The Salvation Army Turns Away Gay Couples

Most people look at the red tins outside of stores and see people volunteering their time to help out the needy.  I did too up until this year.  Though I am atheist, I always looked favorably upon charities even if they were religious based, because they usually help people without asking questions.  This year, I learned something.  The salvation army does ask questions.  The salvation army does not like homosexuals.  The salvation army actively opposes anything done to help out people because they are gay.  The following points are from

http://www.bilerico.com/2011/11/why_you_shouldnt_donate_to_the_salvation_army_bell.php

• When New Zealand considered passage of the Homosexual Law Reform Act in 1986, the Salvation Army collected signatures in an attempt to get the legislation killed. The act decriminalized consensual sex between gay men. The measure passed over the charity's objections.
• In the United Kingdom, the Salvation Army actively pushed passage of an amendment to the Local Government Act. The amendment stated that local authorities "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship." The law has since been repealed, but it led many schools and colleges to close LGBT student organizations out of fear they'd lose their government funding.
• In 2001, the organization tried to extract a resolution from the White House that they could ignore local non-discrimination laws that protected LGBT people. While the commitment would have applied to all employees, the group claimed that it needed the resolution so it "did not have to ordain sexually active gay ministers and did not have to provide medical benefits to the same-sex partners of employees." After lawmakers and civil rights activists revealed the Salvation Army's active resistance to non-discrimination laws, the White House admitted the charity was seeking the exemptions.
• Also in 2001, the evangelical charity actively lobbied to change how the Bush administration would distribute over $24 billion in grants and tax deductions by urging the White House deny funding to any cities or states that included LGBT non-discrimination laws. Ari Fleischer, White House press secretary, issued a statement saying the administration was denying a "regulation sought by the church to protect the right of taxpayer-funded religious organizations to discriminate against homosexuals."
• In 2004, the Salvation Army threatened to close all their soup kitchens in New York City to protest the city's decision to require all vendors and charities doing business with the city to adhere to all civil rights laws. The organization balked at having to treat gay employees equal to straight employees.

The author also mentions how he and his partner were once turned away because they were a gay couple.  After reading that and all of these incidents,  I cannot in good faith donate to the Salvation Army anymore.  Just because they do great things for people in need, and they do, doesn't mean I can overlook the horrible things they do.  I mean, threatening to close down New York City soup kitchens?  You're going to throw a tantrum by punishing the people you're trying to help?


Now, I'm sure there are plenty of people in the charity that would never turn anyone away, no matter what, and I challenge them to step forward and seize the charity and change it to help everyone, with the only requirement being that the people are in need.

Salvation Army heads.  You are bad people.  You should feel bad.  I hope you lose sleep over the people left out in the cold because you were too bigoted to overlook how they were different than you.  But most of all, you are a disgrace to the word "Charity."