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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 1996)
12 ▼ Septem ber 2 0 , 1 90 6 ▼ ju s t out local news Bias charged Three Portland men claim the Salvation Army discriminated against them because they are gay ▼ by Inga Sorensen n openly gay Portland man is threat ening legal action against the Salva tion Army, claiming the organiza tion discriminated against him due to his sexual orientation. Charles Moore, 48, a student at Portland State University, says he approached the Port- land-based Salvation Army last February to in quire about interning at the Greenhouse Drop-In Center, a Salvation Army program providing services to at-risk and street youth. Moore, a criminal justice and psychology major, says his professional goal is to work with street youth and young people at risk, hence his interest in Greenhouse. M oore says he approached Maj. Neil Timpson, then a local Salvation Army adminis trator, with his proposal. (Timpson has since transferred to a Salvation Army outpost in Alaska.) “He said, no, I couldn’t do it. He said because I was gay I would be a bad influence on the kids,” charges Moore, who had previously done some volunteer work for Salvation Army. “He said if I wasn’t gay, he would recommend me for the internship. He even told me he thought I would do a fine job. I was so stunned, I just kind of let the issue drop.” Then in late June, Moore says he attended Portland’s annual Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade with some men, gay and straight, who were enrolled as residents at the Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center, an intensive, in patient substance abuse recovery program which can last from six months to a year. “We went to the parade and had a really good time. We felt proud of who we were. We even marched with the mayor,” says Moore, who acknowledges he had befriended some of the gay residents in the recovery program. “The Monday after the parade, we learned that a Salvation Army employee had been dis patched to collect names of residents he saw participating in Gay Pride,” says Moore. “The names were turned over to [ARC men’s program director] Jim Bradley. He confronted three of the men.” According to Moore, the men, all of whom he says are gay, were told by Salvation Army offi cials that attending the parade was a form of “acting out,” and therefore a violation of recov ery program rules. Moore further maintains the men were in A structed not to attend any substance abuse recov ery groups for gay people “because gays go there only to find sex, where straights go to their meetings for recovery.” He says the men were told they could not have gay sponsors or “practice their lifestyle while in the program,” should only attend func tions geared toward het erosexuals, and should not asso ciate with Moore. Moore says when he learned of the alleged demands, he contacted the Salvation Army. He says doing so may have prompted Bradley to speak with the men again, reportedly ask ing them to “forget about the whole thing.” Jonathan Boettcher, 23, is one of the pro gram residents who says he was subjected to anti gay abuse from Salva tion Army officials. B oettcher, who backs each of Moore’s allegations, says he struggled for m any years with his sexual orientation. “I grew up in a town of 10,000. It was very, very d ifficult,” says Boettcher, who believes much of his anguish m anifested its e lf through substance abuse. “It took a long time to feel OK about who I am, and then I had to go through this. It doesn’t seem right,” he says. “I followed all the rules. I attended chapel services, did daily devo tions, worked in the warehouse boxing up dona tions. Went to my recovery sessions,” he contin ues. “Another rule prohibits sexual activity. Mr. Bradley said we were acting out and went look ing for sex, none of which was true.” Boettcher says Bradley later denied making such statements. Boettcher also says he dropped out of the recovery program on July 24. He cites stress as a key factor in that decision. Bradley refused to comment when we called him. He referred us to Capt. Lloyd Roberts, who took over Timpson’s post in early July. Roberts did not respond to our inquiry, but Timpson did. Timpson denied re jecting Moore’s intern ship request because Moore is gay. “ My su g g estio n was that it may not be a good fit for him, work ing w ith hom eless kids,” Timpson tells Just Out. When asked to ex plain why he felt Moore might not be “a good fit,” Timpson would only say, “I can’t dis cuss that.” Debbie Coppenger, Greenhouse adminis trator, says she “doesn’t believe one’s sexual preference poses a dan ger” to at-risk youth. “As for being a role model, I’m not com fortable commenting on th a t,” says Coppenger, who esti m ates G reenhouse serves between 80 to 100 youths daily, some of whom she acknowl edges are gay, lesbian and bisexual. “The problem with Charles is that when he was an intern with the program, he violated our ethics policy,” says Timpson. “It says one doesn’t socialize with members of the program if one is in a staff role, which Charles essentially was.” Moore concedes he befriended gay men in “It took a long time to feel OK about who I am , and then I had to go through this. It doesn 7 seem right.... I followed all the rules. I attended chapel services , did daily devotions , worked in the warehouse boxing up donations. Went to my re covery sessions. ” —Jonathan Boettcher the program, but says the charge is a smoke screen for homophobia: “If it were just about me, how can he explain what happened to these other people?” The Salvation Army’s Statement on Homo sexuality states, in part: “Scripture condemns homosexual practices by direct comment...and also by clearly implied disapproval. The Bible teaches such practices as self-evidently abnor mal.” In also states that “Homosexual practices render a person ineligible for Salvation Army soldiership.” Moore and two other men claiming sexual orientation discrimination have approached Port land attorney Chris Wright about the case. When we spoke with Wright he was still in the fact-finding phase, but anticipates he will file complaints on behalf of the men with the state Bureau of Labor and Industries, which investi gates complaints involving possible violations of civil rights laws. Wright decli ned to elaborate, but did say “each of the men’s cases is basically a twist on the same theme. Each was discriminated against in some form because of his sexual orientation. One didn’t get an internship, another failed to get a promo tion, and another received inadequate treatment, all because of their sexual orientation.” In a related matter, questions have been raised as to whether the Salvation Army’s Portland chapter has the proper license to operate a resi dential drug rehabilitation center. Bob Miller is with the state Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs. He says his office has sent two letters to the Salvation Army asking for further details about the organization’s treat ment program. Miller says the Salvation Army may be in violation of the law if it is advertising itself as a residential drug and alcohol treatment program, something it is not currently licensed to do. “There is cause for concern here if they are operating without the proper license,” Miller tells Just Out. “It means they are going unregu lated, and that means we can’t monitor the qual ity of care given to clients. We are concerned if they are operating outside the law.” Miller says his office sent a letter to the Salvation Army several weeks ago but received no response. Another inquiry was recently sent out via registered mail. As of press time, Miller had not received any response. Coupon “ I have chosen to take a more human approach as a Realtor. I build my business on a referral basis and firmly believe that the satisfaction of my client is far more important than my financial gain. I communicate clearly and openly, and I’m always honest with my clients. 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