Salvation Army Drops Referrals To "Ex-Gay" "Ministries"

The Salvation Army is seemingly trying to rehabilitate its image after a history of homophobia which has prompted many LGBT activists - Bil Browning of The Bilerico Project is an example - have urged the LGBT community and the general public to walk past the Salvation Army's kettles without donating a dime.  Adding insult to injury, the Salvation Army has been heretofore directing those staying at its facilities to fraudulent "ex-gay" ministries.  A piece at Huffington Post by my friend Wayne Besen spotlighted the problem.  Here are excerpts (Note: I get credit for helping expose an "ex-gay" fraud - I still have in my possession evidence of Michael Johnston's "moral fall" to quote Peter LaBarbera, a/k/a Porno Pete):

The Salvation Army has a new campaign to debunk "the myth of LGBT discrimination." They want people to believe that they aren't anti-gay or bigoted. Here is what they have to say on their website:

For years, Facebook posts, forwarded emails and rumors have been leading some people to believe that The Salvation Army does not serve members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community. These accusations simply aren't true. ...

More than 20 percent of all residents staying at The Salvation Army's youth homeless shelter in St. Paul voluntarily identified themselves as gay or lesbian. ...

However, the organization still has a ways to go before I can tell people to drop change in their buckets. 

For example, I discovered today that The Salvation Army refers clients to at least two "ex-gay" ministries. The first group in question is Harvest USA, which was an affiliate of Exodus International (formerly the world's largest ex-gay group), before Exodus disbanded. According to Harvest USA's website:

Harvest USA began in 1983, as an outreach ministry in Center City, Philadelphia to the homosexual community to provide hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The ministry reached out to men and women who heard the gospel and desired to leave behind the gay lifestyle.

The second group in question is Pure Life Ministries. This is the sexual addiction group where "ex-gay" activist Michael Johnston was sent after attorney Michael Hamar and I caught him having bareback orgies with men. (Johnston is now an employee of this ministry.) Here is what the group is saying on its website:

Whether you're addicted to masturbation, ensnared in Internet pornography, struggling with homosexuality, or merely battling an onslaught of impure desires, you've come to the right place.

How can The Salvation Army expect gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and the people who love and support them to donate when the organization gives referrals to noxious ministries that try to pray away the gay?

Apparently, the pressure paid off because, the Salvation Army has ceased the referrals.  Wayne has more on the Truth Wins Out website:

CHICAGO – Truth Wins Out commended The Salvation Army today for removing links to two notorious “ex-gay” ministries that it had listed as sexual addiction resources. The move is consistent with the organizations new campaign against LGBT discrimination.

“We thank The Salvation Army for acting swiftly and decisively in addressing our concerns about links to ‘ex-gay’ organizations,” said Truth Wins Out Executive Director Wayne Besen. “This is a step in the right direction and congruent with their anti-discrimination campaign. We hope this action leads to further progress in gaining the full confidence and trust of the LGBT community.”

Truth Wins Out’s Associate Director, Evan Hurst, reached out to The Salvation Army this afternoon and expressed our concerns. As a result, the offensive webpage listing “ex-gay” programs was removed, and The Salvation Army responded with the following letter:

Dear Evan:
We sincerely appreciate you bringing this matter to our attention. As you know, The Salvation Army strives to live out our mission of meeting human need without discrimination. Our doors are always open to anyone who seeks our help, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation. We simply do not discriminate against the people we serve or the people we hire.

We have removed the page of referrals for sexual addiction centers. Truthfully this was an old page that had been archived but was reposted when we launched our new website last month. We apologize for our oversight and any confusion this may have caused. The Salvation Army does not consider homosexual orientation a sin. Please know that we serve anyone who comes to our doors without discrimination.

I can just imagine  the blow back that the Salvation Army will receive from hate groups such as Family Research Council, The American Family Association, and, of course, the Traditional Values Coalition.