Editor:

I write in response to Adam Benson’s Nov. 12 feature column, “Boy Scouts Teach Discrimination to America’s Youth.”

Perhaps Benson would care to read the Constitution’s First Amendment, which guarantees our right to peaceably assemble.

The Boy Scouts of America do not encourage hostility or violence against gays or atheists. Rather, the BSA has defined for itself a purpose, and individuals who do not subscribe to the basic tenets for membership are unable to fulfill that purpose.

If Benson does not believe that the BSA has a right to determine guidelines for its leadership, I wonder if he would argue that churches who do not allow women in leadership positions are also discriminatory.

Benson seems to think that adult participation in scouting is some sort of inalienable right. It is not.

If private citizens were forbidden to assemble in activities like scouting without increased government control, the resulting circumstances would be frightening.

Let’s use some common sense here. Requesting that leaders believe in and adhere to major beliefs of an organization is not discriminatory.

Nicole Cooper

Senior, Political Science