Box Turtle Bulletin

Vermont News Station Predicts Marriage Equality Within Weeks

WCAX, “Vermont’s own” television station is reporting that the leadership is planning on shepherding marriage through the legislature in the next few weeks.

Shumlin and Rep. Shap Smith, D-Vt. House Speaker, plan to push a marriage equality bill quickly through both chambers.

The bill would grant same-sex couples the right to marry in Vermont.

Further, some are predicting that the governor, Republican Jim Douglas, will not stand in the way.

“Jim Douglas is no fool,” political analyst Garrison Nelson said.

But Nelson says the timing makes sense, it will pass this session, and the governor will ultimately let it.

“The anticipated horrors of civil unions never came to pass so consequently this is the logical next step,” Nelson said. “Douglas won’t sign the bill. He won’t veto the bill. He’ll let it become law without his signature.”

The lawmakers are wanting to move quickly and the bill should come up consideration within the next few weeks.

Illinios Civil Unions Goes to House Floor

Despite the efforts of Elise and her Mormon e-mail distribution, HB2234, the Illinios civil unions bill, has passed out of committee.

The House Youth and Family Committee approved the bill 5-4. It now goes to the House floor.

Justice Chin’s Proposition

In the debate over whether Proposition 8 should be overturned, Justice Ming Chin asked few questions. But there was one that he presented to both sides:

Would it not be a both a consistent with the court’s ruling In Re Marriages and with Proposition 8 for the State of California to provide that because marriage is restricted solely to heterosexuals and because California cannot discriminate against homosexuals then therefore the State can recognize no marriages? And does this court have the purview to make such a declaration.

Both sides agreed that this would be a legal remedy. Ken Starr, in defending Prop 8, argued that the court would have no such right to make such a declaration.

Warren Throckmorton Speaks Out Against Uganda Conference

The very same Ugandan online portal which broke the story about the three American anti-gay activists speaking at an anti-gay conference in Kampala has an update featuring comments by American psychologist Warren Throckmorton.

The Uganda Pulse web site originally broke the story on February 22, in an article which was little more than a press release by Stephen Langa of the Kampala-based Family Life Network. That article revealed that Nazi revisionist and Watchmen On the Walls co-founder Scott Lively, Exodus International board member Don Schmierer, and Caleb Lee Brundidge of Richard Cohen’s International Healing Foundation will be conducting a seminar on homosexuality in Kampala beginning tomorrow today. Throckmorton’s response appeared in the same online portal today, in an article whose title appears to identify Throckmorton as a gay activist:

…Throckmorton says that he believes it is a big mistake for these US people to go to Uganda and discuss prevention of homosexuality when they are not scientists and have no training to discuss these matters in a reliable or factual manner. He says people who are involved are not qualified to speak about the causes or change of homosexuality.

“None of them have any research on the topic or scientific qualifications to understand the research on the subject. They will be spreading old ideas about homosexuality which even Christian psychologists in the US and Europe have dismissed as without support,” he says.

He says that one of the presenters has a significant problem with credibility. “Caleb Brundidge is affiliated with Extreme Prophetic here in the US. He leads groups to mortuaries to attempt to raise the dead! He believes God drops jewels and gold dust on worshippers but refuses to gain verification of these claims. He also claims he was gay and changed. Given his other claims, it is difficult to take any of his claims seriously.

I also believe it is dangerous for those who might struggle to admit their struggle in Uganda when it might land them in trouble with the authorities,” he says in a commentary sent to our reporter after we broke the story of the Conference.

“Mr. Schmierer is a board member for Exodus International and he should not be promoting questionable theories of prevention in a country where just admitting being gay can lead to serious consequences,” he adds.

In 2004, Dr. Throckmorton produced the ex-gay video “I Do Exist,” which came about as an outgrowth of his association with PFOX. Since then, he has become increasingly critical of PFOX, NARTH and Exodus, and he has spoken against the particular form of ex-gay therapy known as “Reparative Therapy.” He continues to support “sexual identity therapy” for those who request it, and he supports the right of providers to counsel their clients to “find congruence between religious beliefs and sexual feelings.” Last year, Noé Gutierrez, the star of “I Do Exist,” denounced the ex-gay movement, and said he now considered himself gay and Christian. “I Do Exist” is still available, Throckmorton says, on a limited basis.

You can read more about Throckmorton’s criticisms of the Kampala conference here and here.

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

Arguments on Proposition 8 Are Being Presented

Shannon Minter is arguing for the overturning of Proposition 8.

UPDATE

It is not always possible to deduce from the direction of the questioning how justices will vote. But to me it seems that Judge Kennard is not impressed by our requests to overturn Proposition 8. Kennard did vote in our direction In Re Marriage Cases.

Judge Corrigan was successful in establishing a question to be answered: “Does a definition of a revision include those efforts to remove a fundamental right from a suspect group”. Though Corrigan is commonly believed to be a lesbian, she did not decide in favor of In Re Marriages.

Dallas Man Given 30 Years In Anti-Gay Attack

Times are changing. If you need any proof of that, look at this recent verdict in Dallas:

A 32-year-old Garland man was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday, March 4 for his role in a brutal anti-gay hate crime that occurred in the heart of Oak Lawn last July.

Before recommending the sentence to Judge Ernest White, the same 12-person jury found Jonathan Russell Gunter guilty of first-degree felony aggravated robbery following a two-day trial in Dallas County’s 194th District Court.

Gunter and Bobby Jack Singleton, 29, also of Garland, are accused of beating and robbing now-43-year-old Jimmy Lee Dean on Dickason Avenue, just a block from the Cedar Springs strip, in the early morning hours of July 17, 2008.

Dean, who was hospitalized for 10 days after the attack and suffered permanent physical damage, said Wednesday he was relieved Gunter had been convicted. Dean added that he hopes Singleton, who’s still awaiting trial, is sentenced to at least a 60 years in prison because he was responsible for inflicting most of the injuries.

What a difference twenty years makes.

On May 15, 1988, [John] Griffin, 27, and [Tommy] Trimble, 34, drove to the Crossroads, where they met Richard Lee Bednarski, an 18-year-old high school senior weeks from graduation. Bednarski rode with Griffin and Trimble to Reverchon Park, where he shot both men three times. Trimble died at the scene; Griffin died five days later.

…Bednarski, the son of a police officer, had no criminal record. But that didn’t stop him from targeting gay men along Cedar Springs Road. Testimony showed that he and several classmates set out to gay-bash, with Bednarski saying their intent was to “pester the homosexuals.”

Bednarski was convicted of two counts of murder. The prosecuter demanded a life sentence. But Dallas County Criminal District Court Jack Hampton only gave him thirty years for two brutal killings — a very light sentence by Texas standards. Why did he go so easy?

“I don’t care much for queers cruising the streets. I’ve got a teenage boy,” Hampton told the Dallas Times-Herald. Hampton said Griffin and Trimble wouldn’t have been killed “if they hadn’t been cruising the streets picking up teenage boys,” and that he would have handed down a harsher penalty if the victims had been “a couple of housewives out shopping, not hurting anybody.”

“I put prostitutes and gays at about the same level, and I’d be hard pressed to give someone life for killing a prostitute,” Hampton told the newspaper.

That comment sparked outrage nationwide, and multiple protests in Dallas. Hampton was finally censured by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. While he was never removed from the bench, Hampton has since retired.  On July 9, 2007, Bednarski was released after serving less than 19 years for killing two gay men.

Dallas has changed a lot since then Bednarksi was sentenced. Dallas County now has a a sheriff by the name of Lupe Valdes — the only lesbian Latina sheriff in the country. And yesterday, a man was sentenced to thirty years for aggravated armed robbery of one gay man. The same sentence that Bednarski got for murdering two in cold blood.

Yes, times are changing. For the better.

International LGBT Group Expresses Concern About Uganda Conference

The Uganda seminar featuring three American anti-gay activists is starting to attract international attention. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, along with Sexual Minorities Uganda, has issued a press release denouncing the appearance of Nazi revisionist and Watchmen On the Walls co-founder Scott Lively, Exodus International board member Don Schmierer, and Caleb Lee Brundidge of Richard Cohen’s International Healing Foundation at a conference to be held this weekend in Kampala. The IGLHRC said:

“This seminar is just another way of encouraging hatred and abuse,” said a spokesperson from SMUG.” We condemn their discriminatory words and actions that only lead to violence. Suffering is all that they are bringing to Uganda—all in the name of God.”

“There is a lot of misunderstanding about human sexuality,” said Ugandan Bishop Dr. Christopher Ssenyonjo, who was expelled from the Anglican Church for supporting gay people. “This workshop is going to bring more conflict, greater hostility, increased intimidation. We need love … in the long run, love will overcome.”

The U.S. religious right has a history of exporting homophobia to Africa. With support from anti-gay organizations and faith leaders such as Family Watch International and Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, Pastor Martin Ssempa from Makerere Community Church has attacked not only gay men and lesbians, but also women’s rights and HIV activism. Pastor Ssempa has stated, “there should be no rights granted to homosexuals in this country.” In 2007, he organized a multi-denominational rally against LGBT rights in Kampala, where one cleric called for the “starving to death of homosexuals.”

As I said before, Uganda has a history of being a virtual powder keg when it comes to anti-gay violence and extremism — including publicly identifying them in the media and encouraging the public to hunt them down. There have been successive public anti-gay campaigns in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda, where conviction can earn a life sentence.

This is life-and-death stuff. If history repeats itself, these three Americans may well have blood on their hands. Let’s all pray this doesn’t spark another convulsion in 2009. One thing you can count on: we will be watching this very carefully.

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

Update On That Mormon Email: LDS Backs Away

According to one of our regular commenters, the LDS church is washing its hands of the email sent by one of its bishops to his Nauvoo, Illinois ward urging them to call on state legislators to quash a civil unions bill. I’m still looking for an original source, but in the meantime I’ll go ahead and pass this on:

As is widely known, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes in the sanctity of traditional marriage. The Church has not taken a position on any legislation currently being considered by the Illinois State Legislature. The Church did not send an e-mail to its members in regards to House Bill 2234, although a false report to the contrary has been circulated. An e-mail was sent from a local Illinois Church leader to his congregation – one of 129 congregations in the state — who was free to express his own views.”

-Scott Trotter, Church spokesman

Contrary to how Trotter characterizes our reporting on this, I thought I explained it pretty clearly. This came from one bishop in one ward. In my post, I said “at least one ward” because I find it hard to believe that members of this ward were the only ones to receive such a message. I think the LDS church’s recent history in California and Arizona certainly gives all of us plenty of reasons to be suspicious. Given what we’ve learned about their “phone trees” and the closed-circuit satellite television system linking virtually all the wards — and now a private internal online system — I can’t think of any other organization with anything approaching the sophisticated, well-organized capabilities that the LDS church possesses. I believe it’s important to remain vigilant to every “squeak” which happens to leak out.

As to whether the church has a position on the civil unions bill before the state legislature, I confess I don’t know their inner workings. I’ll allow you to consider the church’s credibility when they speak to their positions. You know them by their fruits, after all. Again, let recent history be your guide.

Be that as it may, the LDS leadership is clearly backing away from this latest spate of publicity, and Bishop Church appears to be following their lead. I was just tipped to another email sent to Nauvoo’s 3rd ward:

From: Chris Church
Date: March 4, 2009 1:58:47 PM CST
Subject: Church Position on Legislation

Members of the Church may take any action they wish concerning legislation but the Church does not take any position in relation to these issues.

Bishop Church

HRC Calls For Action In Illinois

Responding to our post about the email blast sent from a Nauvoo, Illinois bishop to members of his ward, the Human Rights Campaign has issued an action alert asking supporters call their representatives to urge passage of a proposed civil unions bill. The HRC also calls on supporters to contact the Mormon Temple in Nauvoo to express their displeasure over the church’s “deceitful and fear-mongering email.”

The HRC’s message recalls the highly visible position the Mormon church took in California’s and Arizona’s 2008 anti-marriage ballot initiatives, as well as the recent dumping of even the most minimal protections for same-sex couples in Utah. They also noted that many of the same false claims that made their way into the California campaign has also turned up in the Nauvoo email.

The HRC’s message continues:

No more lies! Church leaders want to spread their distortions in secrecy, but it’s time to shine a light on their insidious and devious work. And you can help!

Please let the Nauvoo Illinois Mormon Temple — the church responsible for authorizing this deceitful and fear-mongering email — know that enough is enough. No more lies. No more secrecy. You can reach them by calling (217) 453-6252.

Then take a moment and let members of the Youth and Family Committee in the Illinois State Legislature know that you support The Civil Union Bill (HB 2234).

Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago)
Chairperson
(217) 782-3835

Rep. LaShawn K. Ford (D-Chicago)
Vice-Chairperson
(217) 782-5962

Rep. Mike Fortner (R-West Chicago)
Republican Spokesperson
(217) 782-1653

Rep. William D. Burns (D-Chicago)
(217) 782-2023

Rep. Michael P. McAuliffe (D-Chicago)
(217) 782-8182

Rep. Al Riley (D-Matteson)
(217) 558-1007

Rep. Dave Winters (R-Rockford)
(217) 782-0455

Directions for identifying your legislators:

Click here to identify your state legislators and their contact information and enter your 9 digit zip code. If this link doesn’t work, you can also click here and then click on “legislator lookup” near the bottom of the page, then click on “by zip+4”. Type in your zip code, and you’ll see a list of your legislators. Make sure you contact your own state senator and state representative. It is important they hear the voices of pro-equality Illinois voters before they vote on this bill.

LaBarbera Award: Igor Panarin

A Russian “scholar” has some remarkable predictions for the U.S. in the coming years. President Barack Obama will order martial law, the U.S. will split into six rump-states by 2011, and Russia and China will emerge as the new superpowers of a new world order. He’s been predicting the U.S.’s demise for more than a decade, but he’s pretty sure he has it nailed this time. Why?:

Paranin argued that Americans are in moral decline, saying their great psychological stress is evident from school shootings, the size of the prison population and the number of gay men.

Paranin isn’t just some ordinary loon. He’s a former spokesman for Russia’s Federal Space Agency and reputedly a former KGB analyst. He is currently the dean at the Foreign Ministry’s school for future diplomats, and he makes regular appearances on Russia’s state, err, “guided” TV channels.

Panarin also thinks that Alaska is destined to revert back to Russian control. If that happens, Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin character will definitely see Russia from her front porch.

LA Times: Prop 8 Will Likely Be Upheld

The California Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments over a lawsuit challenging Proposition 8 this Thursday. The court is then required to rule within ninety days. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the Court may rule as early as Thursday to uphold the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage:

Reporting from San Francisco — The California Supreme Court may reveal Thursday whether it intends to uphold Proposition 8, and if so, whether an estimated 18,000 same-sex marriages will remain valid, during a high-stakes televised session that has sparked plans for demonstrations throughout the state.

By now, the court already has drafted a decision on the case, with an author and at least three other justices willing to sign it. Oral arguments sometimes result in changes to the draft, but rarely do they change the majority position. 

The Times reports that Chief Justice Ronald M. George is the one to watch on this. He wrote the May 15, 2008 majority opinion which originally granted same-sex marriage. That ruling was a narrow 4-3 decision. According to The Times, most analysis expect the court to have just votes to uphold Prop 8, since only one justice is needed to shift from the original decision. The three dissenting justices from the 2008 position already held that the votors should decide.

A large outdoor jumbo screen will be erected outside the San Francisco Civic Center, where large crowds are expected to gather to watch the live hearings taking place at the nearby Supreme Court headquarters.

Mormon Machine Cranking Up Against Illinois Civil Unions Bill

Note (March 4): When this was first published yesterday, the post title indicated that this was a BTB “exclusive.” This morning, I’m now seeing other versions of the email on the web with the sender’s name and email included. Since I had originally redacted that name and email, it’s clear that others have independently received copies of the same email. I am therefore restoring the email to its original form with the info included.

Update (March 5): I have re-redacted the sender’s name and email address in response to a request from the sender’s relative.

The Illinois House will begin considering another Civil Unions bill this week. Introduced by Rep. Greg Harris on February 20, HB 2234 has been assigned to the Youth and Family Committee, which will hold a hearing on Thursday. We’ve received word that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has engaged its private communications network to bombard state legislators with phone calls in opposition to the bill.

The Mormon Church maintains a private internet social-networking and website service in lieu of individual churches having their own individual Internet web sites. This allows the church to oversee the information that is made available to members and nonmembers. It also allows the church to maintain private information that is only made available to church members.

Official LDS Stake and Ward Web Site (Click to enlarge)

Among the many capabilities the web site has for members who are authorized to log in is the ability to send private email to other church members in the same ward. It also allows a ward bishop to send a blanket email to all members of his ward, and it allows a stake president to send a blanket email to all members of his stake.

But this is key: no individual member can send a blanket email to all members of his ward without it first going through his or her bishop. The same is true at the stake level, where the stake president would have to first authorize the message. So when a church member receives a broadcast message, he or she can be assured that it has the blessing, so to speak, of the bishop or stake president.

In a private email sent out to LDS members of at least one ward in Illinois, church members are being encouraged to call their representative to voice their opposition to the bill, which would provide same-sex couples with recognition and limited protections under Illinois law. But the official LDS-sanctioned email to members is loaded with much of the same misinformation that was present in the campaign against California’s Proposition 8.

A trusted source sent me a copy of that email, authorized by Bishop Chris Church, of the Nauvoo, Illinois 3rd Ward, which was sent out by that web site’s ward administrator:

From: [Redacted]
Date: March 3, 2009 12:27:59 PM CST
Subject: Civil Union bill scheduled for a hearing Thursday – calls needed

This message has been authorized for sending by Bishop Church.

The Civil Union Bill (HB 2234) has been scheduled for a hearing in the Youth and Family Committee this week on Thursday, March 5, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. in Springfield. If the bill is voted out of committee, it becomes eligible for a vote before the full Illinois House of Representatives. This bill will legalize civil unions in the state of Illinois, and will treat such civil unions with the same legal obligations, responsibilities, protections and benefits as are afforded within marriage. In other words, civil unions will be different in name only from marriage. As has already been seen in Massachusetts, this will empower the public schools to begin teaching this lifestyle to our young children regardless of parental requests otherwise. It will also create grounds for rewriting all social mores; the current push in Massachusetts is to recognize and legalize all transgender rights (An individual in Massachusetts can now change their drivers license to the gender they believe themselves to be, regardless of actual gender, which means that confused men and women are now legally entering one another’s bathrooms and locker rooms. What kind of a safety issue is this for our children?). Furthermore, while the bill legalizes civil unions, it will be used in the courts to show discrimination and will ultimately lead to court mandated same-sex marriages.

To help defeat this bill, please call your state representative and state senator and ask that they support traditional marriage and vote against the civil unions bill. If you are unsure who your legislators are, please see the link at the end of this email.

Also, please take a moment and call the following members of the Youth and Family Committee to encourage them to vote no on this bill. We need 4 votes to keep it from passing out of the committee. And – as always, please pass this on to all who believe in protecting our families and our children. If you are interested in attending the hearing, it will be held on Thursday, March 5th at 9:00 a.m. in Springfield in Room 122B of the Capitol Building (I can give you directions to the Capitol Building if needed).

Members of the Youth and Family Committee:
Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) (Greg Harris is also the sponsor of this bill, but he needs to hear your opposition to this bill)
Chairperson
217-782-3835

Rep. LaShawn K. Ford (D-Chicago)
Vice-Chairperson
217-782-5962

Rep. Mike Fortner (R-West Chicago)
Republican Spokesperson
217-782-1653

Rep. William D. Burns (D-Chicago)
217-782-2023

Rep. Michael P. McAuliffe (R-Chicago)
217-782-8182

Rep. Al Riley (D-Matteson)
217-558-1007

Rep. Dave Winters (R-Rockford)
217-782-0455

Directions for identifying your legislators:
You can use the following link to identify your state legislators and their contact information: http://www.elections.il.gov/ DistrictLocator/ SelectSearchType.aspx? NavLink=1 (and enter your 9 digit zip code). If this link doesn’t work, you can use the general link www.ilga.gov and then click on ” legislator lookup” near the bottom of the page, then click on “by zip+4”. Type in your zip code, and you’ll see a list of your legislators. You want your state senator and state representative as they will be the ones voting on the bill.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Sister [Redacted].

I don’t ordinarily have access to internal LDS communications like this. This is a very rare glimpse into how the LDS church is able to crank up its membership for political action. If this message is going out in one ward in Nauvoo, it’s a safe bet that similar messages are going out in other wards and stakes.

Update: Bishop Church has sent another message to his ward this afternoon:

From: Chris Church
Date: March 4, 2009 1:58:47 PM CST
Subject: Church Position on Legislation

Members of the Church may take any action they wish concerning legislation but the Church does not take any position in relation to these issues.

Bishop Church

I have more about that here.

Anti-gay Arguments We Don’t Bother With (And Should): Part 5

This is the final post in a five-part a series about anti-gay arguments that get the short shrift in public debate. We examine them here. Readers are encouraged to contribute to the discussion below.

#5: If you pass pro-gay legislation, pastors and private citizens will not be able to voice opposing views.

This falls into the category of arguments that scare people with invented consequences (“You might not have a problem with gay marriage, but do you want to have your rights taken away?”). Anti-marriage advocates in California effectively used this argument to frame Prop. 8 as a referendum on the civil rights of preachers to express anti-gay views instead of what it was — an attempt to overrule judicial protections for gay people.

It was surprisingly how unthinkingly people debated the measure in these terms. The women on The View discussed this as if it were a natural consequence of voting down the marriage amendment. Sherri Shepherd said she voted for Prop. 8 because she respects her pastor and doesn’t want him jailed for speaking out against homosexuality. Barbara Walters was the only one to chime in and say that this consequence seemed “far fetched.” But it’s more than that: it’s blatantly untrue. One of the anti-Prop. 8 campaign’s many blunders was not responding to this charge.

Abortion was legalized decades ago, but this has not stopped anti-abortion activists from stating their views. This, however, isn’t entirely analogous. Certain anti-gay groups are afraid — or strategically instill fear — that if gays receive work protections and civil rights, those who oppose them will be sanctioned for speaking out, perhaps under “hate speech” laws like the ones adopted in many European countries. In the imagined scenario, a pastor decries homosexuality as immoral and is thrown in jail for it.

Such a thing is more plausible in places like Germany, where certain types of speech — i.e. “hate speech” — are banned. But the U.S. is unique among other Western nations in its broad application of “freedom of speech.” Here, you can say hateful things toward minority groups. Groups whose views the general public finds appalling — such as NAMBLA, the KKK or the Westboro Baptist Church — have the right to have their voices heard. The limit on free speech here is that you cannot say things that create a “clear and present danger” to public safety. For example, inciting a riot, directing an enraged mob to murder gays, or screaming “fire” in a crowded theater (when there is no fire) are not protected speech acts.

Adopting gay marriage — or passing any other pro-gay legislation, for that matter — does not change the legal standard of what constitutes free speech, a deeply rooted principle of American law. It might, if attitudes change over time, help relegate anti-gay views to the periphery of public discourse, but this is a social consequence, not a legal one. There is no connection between allowing gay marriage and people losing their right to freedom of speech.

Under Prop. 8, pastors would also not be forced to marry gay people. At issue was the civil right of marriage. In the same way you can have a “men only” club, a church can refuse to perform gay marriages.

Post script: The discussions this series have spawned have been thought-provoking, sometimes heated. We at Box Turtle Bulletin thank you all for sharing your ideas, which make clear the intellectual vibrancy and depth of our readership. A parting thought: a string of comments on one of the posts brought up the question of how effective reasoned argumentation is in changing people’s views. For committed anti-gay activists, commitment to ideology may trump reason. Others on the fence may be more open to the arguments we have dealt with here. The larger question is about how people and society change. It’s a broad question, but one thing I’m sure about is that when it comes to gay rights, one right answer is “too slowly.”

Natchez, Mississippi’s Franklin Street: “It’s like the Natchez Castro”

My partner and I enjoy taking weekend road trips. Last winter we took a long cross-country trip from Arizona to Ohio, while taking an out of the way drive through Mississippi. Unfortunately, we missed Natchez. I’m sorry we did, now that I’ve seen this article from the Natchez Democrat:

Thom Miller and Shawyn Mars have been together nearly 18 years and have had Natchez as part of their dual residency since the 1990s. Miller said he and Mars make up one of just many gay couples that call Franklin Street home. “It’s like the Natchez Castro,” Miller said laughing.

…Miller also said another unique aspect of Natchez is that many of the men in the area are couples and have been in a relationship for long periods of time. And while Miller and Mars both said Natchez isn’t the type of town that welcomes gay hand holding in the street — it’s an open community. “It’s very tolerant,” Miller said. “People here are very accepting.”

We often think of gay culture being confined to San Francisco, New York, or West Hollywood. It’s nice to run across an item like this from small town America from time to time, especially from some of the most unexpected places.

Anonymous Ugandan Blogger Wants Answers From American Anti-Gay Activists

Hello, Exodus? Someone in Uganda has some questions for you. And so do I.

An anonymous Ugandan gay blogger — gay bloggers are well advised to remain anonymous in Uganda — provides a fairly comprehensive backdrop against which three American anti-gay activists will be stepping. Nazi revisionist and Watchmen On the Walls co-founder Scott Lively, Exodus International board member Don Schmierer, and Caleb Lee Brundidge of Richard Cohen’s International Healing Foundation will be conducting a seminar on homosexuality in Kampala next weekend. The conference is being organized by Stephen Langa, Director of Kampala-based Family Life Network.

GayUganda examines a new release by Langa announcing the conference, and he takes issue with Langa’s so-called “facts”:

[Quoting Stephen Langa, Conference organizer] ‘Uganda is under extreme pressure to dicriminalise homosexuality’, Uhhh? A stupid un-truth. Who is putting Uganda under pressure to decriminalize homosexuality? Why should a citizen’s sexual orientation and act of love be criminal, subject to the state’s intervention, criminal law and censorship? Why is it so important to be threatened with life in prison for making love to my lover? Too many questions, ..!

Ugandan newspaper headlines. Click to enlarge

Today in Uganda, a conviction of homosexual activity can bring a life sentence. That law is a legacy of British colonial law, which originally only provided for a maximum term of fourteen years in prison. Ugandan lawmakers strengthened the law in 1990 to raise the penalty to life imprisonment.

But beyond the threat of life imprisonment, simply trying to live and get along can bring many hardships and dangers to gay Ugandans. Max Blumenthal wrote of a very recent reign of terror conducted by Ugandan evangelical pastor Martin Ssemp in 2007:

In August 2007, Ssempa led hundreds of his followers through the streets of Kampala to demand that the government mete out harsh punishments against gays. “Arrest all homos,” read placards. And: “A man cannot marry a man.” Ssempa continued his crusade online, publishing the names of Ugandan gay rights activists on a website he created, along with photos and home addresses. “Homosexual promoters,” he called them, suggesting they intended to seduce Uganda’s children into their lifestyle. Soon afterwards, two of President Yoweri Museveni’s top officials demanded the arrest of the gay activists named by Ssempa. Terrified, the activists immediately [went] into hiding.

Ugandan newspaper calling for arrest of a suspected gay man. Click to enlarge.

According to Doug Ireland, one newspaper sported the bold headline, “HOMO TERROR! We Name and Shame Top Gays in the City,” and provided details “so precise — physical descriptions, residences, places of employment, and the kind of cars they drive — that those targeted, almost all from the capital city of Kampala or its environs, were easily identifiable to their neighbors and co-workers. The newspaper’s list includes doctors, businessmen, clerics, broadcasters, lawyers, bankers, actors, musicians, and non-profit group staffers.”

Newpaper article from the 2006 campaign. Click to enlarge

That 2007 public reign of terror was a backlash against a press conference held on August 16 by a coalition of LGBT groups in Uganda to launch the “Let Us Live in Peace” campaign. Clearly, that call for peace didn’t get very far. That press conference, in turn, was in reaction to a similar media-led crackdown in 2006, urged on by the same daily newspaper which trumpeted the 2007 campaign. That newspaper, the Red Pepper, is owned by a government minister. Another government owned newspaper led an earlier crackdown in 2005 which led to several high-profile arrests.

Ssempa regularly conducts a poolside fellowship known as “Prime Time” at the Makerere University Swimming Pool. This Saturday, that venue will host the Americans in a special event for university students.

GayUganda continues:

And, something I find really pathetic. And part of what set me off on this rant. The case that he [conference organizer Stephen Langa] mentions. “Langa says that Uganda is now under extreme pressure from the same group to de-criminalize homosexuality. This group recently scored a landmark victory in a court case against the state in December 2008.”

The case he cites is a pure civil rights issue. A Ugandan was hauled to police, house broken into, undressed to prove his sex. And he challenged the state. The issue was, you don’t do this to any Ugandan. Period. And, the excuse that you did it because the Ugandan is a homosexual is not good enough.

…Langa, showing his true colours, uses this case to illustrate his point. Anything is okay against homosexuals.

So these are the dangerous waters that the American activists are stepping into. GayUganda is understandably upset about this latest foreign import into Uganda, especially considering that Uganda already has a very healthy domestic industry:

Ok, my friends from over the seas. Now, I can actually say there is proof that you do export homophobia. First it was the British with the law. Now, it is the Americans in a more insidious state. Bet you it will not be the last time. So, Africa, here comes our own involvement in the ‘Culture Wars’

Returning his attention to the Americans in his more recent post, GayUganda adds:

I kind of pity the Americans who are coming to preach. Imagine, in their country, being gay is not criminal. But they are coming to impress on poor Ugandans why some Ugandans should be imprisoned for life. Just because they are gay. If there was any justice, these guys should be asked some interesting questions.

GayUganda never gets around to actually posing any questions for the three Americans. He instead challenges us to demand answers. So yes, I do have some interesting questions myself, but only for one of the three Americans.

Exodus Board member Don Schmierer

Scott Lively, who describes the Nazi Party as having been “entirely controlled by militaristic male homosexuals throughout its short history,” is capable of saying pretty much anything. So I have no questions for him. And since Caleb Lee Brundidge, in addition to being a member of Richard Cohen’s discredited ex-gay ministry, is also active in a Phoenix ministry that goes around to various mortuaries trying to raise the dead, I don’t have much to ask him either. (Yeah, I know, that’s probably worth a whole post by itself.) I don’t think trying to engage either of them would be worth my breath.

But Don Schmierer, as an Exodus International board member, will use his credentials to speak out against gays in a country where LGBT people have very recently been literally hunted in the streets and in the media. And he will be speaking alongside and lending legitimacy to some of the more infamous American and Ugandan anti-gay firebrands.

So as I reflected on this, there are literally dozens of questions which popped into my mind — beginning with, “What on earth are you thinking?”

But in the end, it all comes down to this: given what gay Ugandans have been through the past few years, isn’t it about time Exodus let them live in peace?

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