Box Turtle Bulletin

Ugandan Pastor Issues Video Response To Rick Warren

Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa issued a video response to Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren’s vigorous condemnation of the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill.  And boy is Ssempa upset with Warren. It took Warren just six and a half minute to concisely and clearly condemn the bill as “unjust, extreme and un-Christian.” It took Ssempa two videos and nearly eighteen minutes to respond.

In the first video posted to YouTube on December 28, Ssempa continues to misrepresent what the text of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill would provide.

In this segment, Ssempa discusses one of the misconceptions about AIDS that some hold in Africa, where some people believe that having sex with a virgin will cure someone of HIV/AIDS. Ssempa then argues that the crime of “aggravated homosexuality” is an absolute necessity in order to criminalize raping of children, which Ssempa incredibly claims is not against the law in Uganda.

The problem with that, of course, is there is no such gaping loophole in Ugandan law. Here’s Section 129(3) and (4) of the Penal Code, as amended in 2007 (Act No. 8 of 2007):

129(3)
Any person who performs a sexual act with another person who is below the age of eighteen years in any of the circumstances specified in subsection (4) commits a felony called aggravated defilement and is, on conviction by the High Court, liable to suffer death.

129(4)
The circumstances referred to in subsection (3) are as follows-

(a) where the person against whom the offence is committed is below the age of fourteen years;

(b) where the offender is infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV);

(c) Where the offender is a parent or guardian of or a person in authority over, the person against whom the offence is committed;

(d) where the victim of the offence is a person with a disability; or,

(e) where the offender is a serial offender.

In other words, Ugandan law already covers what is commonly called “defilement” in a very gender-neutral way. What’s more, Ssempa’s contention that the Anti-Homosexuality Bill is intended only to cover “defilement” is blatantly false. Again, we go to the text of the bill for its definition of “aggravated homosexuality:”

3. Aggravated homosexuality.
(1) A person commits the offense of aggravated homosexuality where the

(a) person against whom the offence is committed is below the age of 18 years;

(b) offender is a person living with HIV;

(c) offender is a parent or guardian of the person against whom the offence is committed;

(d) offender is a person in authority over the person against whom the offence is committed;

(e) victim of the offence is a person with disability;

(f) offender is a serial offender, or

(g) offender applies, administers or causes to be used by any man or woman any drug, matter or thing with intent to stupefy overpower him or her so as to there by  enable any person to have unlawful carnal connection with any person of the same sex,

(2) A person who commits the offence of aggravated homosexuality shall be liable on conviction to suffer death.

(3) Where a person is charged with the offence under this section, that person shall undergo a medical examination to ascertain his or her HIV status.

The text is very plain. The bill goes beyond criminalizing sex with underage minors — which Ugandan law already does. It penalizes any gay person who is HIV-positive with death by hanging, the method of legal execution in Uganda, whether that person had sex with a minor or a consenting adult.

Part 2 continues with Ssempa’s misrepresentation of “aggravated homosexuality.”

Both parts of this video response taken together follow roughly the letter that Ssempa sent to Warren demanding that Warren apologize for his condemnation of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. He repeats that demand in the second part of his video.

Click here to see BTB\’s complete coverage of recent anti-gay developments in Uganda.

Janet Jenkins Files Missing Person Report For Her Daughter

Janet Jenkins and her daughter (2006)

Janet Jenkins, who was granted custody of her daughter by a family court judge, has filed a Missing Person report for her daughter, according to her lawyer. The court ordered her former partner, Lisa Miller, to transfer custody of the child, but Miller’s lawyer said that he does not know Miller’s or the child’s whereabouts.

Rutland Family Court Judge William Cohen had awarded Janet Jenkins custody of the couple’s daughter beginning Friday, January 1. If Miller does not comply with the judge’s order, she could be held in criminal contempt. She could also be charged with custodial interference, a felony which carries a sentence of up to five years.

Debbie Thurman endorses Lisa Miller’s kidnapping of Isabella

Debbie Thurman is the facilitator of an ex-gay ministry in Lynchburg, VA, called The Formers. She is also a regular participant at Dr. Throckmorton’s site and an infrequent commenter here at Box Turtle Bulletin.

It was, I suppose, inevitable that Thurman would become interested in Lisa Miller, the woman who is seeking to keep Janet Jenkins, her former partner, from having contact with their child. Thurman’s anti-gay political attitudes, along with their mutual attendance at Thomas Road Baptist Church (the church Jerry Falwell founded), surely drew them together.

And, indeed, Thurman is an avid advocate for Lisa Miller. Although she pretends some distance and objectivity in some of her comments, it is not coincidence that the “Protect Isabella” website is registered at her business address and that she was their contact person (the site is rife with homophobic smear and insinuation).

Debbie likes to see herself as a civil person, one who follows the example of Andrew Marin, who has made it his mission to build a bridge between the religious and LGBT communities. But, unlike Marin who believes that love should be an expression of behavior of Christians towards gay people, Thurman seems to think that adopting a sheen of momentary civility while at a gay website is effort enough.

Let me be fair. Debbie’s recent conversion to civility is not without some measurability. She was quick to join in opposition to the Ugandan effort to enact the draconian Kill Gays bill. But she is so immersed in a culture of animus towards gay people that she is also quick to believe the worst about gay people, no matter how bizarre or comical.

And she seems incapable of seeing gay people as equal to herself or, indeed, much other than an enemy to conquer and vanquish. Convinced that a battle is waging between homosexuality and God, she appears incapable of disengaging from her Culture War.

And it is through that prism that Debbie Thurman sees the custody battle between Lisa Miller and Janet Jenkins over their daughter Isabelle. Let’s look at how she discusses Miller’s refusal to conform with the visitation and custody ordered by a judge and upheld by the Supreme Courts of Virgina and Vermont and the United States Supreme Court.

Responding to Miller’s disappearance with Isabella, Thurman wrote an article titled “This is True Motherhood”, in which she endorses Lisa Miller’s apparent kidnapping of Isabella and compares her to the nation’s founding fathers.

I cannot answer the burning question on everyone\’s lips: Where are Lisa and Isabella? Somewhere safe, I pray. How and when did they get there? Only God knows.

What happens now? A lot of frustration, recrimination and more lies on one side and a collective sigh of relief on the other. The courts still have a huge task set before them, meanwhile. Lisa and Isabella represent only one of many similar cases waiting to be resolved. We need precedents that honor the prevailing states\’ rights, laws and constitutions. The majority of Americans overwhelmingly support traditional marriage. If the tyrannical minority wants to push against that, it can and will be met with civil disobedience. There is no other way.

Lisa Miller is a mother who would give up her life to save her child. Of that there is no doubt. She apparently has chosen to forfeit a large measure of her liberty, personal property and pursuit of happiness in assuring that child her God-ordained future, much as a group of patriots pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor more than two centuries ago to establish this nation.

I say God bless and long live Lisa and Isabella Miller. All who have known them are the better for it. [emphasis added]

If, as Andrew Marin says, love is “a measurable expression of one’s unconditional behaviors towards another”, then we can use this measure to see if there is any love in Debbie Thurman.

Kidnapping a child so as to spite a former partner, using religion as an excuse for one’s own selfish desires, and taking advantage of local bigotries to elicit sympathy are not admirable traits. But, in the passion of parental ownership and the emotions of failed relationships, these are not unheard of or unfathomable.

But endorsing kidnap as a tactic in a Culture War, that’s just plain evil.

(hat tip Truth Wins Out)

Ugandan Religious Leaders Announce National Anti-Gay Rally

Pastors David Kiganda (L) and Henry Mina (R) announcing the national anti-gay rally for January 19.

Repeating pastor Martin Ssempa’s call for a nationwide rally in support of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that is now before Uganda’s Parliament, two more religious leaders have announced plans to participate in the rally scheduled for January 19, 2010. From the independent Daily Monitor:

Addressing journalists in Kampala yesterday, Pastor David Kiganda, the leader of Born Again Christians in Uganda, said: “We are here to protect the integrity and morals of our country so we cannot allow conditions from foreign countries to compromise our culture.”

He said this while announcing the fourth National Prayer Day and Night to be held at Nakivubo Stadium starting today until tomorrow.

Kiganda is the pastor of the 3,000-member Christianity Focus Centre in Mengo Kiseny, the largest slum in the Kampala area. Kiganda marched alongside Martin Ssempa during last week’s march on Parliament, when they presented a petition to the Parliament’s deputy speaker demanding immediate passage of the anti-gay bill.

Kiganda was joined in this latest announcement by Pastor Henry Minan from Mbuya Pentecostal Church.

The New Year’s Eve prayer rally at Nakivubo Stadium is an annual tradition, featuring many of Uganda’s most prominent pentecostal pastors. Anti-gay prayers and sermons are expected to be a central feature in this year’s rally.

Click here to see BTB\’s complete coverage of recent anti-gay developments in Uganda.

Ugandan Tabloid Invites More Anti-Gay Vigilantism

December 30, 2009 edition of the Red Pepper (Click to enlarge)

The notorious Ugandan tabloid Red Pepper today published a full-page spread purporting to out “city tycoons who bankroll Ugandan homos.” As with an earlier public vigilante campaign waged by the same tabloid last April, this sensationalistic hit piece reveals names, residences, places of employment, and other clues of where people can be found who purportedly finance Uganda’s beleaguered LGBT community.

This article promotes the same allegations repeated by several other political and religious leaders that Uganda’s LGBT community is financed by millions from foreign sources. This article alleges that Ugandan “coordinators” receive a monthly salary of 1.5 million Ugandan Shillings (about US$780), which is ten to twelve times the average Ugandan’s monthly income.

The article cites as its source “the estranged Gay Uganda spokesperson” (we’ve obscured the name pending further information). We do not know whether this is intended to refer to the anonymous blogger GayUganda or not. We know that the anonymous blogger is an individual and not an organization, and therefore would have no need for a “spokesperson.” Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo recently targeted the blogger, claiming that he is one of three “organizations” sharing in US$20 million in foreign money. The so-called Gay Uganda spokesperson in this piece claimed that the Red Pepper’s “list of gay sponsors was just a tip of the iceberg.” The article hints are more follow-up stories.

[Update: The “spokesman” is Paul Kagaba, who GayUganda identifies as an “ex-gay”. GayUganda confirms that Kagaba has nothing to do with him. We have re-posted the newspaper scans with the obscuring of Kagaba’s name removed.]

April 19, 2009 edition of Uganda's Red Pepper (Scans via GayUganda. Names and faces obscured by Box Turtle Bulletin. Click to enlarge).

Last April, the Red Pepper published a “killer dossier” of more than fifty purportedly gay Ugandans, and included such personal identifying features as first names, places of residences and employment, the kinds of cars they drove, and other identifying features as part of a national vigilante campaign.

This article appears to be the handiwork of Pastor Martin Ssempa, who is an ardent supporter of the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill that is now before Parliament. Ssempa has recently called for a nationwide rally for January 19, 2010 to press for the bill’s passage. This appears to be an attempt to intimidate those who might oppose the bill in the days leading up to that rally.  According to the Red Pepper:

Ssempa further said that the main reason Ndorwa West Member of Parliament David Bahati’s Bill is feared is that the mentioned people and organizations will be culprits. He revealed that investigations were underway to ascertain allegations that several politicians and senior citizens were under lobby to frustrate the Bahati Bill.

Among the many provisions of the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill is one that would criminalize all advocacy and support by and on behalf of LGBT people in Uganda. The criminal penalties include five to seven year’s imprisonment, with finds of up to US$50,000.

The “investigations” that SSempa refers to may be of recent allegations by supporters of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill who claim to have received death threats. Uganda’s largest independent newspaper The Monitor carried an unverified story claiming that MP Bahati’s cousin had been kidnapped. (Bahati made no mention of that alleged kidnapping during his recent television interview on Uganda’s state-owned UBC.) These allegations sound eerily similar to earlier accusations raised during last spring’s so-called “pastor wars,” in which Ssempa and others accused rival pastors of homosexuality. Those charges also included accusations of kidnappings and beatings, allegedly to coerce more false accusations. Ssempa and pastor Solomon Male are currently charged with filing false reports with the police. Nevertheless, there are fears that these latest allegations may lead to attempts to frame LGBT people and supporters with false accusations of death threats and kidnappings.

It is widely believed in Uganda that the Red Pepper sometimes runs stories at the behest of Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni, particularly the more salacious stories which would appear too unseemly for Uganda’s official state-run newspaper New Vision.

The Red Pepper’s web site is currently suspended by its internet host provider.

Click here to see BTB\’s complete coverage of recent anti-gay developments in Uganda.

Malawi Couple Pleads Not Guilty

According to the BBC, the male couple who were arrested for participating in a symbolic traditional engagement ceremony have appeared in court to plead not guilty and ask for bail.

Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza appeared in court at Blatyre, Malawi’s largest city, on Monday. The BBC reports the court room was packed with large crowds of onlookers. Some people congratulated them but other shouted insults. Also:

Prosecutors say they will send the pair to hospital to prove they have had sex together.

…Mr Monjeza, 26, hinted that he may consider calling off the proposed wedding, as he was sent back to prison.”I am sad I am going back to Chichiri Prison,” he said. “The condition are terrible there. People are exaggerating this thing. I may just as well dissolve this marriage.”Mr Chimbalanga, 20, dressed in women’s clothes, refused to speak to journalists, beyond accusing them of writing “stupid” things.

Homosexuality in Malawi carries a maximum sentence of fourteen years’ imprisonment.

Marriage equality signed into law in Mexico City

LA Times

Mexico City on Tuesday formally put on the books a law allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt children, with Mayor Marcelo Ebrard rejecting demands he veto the controversial measure.

The law was published in the official government newspaper, and will go into effect in 45 days. It was passed by a comfortable margin by this sprawling capital’s legislature last week.

NARTH: Forced Therapy Is “Unethical and Unworkable”

Getting the National  Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) to say specifically whether coercing people into conversion therapy is unethical or not appears to have been extraordinarily difficult, but Grove City College professor has managed to get them to do just that.

The issue has arisen again lately in Uganda, where the Parliament is currently taking up the draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which would provide for the death sentence for LGBT people under certain circumstances. While the entire bill is wide-ranging and dangerous for straight people as well as gays, the death sentence has garnered particular scrutiny. Now backers of the bill say that they may drop the death penalty and add a clause to provide forced conversion therapy for those convicted. It is unknown whether the forced therapy would be as an alternative to the lifetime prison sentence, or an adjunct to it.

The idea of forced conversions appears to have come from Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively, one of three American anti-gay extremists who led a conference in Kampala last March. The other two Americans, Exodus International board member Don Schmierer and International Healing Foundation’s Caleb Lee Brundidge, were there as conversion therapy “experts,” but they remained completely silent as the idea was allowed to fester for the succeeding nine months. NARTH also remained silent, even though Scott Lively touted NARTH as the leading experts on conversion therapy during the conference.

Finally, Warren Throckmorton was able to get a statement from NARTH. The group’s past president, A. Dean Byrd, wrote this reply to Throckmorton:

Dear Dr. Throckmorton,

As you are aware, NARTH\’s Governing Board has accepted the Leona Tyler Principle which states that NARTH, as a scientific organization, takes no position on any scientific issue without the requisite science or professional experience.  NARTH members, as individuals, are free to speak on any issue.

NARTH values the inherent worth of all individuals and respects individual right of autonomy and self determination.

NARTH\’s position on homosexuality was clearly articulated by Dr. Julie Harren Hamiliton in a recent edition of the APA Monitor: homosexuality is not invariably fixed in all people – some people can and do change.  And psychological care should be available to those who seek such care.

NARTH encourages its members to abide the Code of Ethics of their respective organizations and such codes proscribe the coercive efforts. It goes without saying that NARTH would support the humane treatment of ALL individuals.

We are aware of the situation in Uganda but thank you for bringing this to our attention. I am sure that you are aware that as a scientific organization, NARTH does not take political positions; however, we are happy to provide a summary of what science can and cannot say about homosexuality for those who do.

Dr. Throckmorton, if history is a good indicator, you will likely not be happy with this response. However, I hope such responses will help you understand NARTH\’s mission as a scientific organization.

With warm regards,

A. Dean Byrd, PhD, MBA, MPH

The line about NARTH not taking political positions is utterly laughable. You don’t even have to go beyond the front page on NARTH’s web site before you find links decrying the supposed “dangers” of same-sex marriage.

That aside, it was difficult to find the denunciation of forced conversion therapy. If you blinked, you might have missed it. But here it is again, with my emphasis:

NARTH encourages its members to abide the Code of Ethics of their respective organizations and such codes proscribe the coercive efforts.

After further inquiries from Throckmorton, Byrd clarified:

Research tells us that forced therapy is almost always a failure. It is unethical and unworkable.

Scott Lively specifically recommended NARTH to his Ugandan audience, saying, “After my web site, this is the one I consider the most important.” But if Ugandans go to  NARTH, they will not find a single statement anywhere which provides guidance on coercive therapy. Exodus also continues to refrain from placing a statement on their web site as well, although Exodus President Alan Chambers did say in a Facebook posting, “I am NOT for forced therapy for gay and lesbian people.”

It’s good that NARTH and Exodus leadership has now come out against forced therapy. But since this is not the first time this issue has come up — and it certainly won’t be the last time either — isn’t it time these two organizations finally made these statements official and accessible? What reason could they possibly have for keeping them hard to find and off of their own web sites?

Click here to see BTB\’s complete coverage of recent anti-gay developments in Uganda.

Lisa Miller may have kidnapped little Isabella and fled

After a long and contentious custody battle between previously civilly united couple Lisa Miller and Janet Jenkins, a judge has awarded primary custody to Janet Jenkins. Miller was to turn over 6 7 year old Isabella to Jenkins on Friday, January 1, 2010.

Although the couple brought Isabella into the world together with the intention of raising her as theirs, after the separation Miller readopted a conservative religious faith and believed that this entitled her to thwart the law, break visitation agreements, and deny Jenkins her rights.

Miller was encouraged and supported in her decision but the political arm of conservative Christianity, appearing as a victim in Christian press and as a cause for fundraising appeals. Such stories often ignored the facts of the case, instead simply pitting a Born Again Christian against an Evil Homosexual trying to steal an Innocent Child.

But Miller’s bluster has run out. Although she is still appealing decisions, it now appears that courts are not going to find in her favor.

So she has disappeared. (Times Argus)

Miller’s attorneys filed a motion earlier this month asking Cohen to delay his order until an appeal in the Virginia court system — regarding whether that state needed to enforce the Vermont order — was decided.

But in a two-page decision issued by Cohen, the judge said Miller failed to meet the legal burden required to delay the order in part because she has not appeared in court nor spoken with her attorneys about the case for more than a month.

“Ms. Miller has not demonstrated that she is entitled to a stay. … Instead, it appears that Ms. Miller has ceased contact with her attorneys and disappeared with (Isabella). … Such conduct does not show that a stay is warranted,” Cohen wrote.

The whereabouts of Miller couldn’t be determined Monday. Miller’s principal lawyers in Orlando, Fla., could not be reached Monday afternoon.

We will see whether Miller shows up on Friday. Her counsel should advise her that failing to do so will be disastrous to her case. Should she fail to produce Isabella, she will not only be in contempt of court but she will be considered a suspect for kidnap.

Judges are not inclined to find sympathy with scofflaws and kidnappers. And even religious folk may find it challenging to believe that the best interest of the child is to be on the run.

Marriage equality to be recognized in Dutch Caribbean islands

The Kingdom of the Netherlands includes six islands in the Caribbean Sea. Three, Sint Eustatius, Saba and Sint Maarten, are in the Northern Caribbean near the Virgin Islands, and three, Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire, are in the South, off the Venezuela coast.

Currently, the Dutch are in the process of restructuring the borders and autonomy of the various entities. And part of that process is determining the extent to which Dutch Law will apply to local administration.

The Netherlands is one of the seven nations in which (along with a few states and localities) same-sex marriage is recognized. And when it comes to same-sex couple recognition, it appears that the Kingdom will insist that there be no discrimination. (the St. Maarten Daily Herald)

Married and registered gay couples will obtain legal protection against discrimination by government agencies in the BES islands Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba after the islands have obtained their new status as public entities in the Dutch Kingdom.
…
it is the intention of the Dutch government to incorporate a new article in the BES Implementation Law stating that weddings and registered partnerships executed in the Netherlands confer the same legal rights as weddings executed in the public entities.

As Antillean law is replaced with Dutch law, the conducting of marriages on the BES islands will become legal.

It is not immediately clear how this will impact Aruba, Curaçao, or Sint Maarten, but we know that Curaçao has taken steps to attract gay tourists.

A gay bashing event on St. Maarten brought into question the commitment of local authorities to provide safety for gay tourists there. But after an initial response that appeared apathetic, authorities decided that it was in their interest to improve relations.

Attitudes throughout the Caribbean may not be as affirmative as could be wished, but those planning on vacations in the sun may consider those Caribbean islands that are under Dutch influence to be better choices.

Rwandan predicts quiet decriminalization

Joseph Rwagatare writes in AllAfrica.com

The New Times reported on Wednesday December 23 that the parliamentary committee on poitical affairs had recommeneded the removal of homosexuality from the penal code.

One would have expected an avalanche of protests from anti-gay groups. None has come. The proposal will probably go without much public notice and debate. The penal code will be amended and homosexuality will be decriminalised.

He predicts that as most people don’t much care one way or the other, this change in the penal code will quietly be but in place. He further predicts that it will have virtually no impact on society.

Malawi Couple Arrested, Face 14 Years Imprisonment

Steven Monjeza (L) and Tiwonge Chimbalanga (R) married in Malawi last Saturday

Last weekend, two Malawian men became the first same-sex couple to marry in that country. Today, we learn that they have been arrested for “public indecency” because of their wedding.

Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were married in a symbolic, traditional wedding engagement ceremony on Saturday. They were arrested on Monday night at their home and charged with “gross public indecency because the practice is against the law,” according to police spokesman, Dave Chingwalu.

Homosexuality carries a maximum prison sentence of fourteen years in Malawi. The police spokesman said that the couple will likely face more charges as the investigation continues.

Senegal Police Detain 24 Men for “Homosexual Activities”

Senegal police arrested 24 men on December 24 at a house in Saly for allegedly engaging in “homosexual activities” and for holding an unauthorized party. They were released the next day, but police are continuing the investigation.

Last August, a 17-year-old man was arrested for homosexuality, and two others were sentenced for two and five years imprisonment for homosexual activities. Earlier this year, nine AIDS workers were given prison sentences of between one and eight years, with three more years added for being in a “criminal group” — presumably the AIDS service organization they worked for. They were released in April following an international outcry.

According to AFP, the Senegalese Foreign Minister Madicke Niang said on December 10 that homosexuality would be decriminalized in Senegal.

LAPD drops ties with the Boy Scouts

In 2000, the Boy Scouts of America went to the US Supreme Court to defend their right to exclude members based solely on their sexual orientation. And since that time, they have insisted that all scout troops – even those in which the community, the scout leaders, and the parents wish otherwise – expel and exclude gay scouts and leaders. They also exclude atheists and agnostics.

I support their right to do so. Generally, I believe that membership based social organizations should be free to grant or deny membership based on whatever arbitrary or ridiculous reason they wish, even if it be odious and hateful. Even if I believe the policy to be ill conceived and harmful.

But they should not do so with my tax dollars.

And, increasingly, the Scouts have been discovering that the cost of their exclusionary policy is not an inconsequential one. There has been a steady stream of cities that have severed ties or revoked special privileges which the organization had enjoyed. No longer does the City Berkeley provide free berthing to the Sea Scouts. The City of San Diego revoked its $1 lease on a portion of Balboa Park, and the City of Philadelphia evicted the Scouts from a city owned building.

Of course, those who demand their right to discriminate often are outraged and indignant when they think that they are on the other side of the equation. So the Boy Scouts have sued in each of these cases, claiming that revoking their special privileges and taxpayer sponsored handouts is (you saw it coming) discrimination against them.

Yet with each passing year, they are discovering that local governments and institutions give less leeway to the Scouts. Their blind insistence on defining themselves as a religious organization free to disassociate the ungodly also puts them at conflict with establishment of religion issues.

And, frankly, more and more, their pigheadedness is seen as distasteful. Civic institutions don’t want to put gay elected officials or employees in the uncomfortable position of having to deal with a group that considers them not to be “clean” or “morally straight”. And it feels burdensome of the Scouts to put them in this position.

So this organization, once revered and considered an integral part of American youth, is increasingly give the heave-ho. And the latest to sever connections with the Scouts is the Los Angeles Police Department (Daily Breeze).

Since 1962 the Explorers, a program for youth who wish to become police officers, has been affiliated with the Boy Scouts. That will end on Friday; the Police Commission has voted to change the name of the program and cease using the Scout affiliated insurance service (the LAPD has administered the program itself for the past decade).

Commissioner Robert Saltzman, who is openly gay, said that because he cannot support the Boy Scouts, he has invested a lot of time to ensure the new youth program is “as good or – I’m confident – better than the program it replaces.”

“The Boy Scouts are clear that they discriminate based on sexual orientation, gender identity and religion, and the result of that is I could not be active on the Boy Scouts,” Saltzman said.

None of this is a happy resolution. The Scouts are weaker, the program is less respected, ad hoc solutions are pasted about in attempts to keep programs operating, and children are now less connected to their local governments. All the good that comes from connecting with nature, teaching values by example, efforts for self improvement and a call to selflessness has now been tainted by exclusion, discrimination, and recrimination.

All so that some ultra-religious administrators can self-righteously declare that only good god-fearing heterosexuals can be associated with their organization. Oh, and all this sadness and destruction is justified because their bigotry is “for the children”.

First Same-Sex Marriage In Argentina

It’s a first not just for Argentina. It’s the first same-sex wedding in Latin America:

An official in Argentina’s southern Tierra del Fuego province says two Argentine men have wed there in Latin America’s first gay marriage. Provincial spokesman Eduardo Porter says the wedding between Jose Maria Di Bello and Alex Freyre took place at the civil registry in Ushuaia. Their marriage plans in Buenos Aires earlier this month were thwarted when city officials refused to marry them because of conflicting rulings.

According to the Spanish-language Clarín, the couple had also tried to marry in the city of Usuahia on the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (it’s reputedly the world’s southernmost city), but local authorities refused to register their marriage. They were able to marry after the gay-friendly Gov. Fabiana Ríos intervened.