As reported by Todd Starnes at Fox News, Salvation Army employees have been told not to express their opinions on topics like same-sex marriage and abortion, or anything political, on social media, as it might reflect poorly on the organization. According to Starnes, this comes from leaked documents from the home office that had been sent out to staffers.
The Salvation Army has a long history of being anti-LGBTQ. While it has not actually apologized for its past anti-queer rhetoric and decisions, it has started what is essentially a campaign to deny its anti-LGBTQ history, saying it has “evolved.”
How bad have its policies been on LGBTQ issues? Pretty harmful, and for decades. For example, in New York City, transgender people claimed that they were outright turned away from Salvation Army substance abuse centers, while others trans people claimed they were housed in areas which aligned to their sex assigned at birth, not in accordance with their gender identity.
One journalist reported that when he and his boyfriend were homeless, the Salvation Army told him he had to break up with his partner in order to receive services.
LGBTQ people, especially youth and queer people of color, have disproportionate rates of homelessness, as well as of substance abuse, making it additionally difficult when they are being denied (or worried about being denied) care and services.
Some have reported that the Salvation Army has internal policies that prevent queer people from being officers in the organization unless they stay celibate. An internal memo, made public four years ago, banned officers from attending same-sex weddings, clarifying that they could even be terminated if they appeared at one in their uniform.
The organization claims that it does not require people to renounce their LGBTQ identity in order to use its services. It also claims that it provides services to people who are neither Christian nor interested in becoming Christian.
This past year, the Salvation Army opened an LGBTQ-specific shelter in Canada. The facility is technically part of an existing shelter; it’s just a separate area for queer-identified people, which, while it can be seen as a step forward, also makes one wonder: How much progress is it if LGBTQ people are still being separated from the general population?
Until the Salvation Army and similar organizations with a history of queerphobia explicitly apologize and acknowledge their mistakes, any steps forward will be met with skepticism.