March 13th, 2009
Exodus International’s vice-president Randy Thomas has collected his thoughts on the Uganda anti-gay conference mess. How’s this for a jaw-dropper:
It isn’t going to be a gay activist yelling at the Ugandan government that will actually get our ssa brothers and sisters out of jail. It will be people like me pleading with these leaders to recognize the Christ-likeness inherent in respecting self-determination and the dignity of every soul that draws breath. If I had the opportunity I would go directly to the jail and visit these people and plead for their freedom.
Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Talk is cheap. Book the damn flight already.
I saw this earlier this afternoon and spent the rest of the day trying to figure out to respond. But at the end of the day I just had to give up. I’m speechless. I’ll be spending this weekend counting to 100,000.
Click here to see BTB’s complete coverage of recent anti-gay developments in Uganda.
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March 14th, 2009
In the same post, Randy Thomas also wrote, “If I had the opportunity I would go directly to the jail and visit these people and plead for their freedom.”
Randy Thomas does have a history of arguing for leniency in sentencing. He has even lobbied the US Congress on this subject.
Unfortunately, he has argued for leniency for those that commit heinous violent crimes against gays and lesbians, but he has no real history of arguing for equal protection (or even decent treatment) for gays and lesbians. He opposes federal Hate Crime protections for gays and lesbians.
These would be the sort of laws that might be used against a violent mob that was chasing a suspected gay individual through a city like Kampala (though located in the US) with baseball bats, chains and whatever else they wanted to use to harm, kill or otherwise terrorize their victim.
And despite his new found fervent desire to plead the case for imprisoned gay people in Uganda, he wasn’t much interested in fighting the good fight for freedom from imprisonment for gays and lesbians in the US when the US Supreme Court was deliberating the Bowers v. Hardwick case.
Unfortunately for Randy, he has a public record. So, his attempt to paint himself as a decent human being is severely undermined his previous and present actions and inactions.
Timothy Kincaid
March 14th, 2009
Oh. So that’s why Don Schmierer was in Uganda. To go directly to the jail and visit these people and plead for their freedom.
Too bad he got distracted by being a key speaker at the conference where he lent his authority – and that of Exodus – to the call for increased inforcement, life sentences, and forced reorientation.
grantdale
March 14th, 2009
Randy’s claimed activity on behalf of imprisoned and persecuted gay men and women is rather too similar to his claimed heterosexuality.
After 20 years, generously described as ‘elusive’.
Less generously, a public lie.
/snort Timothy… except on this occassion of opportunity… Schmierer not only didn’t go directly to gaol, he picked up a cool $200 on the way round. I only wish life for gay men and women in Uganda was as innocuous as a board-game.
Lynn David
March 15th, 2009
I got $50 that I’d put up towards an airline ticket for Randy Thomas to go to Uganda to do just what he said (“If I had the opportunity I would go directly to the jail and visit these people and plead for their freedom“). Do you think they’d listen to him? Do you think that they would have believed that he had really changed?
Oh, that’s for a one-way ticket. He’d have to get himself home.
grantdale
March 15th, 2009
No, they wouldn’t be ‘listening’ Lynn.
Wholly because Randy wouldn’t be ‘saying’.
All day he’d be too busy day-dreaming about the breakfast buffet at Hotel Five Star to give a bugger about the homosexuals in a putrid gaol not 500 yards from his air-conditioned room. It might upset the people paying for the food and accommodation if he said rude things about them
Sometimes, you’ve got to know on what side your bread is buttered.
And how to ask nicely for ‘extra butter’.
Randy, plainly, knows how to ask.
ps: if your scheme does take off, count us in to contribute one of those gold drink cards*
(*An Australian $50 note is yellowish in colour — it’s nicknamed a “gold drink card”. A $20 is a “lobster”, look at it’s colour… Just thought you’d like to know, in case you visit.)
Lisa Talmadge
January 22nd, 2010
AS of January 10, 201 Randy Thomas has Scott Lively as a facebook friend. Thomas deleted me within minutes of friendship for commenting on his role in Uganda’s increased hate climate towards GLBT ppl. Interesting that Thomas could not be bothered to delete his Holocaust Revisionit, SPLC hate group pal Scott Lively.
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