LGBT Civil Rights and Activism

Of course, it isn't the first time the Salvation Army's conservative view of homosexuality has been brought to attention. "The Salvation Army has a history of active discrimination against gays and lesbians. While you might think you're helping the hungry and homeless by dropping a few dollars in the bright red buckets, not everyone can share in the donations," Bil Browning noted on The Bilerico Project last year. "The organization also has a record of actively lobbying governments worldwide for anti-gay policies -- including an attempt to make consensual gay sex illegal."

Earlier this year, an Australian Salvation Army official sparked international controversy after he implied in an interview that LGBT people should be put to death, noting that it was "a part of our belief system."

Browning says the Salvation Army has denied services to LGBT people unless they renounce their sexuality or end their same-sex relationships -- a charge Bukiewicz denies.
"I've seen the discrimination the Salvation Army preaches first hand,” Browning wrote. “When a former boyfriend and I were homeless, the Salvation Army insisted we break up before they'd offer assistance. We slept on the street instead and declined to break up as they demanded.”