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Under heavy criticism from religious conservatives, the Salvation Army's top U.S. leaders have ordered a hasty retreat. They have reversed a new policy that would have allowed employees in the organization's Western region to purchase health insurance for a "legally domiciled adult" living with them.

Critics said the Army's initial decision gave support to backers of homosexual marriage. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, sharply criticized the Army on his November 8 radio broadcast. Leaders of the American Family Association and Family Research Council also were very critical.

Col. Philip Needham, chief secretary for the Army's Western region, originally defended the regional action. "This decision reflects our concern for the health of our employees and those closest to them," he wrote in a statement. The original action was, he said, "made on the basis of strong ethical and moral reasoning that reflects the dramatic changes in family structure in recent years."

A Salvation Army statement on homosexuality says, "There is no scriptural support for same-sex unions as equal to, or as an alternative to, heterosexual marriage." In 1997, the Army gave up $3.5 million in contracts with San Francisco over the issue.

Tom Minnery of Focus described Needham's distinction between providing benefits and endorsing homosexuality as "monstrous," "egregious," and "disgusting."

Less than two weeks after the first announcement, the leaders of the Army in the United States and its four regions—a body known as the Commissioners' Conference—overturned the policy. "We deeply regret the perception that the Commissioners' Conference surrendered any biblical principles in making the original decision," the group said. "We will not sign any government contract or any other funding contracts that contain domestic partner benefit requirements."

The Human Rights Campaign, which supports domestic partner benefits, is "greatly disappointed" by the reversal but does not plan to boycott the Army, says communications director David M. Smith.

"The leadership of the Western Territory seemed to really want to do this," Smith says. "They felt it was the right thing to do. Unfortunately, the national board prevailed. It's a part of the differing views on this subject that exist around the country."

In protest, gay activists in the Midwest launched a campaign to place bogus money into the Army's kettles during the holidays. Conservative critics applauded the policy reversal and restated their support for the Army's mission.

The reversal could mean a loss of an estimated $28 million in government contracts previously awarded to the Salvation Army's Western region for social service programs. Some California cities, including Oakland and San Francisco, require the extension of domestic partner benefits as a condition of doing business.

Nationwide, 4,300 companies, governments, and universities offer or plan to offer such benefits. According to the national office of Catholic Charities, its local units may determine who can buy health insurance. Catholic Charities in San Francisco allows employees to buy health insurance for a "legally domiciled adult" who resides with the employee.

The question now for the Salvation Army is whether private funding can replace government contracts.

"It's very hard to anticipate or predict what the implications of that decision will be," says Capt. Bob Rudd, a spokesman for the group's Western Territory headquarters in Long Beach, California. "We have probably a subjective notion that the funding process for Salvation Army programs is going to change dramatically, as we likely will have to walk away from contractual relationships."

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January 7 2002, Vol. 46, No. 1