As the holidays start to roll around, it’s not uncommon to see a Salvation Army representative in front of a major store ringing a bell next to a big red donation bucket. But should you donate? Some LGBT advocacy groups say no.

These groups say the Salvation Army has a history of discriminating against LGBT people, a claim that could be true in theory, but is hard to confirm in practice. The Salvation Army does operate on the basis of religious beliefs that include a condemnation of homosexuality, but the group donates to the needy and says they don’t ask for sexual orientation in deciding who benefits. 

But some activists say this isn’t the full story. The Salvation Army’s position statement on homosexuality, available at the link above, says it believes gay people should embrace celibacy and the organization doesn’t support same-sex unions. Some say the organization has denied LGBT people services unless they ended their relationships, but the Salvation Army denies this claim. 

The MSNBC article above has more details on the issue, but nothing fully convinces me one way or the other. This is a tricky issue, especially because the Salvation Army does help tons and tons of people, a contribution that can’t be ignored. What do you think?