Gays, lesbians call for Salvation Army boycott
Dec 01, 2011 / USA Today
The gay and lesbian community is calling for a boycott of The Salvation Army and its annual holiday red kettle drive because of the organization's stance on gay and lesbian relationships, Christian Today, MSNBC and other news organizations are reporting.
Bil Browning, editor in chief of a blog titled The Bilerico Project, wrote in a post that, "If you care about gay rights, you'll skip their bucket in favor of a charity that doesn't actively discriminate against the LGBT community."
Browning further writes, "The Salvation Army doesn't believe that gays and lesbians should ever know the intimacy of any loving relationship."
What's more, a Facebook page titled Boycott the Salvation Army had generated more than 3,100 "Likes" as of 3:30 p.m. ET. The page cites the stance of the organization based in Alexandria, Va., that a marriage consists of one man and one woman. The page refers to The Salvation Army as "an evangelical church promoting conservative Christianity and anti-gay politics."
But a representative for the organization told Christian Today that the disagreement boils down to theology.
"The Salvation Army and the gay community are never going to come to an agreement on the topic," Maj. George Hood, national community relations secretary for the organization, told Christian Today.
Hood told the news organization that the boycott is unfortunate because its clients, including members of the gay and lesbian community, will be hurt.
"If people refuse to give, it's the poor and people in need that will suffer," Hood said.
Lt. Col. Ralph Bukiewicz, divisional commander of The Salvation Army Metropolitan Division, denied to MSNBC that the organization discriminates.
"In our policies, in our practices, in our programs and in our eligibility for any service within The Salvation Army, there is not a request for any details concerning sexual orientation," Bukiewicz said.
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