I was a Boy Scout leader...

...for many years, and even wore the full uniform (loved it!) and went to summer camp in Wisconsin with my son two years in a row. And, every once in a while, I'd try to cause trouble around the campfire (who, me?) by asking the other leaders about the Scouts' position on the three "G"s: girls, gays and the godless. And, to my (partial) disappointment, nobody ever took the bait: 

"Look, Mike, we all agree with you. One of the best scouts we ever had in this troop was gay. None of us cared. It's all because of 'national.' " 

National? They meant the national headquarters in Irving, Texas. 

I'm reminded of all this by a story in the Times this morning, "Boy Scouts to Continue Excluding Gay People": 

The Boy Scouts of America has reaffirmed its longtime policy of barring openly gay boys from membership and gay or lesbian adults from serving as leaders. The decision, announced on Tuesday, came after what the organization described as a wide-ranging internal review, and despite public protests. 

What the article doesn't say is what my fellow Scout leaders also told me around the campfire: it's all about the Mormon Church. Huh? You see, they said, Mormons make up the single-largest group within the Scouts and they've told national, in no uncertain terms, that if they change the policy on gays, we're outta here. 

"It's really about numbers, Mike. National doesn't want to lose all those Mormon kids and their dollars. So they keep the policy on gays and we just ignore it." 

Gotcha.