I went golfing with a ward member not long ago and he basically had to sell his soul to his wife for the evening off. I asked him if he wanted to go next week, his wife was having none of that.

Myself along with most of my friends (I don't hang out with many LDS people outside of church) don't really ask for permission to go to events, especially locally. I always ask if there is a major conflict in schedule, but other than that there is no debate. If my wife told me no, I'd tell her to drop dead along with most normal people in the world. I could see finances being prohibitive, but for a night off? Give me a break, that being said I'm not playing cards with the boys every night of the week either. Thankfully my wife isn't a weirdo and we have a healthy relationship.