The Salvation Army says it will close soup kitchens for New York's homeless if firms doing business with the city are required to offer health benefits to the domestic partners of their gay and lesbian staffers.
A spokesman for the organization said the Salvation Army would rather walk away from $70 million a year in city contracts and abandon the clients it serves, including foster kids and people with HIV, rather than betray its fundamentalist Christian faith by providing the healthcare benefits.
Earlier this month, New York City council approved a measure mandating that city contractors offer domestic partner benefits for their gay and lesbian workers. Although New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg opposes the law, the council is likely to override his veto.
The Salvation Army serves about five million people annually in New York. The group has multiyear contracts with the city totaling $250 million.
In March, Catholic Charities in Washington, D.C., dropped spousal benefits for all newlyweds and new hires in order to evade compliance with that city’s same-sex marriage law.
Comments
This is a non sequitor. You are presupposing that the Salvation Army was forced into taking any position whatsoever on the latest same sex marriage/ gay rights issue. Yes, they are officially against it, and many other practices by the secular and non secular alike, but that does not mean the SA was forced into an extreme measure such as closing up shop.
The Salvation Army are able keep their soup kitchens open because of massive donations, the 70mio they receive from the city are no where near enough to keep them running.
Some of the biggest donations come from hardcore christian gay haters, and they pretty much forces The Salvation Army to do as they did. Had they supported the health benefits for gays, they would have lost massive donations and would thus have had to close the soup kitchens anyway.
I personally support gay rights, but in thus case I actually believe what they did was the lesser of two evils.
However... the Salvation Army didn't threat to close its soup kitchens because they are against gay marriages. Unlike many other religious groups they actually help and support people no matter what religion or sexual preference they might belong to.
The Salvation Army has already chosen to abandon Jesus. Seems they are more army than Salvation.