It’s pretty safe to say that the Salvation Army’s red kettles are as much a staple to the holiday season as inflatable Santas and bedazzled candy canes. If you go to Walmart to pick up some stocking stuffers, the bell ringers are there waiting. They don’t have to tell you what they’re there for, because everybody knows that the red kettles are for Salvation Army donations. The Salvation Army is, after all, the United States’ second largest charity organization.

And while most of us can agree that providing food and shelter for those in need is honorable and something that should be supported, especially during the cold holiday season, it is unfortunately not the Salvation Army’s only agenda.

The Salvation Army has lobbied against LGBT legislation, including marriage laws, in several countries for years. And yes, the money you donate to them, while part of it will go to helping people in need, is also money that helps them lobby.

When New Zealand considered passage of the Homosexual Law Reform Act in 1986, the Salvation Army collected signatures in an attempt to harm the legislation. The act decriminalized consensual sex between gay men.

Despite the charity’s lobbying and objections, the measure passed.

The New York Times reported in November 2011 “The Salvation Army does not consider same-sex orientation blameworthy in itself. Homosexual conduct, like heterosexual conduct, requires individual responsibility and must be guided by the light of scriptural teaching. Scripture forbids sexual intimacy between members of the same sex. The Salvation Army believes, therefore, that Christians whose sexual orientation is primarily or exclusively same-sex are called upon to embrace celibacy as a way of life.”

The charity’s position on homosexuality has since been removed from their Website. A similar statement, however, still exists on the Salvation Army’s India website.

In this same report, a Salvation Army spokesman, George Hood, said that all revenue from Salvation Army thrift store is used locally. And that is fantastic, as it goes to help people in your own community. However, Hood also said that a small portion of the money that is put in those famous red kettles is sent to Washington, where it pays the salaries of staff members who are quite politically active. They take part in conversations with the government, and about a quarter of a penny of each dollar put in a red kettle goes toward supporting that.

Another of SA’s lobbying adventures during the Bush administration was lobbiying to change how over $24 billion in grants and tax deductions were distributed by urging the White House deny funding to any cities or states that included LGBT non-discrimination laws.

And that is one of the many things that those red kettles fund. The White House released a statement saying that they would not support a tax-payer funded religious organization from discriminating against homosexuals.

Because that’s the kicker isn’t it? Parts of the Salvation Army are funded by the government, yet they discriminate, not only against the LGBT community, but against people of other religions apparently.

The social service branch of the Salvation Army, such as their Social Services for Children branch, is government-funded. Anne Lown, a Jewish woman, worked for the secular-oriented social service arm, a branch of the Salvation Army that takes nearly all of its $50 million annual budget from city and state government for 25 years.

Lown was one of 18 employees to leave or be dismissed in 2003-04 for allegedly refusing to sign forms swearing loyalty to the group’s Christian principles.

I didn’t think government-funded organizations were allowed to discriminate based on religion.

I’m not telling you to stop donating to the Salvation Army, per se. But I am saying that you should be aware that a portion of what you donate goes toward supporting the Salvation Army’s anti-gay agenda. But there are also plenty of other charities to donate to in Eau Claire who don’t spend so much time lobbying in Washington.

There are several other charities in Eau Claire to donate to. Goodwill is another front-runner in charitable organizations, that focuses much of its energy on the elderly and disabled. Feed My People Food Bank and Sojourner House are two places where you can donate right here in Eau Claire that go to help homeless people and those who cannot afford food. Bolton Refuge House is a shelter for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Eau Claire, and can always use donations.

If the Salvation Army can discriminate and refuse to help certain groups of people, then I don’t see why I shouldn’t be a little more discriminative about the charities I donate to.

If the Salvation Army is unable to view gay and transgendered people as people, maybe I am unable to view them as a charity.