Boy Scout Ruling

Your use of the Scout Oath to defend the New Jersey Supreme Court’s ruling is laughable (editorial, Aug. 6). The Boy Scout organization believes that in order to be “morally straight,” one must abide by a fairly strict code of behavior, a code until last week defined by the Boy Scouts. But now the court comes along and says that it, not the Boy Scouts, has the right to define moral conduct. And the New Jersey Supreme Court has spoken--sexual relations outside of marriage, including homosexual relations, are perfectly moral.

That The Times agrees with this definition of morality is one thing. But that The Times agrees that a court can take away a private organization’s right to define its own precepts is inexcusable. Freedom? Tolerance? Not in New Jersey. Not endorsed by The Times.

KENT HATCH

Agoura Hills