The Czar remains a huge advocate for The Boy Scouts of America (and Girl Scouts, too!). Although some under-educated right wing commentators have incorrectly bad-mouthed the manliness of the BSA recently, the fact remains that Scouting is a dirt-cheap way to get young men able to run, row, and climb for miles, perform life-saving operations, shoot rifles, shotguns, and bows to a high degree of competence, cook, clean, and repair things for others, and more. The amazing thing is that all of the boys in our local troop can’t wait to do even more stuff. Many just returned from a week-long canoeing adventure in the international boundary waters: minimal shelter, eating only what they could catch, sleeping on the ground, no comforts of home. Sounds pretty tough to us.

With that out of the way, the Czar should probably comment on the news that the Boy Scouts of America—tired of being sued into bankruptcy—have decided to drop a long-standing ban on gay leadership.

That’s not actually the story.

Because really, the BSA doesn’t give a crap about that; at least, none of the adults with whom the Czar associates within scouting. There’s a general acknowledgment that (a) gays aren’t child molesters any more than straights, and (b) the BSA needs so much adult assistance, funding, and involvement to survive that hell yeah they’ll welcome the extra help.

There’s a lot a gay man could do to help scouting, not that many have applied. Lead merit badge courses. Re-write and update the manuals. Test gear and products. Donate money. Go through mountains of paperwork. Lead a service project. Assemble patrol boxes. Clean and fold tents. Mow lawns and clear brush at scout camps. On and on. Just like any other adult volunteer.

Of course, the counter-argument is that the BSA is a private organization, and like any private organization, they should be able to select or reject members according to their beliefs. The Czar agrees, but notes most of the people saying this aren’t involved in Scouts, because the ones involved with Scouts will refer you to points (a) and (b), above. They need the money and the help.

Having said that, the Czar doesn’t begrudge a private troop who refuses a gay leader. See, there are de facto public troops—like Muscovy’s own troop, who are based in a community—and private troops—who are tied to a church or other parent organization. If an old-school church runs a troop, and they are opposed to gay leaders, fine: they should retain the right to reject leaders based on whatever facet they choose.

The BSA agrees, and in its decision today stipulated that it will be up to individual troops to admit or reject potential gay leaders—assuming of course that any actually apply. If a gay adult had a great experience as a scout himself, or simply understands the great things that scouting does for a kid, he can easily join his local municipality’s troop—or start a new troop himself and recruit members. He can just as easily bop across the road and ask to be a leader in another town’s troop: there are no geographical restrictions. Problem solved.

But that’s not good enough for the LGBT activists, and that’s the real story.

The usual screeches from the Left are coming out that private organizations who host troops should be compelled to admit gay leaders, even if this violates their religious beliefs.

Because this was never about scouting, and the Leftist activists have always known this. It’s about the dismantling of organized religion and nothing less. The BSA has always been a strongly religious body which makes its prior refusal to admit gay leaders a perfect lever to shift the churches, synagogues, and temples who host private troops. Within hours of the allegedly landmark decision came voices not from the LGBT community but the Professional Left that Religion Shall Not Pass. More protests, more indignation, more lawsuits are on the way.

Religions, and their insistence on maintaining the integrity of their beliefs, still remain the biggest threat to Leftism, for what else is the opiate of the people? Nothing.

Boy Scouts? Just another big nail to hammer into the eye of religious belief. The BSA could have either announced they were allowing gay leaders, or announced they were disbanding the entire organization—the Left wouldn’t have given a crap. This has always been about target numero uno: God, government’s biggest competition.