ANSONIA, Conn. (AP) - Deep in the heart of Trump country, the Salvation Army’s ubiquitous red kettle is turning into a cauldron of controversy for Sen. George Logan.
An Ansonia Republican, Logan’s volunteer work as a bell-ringer outside a Walmart in Naugatuck for the Salvation Army, which is a Christian charity, has drawn opposition from a secularist group.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation called on Logan to keep up the separation between church and state. The group wrote to him Tuesday to voice its objections to him ringing the bell outside the big box store twice this week, including an appearance scheduled for Saturday at noon.
The flap recalls past controversies involving the Salvation Army’s red kettles, which were banned outside Target stores a decade ago. The retailer’s non-solicitation policy generated a significant backlash at the time, even though Target makes charitable contributions to the Salvation Army.
“We urge you to consider supporting only secular charities in the future,” the Madison, Wisc., group wrote Logan. “This will ensure that representatives do not give the appearance of promoting an overtly Christian mission and will prevent citizens from feeling ostracized by their elected representatives because of their religious beliefs or sexual preference.”
Logan will be pulling double duty for the Salvation Army Saturday, manning a kettle outside Walmart in Hamden in the morning.
“I think it’s kind of sad to politicize charity work,” Logan said. “The Salvation Army is trying to raise money to provide food, clothing and, in some cases, shelter for people.”
In 2016, the Naugatuck Valley, which Logan represents, overwhelming went for Donald Trump, whose “We’re Saying Merry Christmas Again” refrain resonated with many voters in the blue-collar region.
State Reps. David Labriola, R-Oxford, and Rosa Rebimbas, R-Naugatuck, are also volunteering for the Salvation Army.
“We’ve been doing it for many years,” Labriola said. “We’re always very well received. It’s a great organization that we’re happy to support.”
Labriola said he didn’t get a letter like the one received by Logan, which voiced objections to the Salvation Army’s social agenda.
“The Salvation Army is not merely a charity or chain of thrift stores - it is a church denomination with an evangelistic mission,” the group wrote. “The Salvation Army has also publicly taken a discriminatory stance against homosexuality throughout its history.”
The secularist group is not alone in its criticism of the charity, as both the American Civil Liberties Union and GLAAD have clashed with the Salvation Army over LGBTQ issues. A spokeswoman for the ACLU said the organization does not have a position on the issue. Requests for comment were left for GLAAD.
The Salvation Army thanked the Republican lawmakers for their continued support Friday.
“We value our partnership with the Connecticut Senate Republicans and the Connecticut House Republicans,” said Major Roger Duperree, the Salvation Army’s divisional secretary for Southern New England. “Through this long-term relationship, funds raised enable The Salvation Army to serve thousands of Connecticut residents in need by providing toys, warm coats, nutritious meals and other essential services throughout the year.”
Logan is a freshman senator, but it is his second year as a bell-ringer.
“It was such a good experience,” he said. “You get to meet folks. It puts a smile on people’s faces knowing they’re helping out folks less fortunate.”
Thomas Jefferson is generally credited with coming up with the phrase “separation between church and state,” which he wrote in an 1802 letter to a Baptist church in Danbury explaining the Establishment Clause of the Constitution and his federalist beliefs.
“I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ’make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church & State,” Jefferson wrote.
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Information from: Connecticut Post, http://www.connpost.com
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