UPDATE: Check out what some people have to say about the Salvation Army boycott.
It’s that time of year again, when we’re greeted by the Salvation Army bell-ringers outside of every neighborhood store, and Watermark readers quietly take a stand against the charitable organization’s anti-gay history, practices and attitude.
Due to their overwhelming popularity last holiday season, we are once again offering a mini-flyer stating your opposition to The Salvation Army’s anti-gay practices.
If you are participating in the boycott but would like to let The Salvation Army know why, please click the image, print and when you encounter a bell-ringer, slip a flyer into their shiny red bucket, in lieu of cash. [IMPORTANT NOTE: Some browsers will automatically resize the image. For best restults, right-click on the image to the left, select “Save Image As” and save a copy of the file to your desktop. It should be sized perfectly for printing when you open it from there.]
Here’s a roundup of some of the Salvation Army’s anti-gay actions:
- In 2012, a Salvation Army media relations director stated that it is part of the group’s “belief system” that gay people deserve to die.
- In 2004, the Salvation Army threatened to close its New York City soup kitchens after the city decided to require all charities to adhere to civil rights laws.
- In 2001, it tried to get the Bush administration not to give grant monies to cities and states with non-discrimination laws and that same year, The Salvation Army tried to get an exemption that would allow them to ignore laws protecting LGBTs from discrimination.
The Salvation Army’s Position Statement on Homosexuality, which has been deleted from the organization’s web site (SalvationArmyUSA.org) sometime in the past year, was very, very carefully worded, calling sexual attraction “a matter of profound complexity.”
Regardless of the tactful phrasing, the message is clear: The Salvation Army does not support LGBT rights.
“Scripture forbids sexual intimacy between members of the same sex. The Salvation Army believes, therefore, that Christians whose sexual orientation is primarily or exclusively same-sex are called upon to embrace celibacy as a way of life. There is no scriptural support for same-sex unions as equal to, or as an alternative to, heterosexual marriage,” the statement read.
It denounces abuse against individuals based on their sexual orientation and says the Salvation Army’s services are available to all who qualify, regardless of sexual orientation.
The upshot is that The Salvation Army apparently does not discriminate against gay individuals when it comes to direct services, but holds a long-standing, organization-wide contempt for regulations that require charities to adhere to policies that fight anti-gay discrimination. That stance arguably is more problematic than blatantly homophobic groups because it allows The Salvation Army to publicly announce “we help anyone!” while collecting money from unsuspecting generous folks which it can then privately, quietly use to advance anti-LGBT efforts.
If you do not agree with the boycott, that is fine.
If you agree, and you wish to do more than simply withhold your change from the shiny red buckets, then download and and print out your bell-ringer “donations”stating why you do not support The Salvation Army.
