Box Turtle Bulletin

Statement from International Healing Foundation Regarding Uganda

There’s not much there, but we’ve been provided a copy of the full statement from Richard Cohen’s International Healing Foundation regarding Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Act. The current legislation is a direct aftermath of a three-day conference put on last March by three American anti-gay activists. One of them was Caleb Lee Brundidge, who is a counselor with the International Healing Foundation, and an minister with Phoenix-based Extreme Prophetic.

We first learned of the statement form Rachel Maddow’s program, where she read just two short sentences of the statement. And for good reason. That was the only part of the statement that was relevant, and it was barely so. The rest is nothing but salesmanship, much like the IHF’s web site. The PDF of their statement is here (PDF: 116KB/1 page). It says:

The mission of the International Healing Foundation is to provide counseling for those who experience unwanted same-sex attractions (SSA), including their family members, and to educate all people about the facts of homosexuality—1) no one is born this way, 2) no one chooses to have SSA, and 3) that changing from homosexual to heterosexual is possible.

We condemn any harsh and extreme punishment of persons who identify as homosexual or engage in homosexual behavior. Instead, we advocate education and counseling for those who experience unwanted SSA. We believe that all persons should have equal access to information about the facts of homosexuality—that no one is born this way, no one chooses to have SSA, and that change is possible.

So the questions remain. What is “harsh and extreme punishment”? The death penalty? Lifetime imprisonment? Any imprisonment? And what do they advocate for those who don\’t have unwanted “Same-Sex Attraction”?

This is the same sort of non-statement statement that we’ve come to expect from those who can’t find the simple and direct words to say that criminalizing an entire group of people to death is wrong.

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

No Prop 8 insider documents for Olson/Boies

Part of the Ted Olson/David Boies case against Proposition 8 is based on the argument that the campaign and its voters denied rights to gay couples out of animus. And to prove animus, they subpoenaed the internal communication of the pro-8 campaign.

Although the presiding judge agreed that such communication should be turned over to Olson/Boies, an appeal to the 9th Circuit has suspended that decision until they can hear it. (SF Chronicle)

The Ninth U.S. Circuit of Appeals in San Francisco suspended the order that Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker issued in October against backers of Prop. 8, which state voters approved in November 2008.
…
Prop. 8 sponsors argued that their discussions were constitutionally protected and that orders such as Walker’s would discourage candid communications in political campaigns.

The three-judge appeals court panel said the sponsors “have made a strong showing that they are likely to succeed” in their arguments. The court, which held a hearing on Walker’s order on Tuesday, said it would issue a ruling soon.

This always seemed a bit of a long-shot to me anyway.

Chile candidates try to out-support each other

Per globalpost.com

It\’s unheard of: Gay men holding hands and lesbians kissing each other on prime-time television, brought to you by conservative and Catholic presidential candidates.

However, while all of the candidates are seeking to appear more supportive than the others, there is little certainty that this will translate into real support after the election.

Seven Mountains Theology At the Heart of Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill

Yesterday, Warren Throckmorton began delving into the “Seven Mountains” theology that has surfaced in investigations into American Evangelical ties to the current Anti-Homosexuality Act which has been put before Uganda’s Parliament. Today, Bruce Wilson, of the New Apostolic Reformation Research Group, has published a major exposé on extensive ties between those behind Uganda’s latest draconian proposal and American Evangelicals. Again, “Seven Mountains” theology appears to be at the core.

According to news reports, the Anti-Homosexuality Act was tabled before Parliament on October 14, but that wasn’t the first time discussions surrounding the proposal occurred in the chamber. A transcript of Parliamentary proceedings from April 29, have come to light which show MP David Bahati first introducing the bill before Parliament. This is likely to have been similar to the draft dated April 20, 2009 that we obtained in September. (The current bill is dated September 25.) According to the Parliamentary transcript, the Speaker noted several distinguished visitors in the gallery before turning the floor over to MP Bahati:

Let us hear from hon. Bahati. In connection with the motion he is moving, we have in the gallery Apostle Julius Peter Oyet, Vice-President of the Born Again Federation; Pastor Dr Martin Sempa of the Family Policy Centre; Stephen Langa, Family Life Network; hon. Godfrey Nyakaana; the Mayor of Kampala City Council; Julius, a young boy who was sodomised, and his mother. His story has been in the press. They are all here in the gallery. Please, let us deal with them so that they can leave. There is also George Oundo who came out to speak against homosexuality. Please, let us balance the public good and our good since all of them are important. We shall do them all very quickly. Hon. Bahati.

For longtime BTB readers, many of these names are familiar. Stephen Langa organized the anti-gay conference in Kampala in March featuring three American Anti-Gay activists which ultimately kicked off this latest round of anti-gay vigilantism and, eventually, this bill. Martin Ssempa has enjoyed close ties with many American Evangelicals, most notably Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren. Ssempa has used the latest anti-gay furor to exact revenge against rival pastors by accusing them of homosexuality. Those accusations were unfounded, and Ssempa himself is the subject of a police investigation for filing false reports. George Oundo is the unstable so-called “ex-gay” who participated in several acts of vigilantism in the media.

"Apostle" Julius Oyet

But one name we haven’t paid much attention to — and should — is that of the self-designated “Apostle” Julius Peter Oyet. He’s vice-president of the Born Again Federation, and umbrella group of some 10,000 Ugandan Pentecostal churches. He is also head of Lifeline Ministries. According to Throckmorton and Wilson, Oyet has gained favor and influence with Uganda President Yoweri Museveni for going to Northern Uganda and praying over territory once controlled by the rebel Lord\’s Resistance Army. His prayers reportedly resulted in the “miraculous” return of hundreds of child soldiers abducted by the LRA, as well as other fantastic stories of miraculous healings, cleansing of poisoned rivers, casting out demons, and the like.

Oyet is an adherent to “Seven Mountains” theology, a Dominionist theology that calls upon Christians to “establish the Kingdom of God on earth” by claiming possession to “the Seven Mountains of Culture namely: Business, Government, Religion, Family, Media, Education and Entertainment.”  Warren Throckmorton explains:

This viewpoint seems to be quite popular among those who follow C. Peter Wagner\’s New Apostolic Reformation. Wagner is the Presiding Apostle for the International Council of Apostles, a subsidiary of Global Harvest Ministries which admits new apostles by invitation only.

Wagner\’s 2008 book Dominion: How Kingdom Action Can Change the World, is described by the publisher as an exploration of “the biblical roots of dominion theology.” According to Wagner, the task of the church is less about individual salvation and more about taking dominion over the culture by reclaiming seven domains: family, business, arts & entertainment, government, media, education, and religion.

Perhaps not so coincidentally, Caleb Lee Brundidge, one of the speakers at that anti-gay conference at Kampala last march, is a member of a group called Extreme Prophetic, which also adheres to Seven Mountains theology.

Bruce Wilson’s report at Talk to Action takes up the thread from there:

Some observers have wondered if Purpose Driven Life author and mega-evangelist Rick Warren has had a role in the globally controversial bill, especially because of Warren’s close association with Ugandan anti-gay activist Martin Ssempa and, more broadly, because Warren has refused to denounce the anti-gay bill.

To little notice, a charismatic network overseen by Warren’s doctoral dissertation advisor, C. Peter Wagner, has played a major role in politically organizing and inspiring the Ugandan legislators who have spearheaded the anti-gay bill.

Wagner is the Convening Apostle in a movement of charismatic networks which has extended its reach from the United States to Uganda, and worldwide. Under its umbrella of authority are virulently anti-gay apostles in the United States and Uganda including Lou Engle of TheCall, who led thousands of young people in a twelve hour November 1, 2008 stadium rally in support of California’s anti-gay marriage Proposition Eight.

The San Diego event closed with Engle, a member of Wagner’s inner circle of “prophets,” calling for Christian martyrs. Peter Wagner heads the New Apostolic Reformation, which he openly touts as an effort to take Christian dominion over the globe by putting “born again” believers around the world under the authority of these apostles and prophets.

Both C. Peter Wagner and Rick Warren want to transform the world, and both have proclaimed the advent of a second Reformation. Wagner calls it the New Apostolic Reformation, while for Rick Warren this is a “purpose driven” effort powered by Warren’s global P.E.A.C.E. Plan. In Uganda both visions for societal transformation appear to include the categorical elimination of homosexuality – by any means.

The word “transform” is key. Wilson identifies Julius Oyet as a one of Wagner’s Apostles, and is featured in one of the movement’s Transformations series of video documentaries. Wilson says these videos “depict cities and even whole nations transformed to earthly utopias when charismatic Christians take control of societal structures and government.” The “Transformations” ideas promoted these videos have spawned Transformation organizations around the world, including the International Transformation Network

Oyet is also identified as being the head of the Uganda division of the College of Prayer International. BTB readers may recall from last month that MP David Bahati, who introduced the Anti-Homosexualty Act into Parliament, and MP Benson Obua-Ogwa, identified as one of the bill’s cosponsors, are core members of the College of Prayer International’s Uganda branch. They were appointed as two of eight MP\’s to serve on the Christian “servant leadership team” in Parliament for three years.

Some parts of Wilson’s report covers some of the same ground that we’ve reported, but his well-researched report goes much deeper than anyone has been able to accomplish so far. He does an excellent job of not only tying it all together, but demonstrating how Seven Mountains theology works, as adherents seek to infiltrate the seven spheres of cultural influence — particularly the governmental sphere. He also documents the close ties that these groups have with the President and First Lady of Uganda. For example:

A March 8th, 2007 news release, hosted on the official web site of Republic of Uganda State House, reveals the extent to which the Transformations model is being integrated into Ugandan government policy:

“President Yoweri Museveni and his wife Mrs. Janet Museveni today hosted at State House, Nakasero 2 officials of California based Harvest Evangelism. Founder and President of Harvest Evangelism Mr. Ed Silvoso was accompanied by Mr. Graham Power.” According to the release, the Musevenis discussed with Silvoso and Power “issues pertaining to investment opportunities in the country particularly road construction and the development of infrastructure.”

Ed Silvoso is an apostle in C. Peter Wagner’s International Coalition of Apostles and is CEO of the International Transformation Network (ITN). Janet Museveni has spoken at several Transformation conferences around the world including one hosted by Silvoso’s Argentina-based ministry.

So now we see how Peter Wagner’s “Seven Mountain” theology is having a very real impact in Uganda. And with Rick Warren as Wagner’s protegé, Warren’s refusal to take a stand on the impending disaster in Uganda is starting to make sense. One would think that denouncing such a draconian attempt at criminalization would be easy to denounce, but Warren can’t find it in his heart to do so.

The more we look at the ties between American Evangelicals and Uganda’s political leadership, the more we see the true nature of what the American Evangelical movement has in store for LGBT people if they get their way. One Uganda pastor called the proposal “genocide.” That’s an extreme word describing an extreme situation. But the more we learn, the more it looks like it’s not hyperbole after all. This is real.

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

Irish Fianna Fáil Party required to vote for Partnerships

From Irish Central

Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern refused to allow party colleagues to abstain or vote against a new bill legalizing civil partnerships for gay couples.

He banned the so-called “freedom of conscience” clause for colleagues to defy the government and vote against the bill.

With other minority parties supporting the bill, it is expected to pass.

Stephen Boissoin ruling reversed

There is a short list of grievances used by every anti-gay activist who seeks to recast their own hostilities as being in defense of religious freedoms. For example, here is the litany from the Manhattan Declaration:

After the judicial imposition of “same-sex marriage” in Massachusetts, for example, Catholic Charities chose with great reluctance to end its century-long work of helping to place orphaned children in good homes rather than comply with a legal mandate that it place children in same-sex households in violation of Catholic moral teaching. In New Jersey, after the establishment of a quasi-marital “civil unions” scheme, a Methodist institution was stripped of its tax exempt status when it declined, as a matter of religious conscience, to permit a facility it owned and operated to be used for ceremonies blessing homosexual unions. In Canada and some European nations, Christian clergy have been prosecuted for preaching Biblical norms against the practice of homosexuality. New hate-crime laws in America raise the specter of the same practice here.

We have already debunked the bogus claims about Catholic Charities, the public pavilion in New Jersey, and Ake Green’s imaginary jail time (the “European nations” reference).

And now, the last claim goes down in flames. Here’s how the Canadian prosecution story goes, from the perspective of those who oppose decent treatment towards gay people (WND)

Canada already has aggressive “hate crimes” laws, and authorities have gone so far as to tell a Christian pastor he must recant his faith because of legislation that bans statements that can be “perceived” as condemning another person.
…
“Canadian youth pastor Stephen Boissoin wrote a letter to the editor in 2002 criticizing homosexual activism and offering compassion and hope for people trapped by homosexuality. A human rights tribunal took notice and slapped him with a $5,000 fine, ordered him to apologize in writing, and snuffed out his free speech rights by placing a prior restraint on his public expression of any ‘disparaging’ opinions about homosexuality,” Coral Ridge leaders said.

The facts are as follows:

In 2002, Stephen Boissoin, the executive director of Concerned Christian Coalition, wrote a letter which was published in the Red Deer Advocate (the text of the letter is provided after the break). This letter described gay people as “perverse, self-centered and morally deprived individuals” who “are just as immoral as the pedophiles, drug dealers and pimps that plague our communities.” He “declared war” on gay people and called for Canadians to “stand together and take whatever steps are necessary” to “start taking back what the enemy has taken from you.”

Within the next few weeks, a teenager in Red Deer was beaten for being gay, allegedly by a regular visitor to a drop-in center operated by Boissoin.

An Associate Professor at the University of Calgary, Darren Lund, tied the two events together and sued Boissoin under the Alberta Human Rights Commission. Boissoin and his sympathizers then adopted a campaign of personal destruction against Dr. Lund.

On November 30, 2007, the Commission found the following:

In balancing the freedom afforded under the Charter and the degree of protection afforded through the provincial legislation, the Panel considered s. 2(b) of the Charter regarding the fundamental freedoms of conscience and religion, the freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including the freedom of the press and other media, the freedom of peaceful assembly and the freedom of association. The broad protection granted to religious freedom did not override the protection afforded under human rights legislation against hatred and contempt. Further, the publication\’s exposure of homosexuals to hatred and contempt overrode the freedom of speech afforded in the Charter.

The Commission determined that Boissoin and the Concerned Christian Coalition 1) were prohibited from making disparaging remarks about gays, Dr. Lund, and his witnesses, 2) were restrained from committing the same or similar contraventions of the Act, 3) had to issue a written apology, 4) must request the Red Deer Advocate publish the apology letter, 5) and pay up to $7,000 in damages.

To readers in the United States, this decision would seem like a violation of the constitutional protections of free speech. So much has been made of this “threat”, especially in relation to the battle over the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act.

Now it turns out that it may be a violation of Canada’s constitution as well. (Calgary Herald)

Controversial remarks made about gays by a former youth pastor are “jarring, offensive, bewildering, puerile, nonsensical and insulting,” but not hateful or extreme, a judge has ruled.
…
Thursday’s judgment by Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Earl Wilson overturned a December 2007 ruling by a human rights panel, chaired by Lethbridge lawyer Lori Andreachuk.

Wilson ruled Andreachuk made many errors in her ruling and that her order for Boissoin to pay Lund $5,000 and to refrain from making “disparaging remarks” about gays was illegal and unenforceable.

I am pleased that Boissoin is allowed to vent a spew his venom. I believe that free speech – even vile, hateful speech – ultimately leads to greater tolerance and freedom. And I know that limitations on freedom can infringe on the rights of everyone.

Having said that, I know that anti-gays will continue to portray gay people as trying to censor conservatives. And I do not assume that the decision in favor of Boissoin will in any way dissuade anti-gay activist from continuing to “warn” about “prosecution in Canada”. Honesty has never been an attribute that anti-gay activists have much valued.

Stephen Boissoin’s letter.

Rick Warren’s Traditional Marriage

Jeffery L. Sheler, religion correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, has written a biography of Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren in Prophet of Purpose: The Life of Rick Warren. The most interesting revelation in the biography may well be that Warren’s “traditional” marriage was actually an “arranged” marriage of sorts:

Perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the biography, however, is the section about Warren\’s marriage. By all appearance and comments from people who know the couple, Rick and y Warren have a happy and satisfying marriage. However, this was far from the truth in the beginning of the relationship.

Through interviews with Sheler, Rick and Kay Warren disclosed that they were not attracted to each other nor had feelings for each other when they agreed to be married. Instead, they believed that God had spoken to each of them saying this is the person they should marry.

Rick recalled the day when he was invited to speak at the church where Kay\’s father was a pastor. As he ascended the steps to the stage to speak he looked over and recognized Kay, who was then dating his best friend, playing the piano. He said he heard God clearly tell him that this is who he will marry. At the time he had a hard time believing that because he didn\’t love Kay and she was madly in love with his best friend. But still he kept the revelation in mind.

After his best friend broke up with Kay, Rick asked her on a date. On their second date, Rick asked Kay to marry him. At the time, Kay didn\’t love Rick but felt that God was leading her to say yes. She recalled hearing God say, “I\’ll bring the feelings.”

…On their wedding day, the two were “virtual strangers,” Sheler writes. They also had a horrible honeymoon and suffered intensely from misunderstandings and other marital problems in the beginning of their marriage. The stress from the marriage problems coupled with Rick\’s workload was so bad that he ended up in the hospital. Meanwhile, Kay said that she didn\’t believe in divorce so she felt that she was sentenced to a life of suffering.

So man who marries a woman he doesn’t know and doesn’t love, who is a “virtual stranger” to her and she to him on the night of their wedding, and who had a horrible honeymoon because of it — that’s the guy who thinks that loving, committed gay couples shouldn’t be allowed to marry.

I just had to write that all out in case anyone missed the irony. And having written it, I now have to away and collect the pieces of my brain that just exploded. Be back in a few.

Archbishop of Canterbury In “Private Talks”; Ugandan Pastor Calls “Kill Gays” Bill “Genocide”

There are two developments reported today on the Anglican Church’s response to the draconian Anti-Homosexuality Act that is now before Uganda’s Parliament. First, The Times of London‘s religion correspondent Ruth Gledhill reports that the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, who is head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, is in private “intensive” talks with leaders of the Ugandan Anglican Church. Rowans has been severely criticized for his silence, but Gledhill reports:

But there is method in his silence. Today, Lambeth Palace told me: ‘It has been made clear to us, as indeed to others, that attempts to publicly influence either the local church or political opinion in Uganda would be divisive and counter productive. Our contacts, at both national and diocesan level, with the local church will therefore remain intensive but private.’

In fact, we can take for granted that Dr Williams is against the draconian new law. But speaking out publicly to this effect could indeed, as he says, have the opposite effect to that intended. It would almost certainly be seen as white-led colonialism of the worst possible kind, as a misguided attempt to impose western liberal values upon traditional African culture.

Canon Gideon Byamugisha

One Ugandan Anglican pastor however is not so timid about labeling the bill for what it is:

Canon Gideon Byamugisha said the bill, which recommends the death penalty for anyone repeatedly convicted of having gay sex and prison sentences for those who fail to report homosexual activity to the police, would breed violence and intolerance through all levels of society.

“I believe that this bill [if passed into law] will be state-legislated genocide against a specific community of Ugandans, however few they may be,” he said.

Canon Byamugisha said that gay people were being used as scapegoats for Uganda’s social problems, and that politicians were using LGBT people as political fodder for the upcoming 2011 elections. (We’ve also discussed that dynamic here.) Canon Byamugisha elaborates:

“They [politicians] are exploiting the traditional and cultural abhorrence to same-sex relationships to their advantage. They know that if they criminalise homosexuals, homosexual tendencies and homosexual acts, they stand a better chance of winning votes from the majority of religious followers and leaders, because most of us may not be able to distinguish what may be considered ‘unacceptable’, from the point of view of religious and cultural belief and opinion, from what is ‘criminal’, from the point of state law that is meant to keep peace, order and justice,” he said.

“What makes this proposed law truly distasteful is the amount and level of violence that is being proposed against suspected, rumoured and known individuals who are gay, and their families and community leaders in their places of worship, residence, education, work, business and entertainment.”

He added: “When you say that parents of homosexual children, and that pastors and counsellors who extend spiritual guidance and psycho-social support to homosexuals, will be regarded as ‘accomplices’ in promoting and abetting homosexuality if they don’t report them to police, then you take the law a bit too far.”

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

As we have already reported, there was already one full-scale public vigilante campaign waged in public media last April against LGBT people. The Red Pepper published names and photos of those accused of being gay, an act which resulted in several arrests and blackmail attempts. Others were denounced in radio and television, as rival pastors took revenge on one another through accusations of homosexuality. It is feared that if the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Act becomes law, it will unleash a new round of vigilantism and extra-judicial torture.

Canon Byamugisha’s courageous stand is nothing new.After the death of his first wife of AIDS in 1990, he discovered he was HIV-positive. Two years later he became the first practicing African priest to publicly declare his HIV status, which was a bold step in a continent in which HIV/AIDS carries an enormous stigma. His has since become a vigorous campaigner on behalf of those living with AIDS. n 2003 he established the Friends of Canon Gideon Foundation to end the stigma of HIV/AIDS, provide education for safe sex practices, improve access to treatment, and support children who have lost parents to the disease. He is canon for two cathedrals, in Uganda and Zambia. This year he was awarded the Niwano Peace Prize for his work.

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

Anti-Gay Bill Likely To Pass As Oil Surpasses Donors For Influence In Uganda

We’ve noted some of the political factors, including the influence of the American anti-gay right, behind Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act which is now before Parliament. We’ve also noted condemnations from AIDS services organizations, Canada, and Britain, as well as a warning from Sweden that passage of the draconian law will lead to a reduction of foreign aid. These warnings and condemnations however have been met with defiance from Ugandan governmental officials.

Reuters now suggests that passage of the bill is almost assured due to two factors. The first, we’ve already mentioned, is the fact that 2011 is an election year, and no Member of Parliament can be seen as being supportive of LGBT causes and hope to survive the election. The second factor — the one that contributes directly to a decline in donor influence — is oil. Foreign aid currently makes up about a third of Uganda’s budget, but with the 2006 discovery of large oil deposits along Uganda’s western border, Uganda is quickly moving to become a major oil producer. The discovery has already touched off an international scramble by oil explorers and producers to gain a foothold in the Lake Albert basin. Observers estimate that once the oil fields reach full production, some $2 billion per year could flood Uganda’s coffers based on today’s prices, which would be more than double the amount that Uganda currently receives in foreign aid.

This may help explain the defiance with which Minister of Ethics and Integrity James Nsaba Buturo dismissed warnings from Sweden over cuts to foreign aid. He told reporters at a press conference Wednesday, “If one chooses to withdraw their aid, they are free because Ugandans do not want to engage in  anal sex. We do not care.” MP David Bahati, primary sponsor of the bill, is equally defiant. “We cannot exchange our dignity for money,” he said.

Jack Kimball at Reuters suggests that while the bill is sure to pass, its final form is still unknown:

Likely changes may include modifying the death penalty to life imprisonment, altering clauses nullifying international treaties, conventions and protocols that contradict the act, and removing a section about extradition.

Even if these changes are made, the scope of the bill is still outrageous: lifetime imprisonment for homosexuality, abolition of free speech on behalf of LGBT people (seven year’s imprisonment), and the criminalization of failure to report LGBT people to police (three year’s imprisonment).

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

Murder Music Performer Garners Grammy Nomination

Jamaican dancehall and murder music performer Buju Banton has just secured a fourth Grammy nomination, this time a Best Reggae Album nomination for Rasta Got Soul. This follows a contentious U.S. tour in which several venues canceled Banton’s performance due to protests from members of local and national LGBT community groups.

Buju Banton has came under fire for performing songs advocating violence against gay people, including his 1992  single, “Boom Bye Bye” which calls for gay people to be shot in the head with automatic weapons, have acid poured on them, and burned “like an old tire wheel.” UK LGBT Activist Peter Tatchel called the song “probably the most murderous incitement recorded by any singer anywhere in the world.” In 2007 Banton was among a number of reggae artists who signed the Reggae Compassionate Act, promising to refrain from performing homophobic songs or making homophobic statements. He later denied signing the pact, and has performed “Boom Bye Bye” since renouncing the agreement.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch confirmed that Banton was among six men involved in a gay bashing in June 2004 in Constant Spring, Jamaica. After meeting with Bay-area LGBT activists during Banton’s 2009 U.S. tour, Banton announced on Jamaican radio that “there is no end to the war between me and faggot.”

[Hat tip: Michael Petrelis]

Focus On the Family Issues A Sexy Santa Alert

They’re not amused:

GLSEN\’s fundraiser invitation says the play depicts “Santa in his heartfelt struggle to reconcile his romantic relationship with Italian toy maker Giovanni Geppetto.” Pictures on a Web site promoting the production depict Santa in not-so-subtle sexually suggestive situations. The play also mocks those who support traditional values.

It\’s sad that GLSEN, which claims that it wants to protect kids, has chosen to use a fundraising tool that perverts the innocence of Christmas and sexualizes the longtime, child-revered icon of Santa Claus.

Goodness, no! We can’t have the gays sexualizing a fictional character. That’s the catwoman’s job!

Sen. Diane Sevino’s testimony

You must listen to Sen. Diane Sevino talk of the reasons she supports marriage equality.

Partnership Bill introduced in Ireland

A partnership registry in Ireland has been introduced. From Fox News

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said Thursday that the Civil Partnerships Bill would give gay couples the same rights as married heterosexual couples to questions of inheritance, medical care and access to state benefits — and also the same right to demand financial support from wealthier partners when relationships fail.

The bill faces opposition from a minority of lawmakers in the ruling Fianna Fail party. But its passage into law this month appears assured because of strong backing by opposition parties.

Although most couple rights are included, rights relating to children are missing. For those, and other reasons, it is being dismissed by some gay groups as inadequate

Earlier, The National Lesbian and Gay Federation rejected the Bill, and reiterated calls for the immediate introduction of a civil marriage option.

The Union of Students in Ireland says the proposed Bill will offer a number of legal rights to lesbian and gay couples but falls short of offering many of the rights and protections covered by civil marriage.

The USI says the Bill ‘refuses to recognise the existence of same sex families, leaving children of same sex couples vulnerable and unprotected under Irish law’.

USI Lesbian Gay Bi-sexual Transgender Rights Officer Laura Finlay said: ‘The implementation of this Civil Partnership Bill will only serve to enshrine in law the second class citizenship of LGBT people in this country.

‘It is wholly unfair and sends out the message that gay people in Ireland are not equal to their heterosexual counterparts.’

A provision allowing marriage would not be possible by means of legislation as most politicians agree that such a law would require national referendum to change to the wording of the constitution. And the government has expressed intention to address some other outstanding issues involving taxation and social welfare.

Episcopal Church may select another gay bishop

In 2003 the Episcopal Church selected Gene Robinson, a gay man, as Bishop of New Hampshire. And the Anglican Communion exploded.

Conservatives around the world strongly feel that heterosexual men are the only acceptable leaders of the church. And while it had long been understood that gay men and women were priests in the “reprobate and worldly West”, it was simply unacceptable to them that a gay man should ever be in a position of authority over a heterosexual.

As the world’s second largest Christian church, Anglicans dominate faith in a number of nations, often in countries where homosexuality is seen as a sin more alien than murder and less forgivable than rape. So this decision by American Anglicans (the Episcopal Church is the US branch of Anglicanism) had global consequences.

Since that time, anti-gay Americans (often of other denominations) have worked with foreign Anglicans (usually Africans) to sow discord and seek schism. Several conservative Episcopal congregations, and at least one diocese, broke from the church and sought support and solice from evangelicals with whom they share little other than anti-gay activism.

The Anglican Communion warned the Episcopal Church – and other liberal members – that there was to be a moratorium on gay bishops and a ban on celebrating same-sex unions.

What followed was a good faith effort on the part of Episcopalians to reconcile with the concerns of conservatives. But conservatives felt no need for compromise. They broke communion with the Americans, sought to establish missions in the US, and poached churches. They established a two-tier status whereby only anti-gay prelates could be fully members of the Communion.

It seems now that the Episcopal Church has decided that they have done all that they can. And they refuse to be held hostage to superstitions and bigotries of foreign cultures. They selected a woman as their presiding Bishop and allowed local bishops the authority to allow same-sex marriages in their diocese.

And now they are on the brink of elevating another gay Bishop, this one possibly a lesbian. (Riverside Press Enterprise)

Two of the six candidates to replace two retiring assistant bishops are openly gay. If one or both of them is elected, he or she would become the first bishop in a same-sex relationship elected since V. Gene Robinson was chosen to head the New Hampshire diocese in 2003. That action led dozens of conservative parishes and four dioceses to vote to leave the Episcopal Church. No openly gay bishop has been consecrated since then.

The Washington Times has a profile of one candidate, Rev. Mary Glasspool.

Clergy in the Los Angeles diocese tell me that she’s got a decent chance because her executive experience in Baltimore assisting the bishop and mentoring clergy ranks her above the other five candidates for the two jobs.

It is certainly possible that the church may select any of the other four candidates for the two positions. However, should it do so, it will not be a some form of concession to anti-gay activists. If a new gay bishop is not selected tomorrow, it will be another time soon.

The Episcopal Church has moved on into the 21st Century and refuses to be any longer shackled by the homophobia of Nigerians and Ugandans. It will no longer listen to those at home who would rather align themselves with foreign prelates who would execute gays or condemn them to a life sentence than stay in communion with their gay Christian neighbors. And I think that the Episcopal Church is better for it.

NJ Senate to vote on marriage next week

From NJ.com

“On Monday in the Judiciary Committee, we’re going to vote on marriage equality,” Lesniak (D-Union) said, while making the announcement to a crowd of gay marriage supporters on the Statehouse steps today.

“On Thursday (Dec. 10) the full Senate is going to vote on marriage equality,” said Lesniak, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “And God be willing, we’ll have 21 votes.”

There has been an expectation that marriage equality has adequate support in New Jersey to become law. However, recent rumblings suggest that some supporters may have been getting cold feet.

Let us hope that the fury unleashed on the Democratic Senators in New York who voted for discrimination will cause New Jersey elected officials to ask themselves whether they wish to be included on the “must be defeated” list.