to The Washington Post.
The son's den leader was apparently upset over   [TGT]  's questions  particularly the one on gun control   Mayfield  said. The mother was told her son's question was disrespectful and too political.
"I had to go home and tell my son he was kicked out  " Mayfield  said. "My son was heartbroken because he really liked this den leader and couldn't understand why his question was inappropriate."
 Ames  was less than four months away from transitioning from the Cub Scouts to the Boy Scouts   his  mother said.
The Scouts did not explicitly say  he  was kicked out of the den. In a statement to The Post and local media outlets the Denver Area Council of the Boy Scouts said only that he remains a member of the larger pack  and that the organization is working with the family to offer him options that will "allow him to continue his Scouting experience in a way that fits his and his family's needs."
But local news reports of  Ames 's apparent removal from his den drew anger across social media  with many arguing that  Ames  was punished for asking tough questions of a state lawmaker. After all  the den had specifically assigned the scouts to prepare questions for the senator.
 Ames 's story drew the attention of gun control advocate and former Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona  who was shot in the head by an assailant in 2011  suffering a severe brain injury.
"This is exactly the kind of courage we need in Congress " Giffords tweeted Thursday. " Ames   call me in 14 years. I'll campaign for you."
Giffords's husband  astronaut Mark Kelly  called  Ames  and his mother Thursday night to talk about what happened  according to Fox 31.
The focus of the Cub Scouts' assignment   Mayfield  said  was to meet with a government leader and discuss an important issue facing the community. Cub Scouts were instructed to decide on one or two questions  and to be prepared to ask the official about an issue in the local news.
 Ames  researched the senator before the meeting and decided he would focus his questions on gun control  his mother said. After all  the majority of the videos on Marble's site deal with gun rights legislation.
"Given that the Las Vegas shooting happened  I felt that it should be a reasonable thing to ask "  Ames  told a Denver Fox affiliate. "I don't feel like I did anything wrong."