[1]McMINNVILLE, Ore. (BP)–Ebenezer Scrooge move over. Grinch make way. A new breed of Christmas bully has emerged that, sadly, is not a figment of the imagination.
According to numerous news reports, a variety of homosexual groups are urging a boycott of The Salvation Army’s annual kettle drive. The Army’s refusal to extend benefits to domestic partners is the motivation for the protest.
Each Christmas shopping season, local Salvation Armies place red kettles outside businesses in order to solicit donations to feed, clothe, and provide presents for needy children in their respective communities. Instead of money, some homosexual groups are encouraging people to place phony currency adorned with protest messages in the red pots. Printable versions of the bogus bucks are being made available via various web sites.
The Anti-Racist Action group of Cleveland, Ohio, is waging a “Queer Dollars Campaign”. Based on the saying “queer as a three dollar bill,” the protest involves a replica of the U.S. one-dollar bill with the number three in each corner. The funny money contains the message: “When the Salvation Army ends its policy of religious bigotry against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, then and only then will this be a real dollar bill.”
The Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) has called for a nationwide “kettle protest” by its 470 affiliates. Mary Scholl, the organization’s president and mother of a homosexual man, says the protest is designed to send the Salvation Army the message that its policies against homosexuality are “hurtful to our loved ones.”
The irony in Scholl’s statement can’t be missed. Because PFLAG believes a Salvation Army policy — that pertains only to its employees — is “hurtful” to the cause of homosexuality, they are willing to call for a protest that will adversely impact the lives of countless innocent children. For many in the homosexual community the end — forcing the acceptance of their lifestyle, justifies the means — taking food and toys from babes at Christmas.
[2]If the Salvation Army refused to assist individuals based on their sexual preference, the homosexual boycott might have some merit. However, the Army ministers to anyone and everyone in need. Theirs is a strictly “don’t ask” policy. So, it is entirely possible that the current protest could result in a child with a gay parent having a “blue” Christmas. I suppose when you are determined to force the world to embrace your lifestyle you are more than willing to cut off your nose to spite your face.
Further tainting the protest is the fact that the Salvation Army is a religious organization. As such, they have every right to discriminate in whom they will employ, although to my knowledge the Army does not do so in its hiring practices, and the benefits they will extend. If the Salvation Army chooses not to grant domestic partner benefits to heterosexual or homosexual couples, that is their right. It is the height of arrogance to seek to force a religious group to subsidize a lifestyle they deem deviant.
In spite of their efforts, Homosexual Scrooges and Gay Grinches won’t be able to cripple the Salvation Army’s efforts at ensuring children everywhere will have a merry Christmas. Many pro-family groups have already vowed to match dollar for dollar every fake bill placed in an Army kettle. It would be a bit of poetic justice if, because of the homosexual protest, the Salvation Army raised more money than ever before.
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