DENVER — A Cub Scout was kicked out of his den after he questioned a Colorado state lawmaker about her position on gun control and previous comments she made about African-Americans’ health and eating fried chicken.

Eleven-year-old Ames Mayfield posed the questions at an Oct. 9 event in Broomfield, between Denver and Boulder. Cub Scouts had been told to come prepared to talk to Republican state Sen. Vicki Marble about issues important to them.

In online videos recorded by Ames’ mother, Lori Mayfield, the Scouts asked questions about why people wanted to vote for Obama just because he was black and about President Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. It was unclear which Scouts asked the questions. Mayfield blurred the identities of all the children except for that of her son.

In the video showing Ames asking about gun control, he read from a printed sheet, telling the lawmaker that he was shocked that she sponsored a bill that allowed domestic violence offenders to own guns.

“There is something wrong in our country where Republicans believe it’s a right to own a gun but a privilege to have health care. None of that makes sense to me,” Ames said.

Marble responds by talking about the need for “crime control” instead and saying that the Oct. 1 Las Vegas shooting and the 2012 Aurora theater shooting both happened in “gun-free zones.”

Marble drew national attention in 2013 after she seemed to draw a link between the health of black people and eating fried chicken and barbecue, in comments made during a legislative committee hearing. During the Scout meeting, Ames told Marble that he was “astonished that you blamed black people” for their health problems.

Lori Mayfield said a local Scout leader later told her that Ames was kicked out of his den because the topic of gun control was inappropriate due to its political nature and because the boy’s questions were disrespectful.

In a statement Friday, Marble said she did not know about Ames’ dismissal until she read about it. She said she did not blame him because she thought there was an “element of manipulation involved” by his mother.

Lori Mayfield denies that. She said she and her son, whom she said is gifted and likes to watch the news, researched Marble together, and she typed up his questions using his words. The Boy Scouts, which includes the Cub Scouts, refused to comment on why the boy was asked to leave, but said he will remain in Scouting after finding a new den in a different pack.

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