Box Turtle Bulletin

Slouching Towards Kampala: Uganda’s Deadly Embrace of Hate

Box Turtle Bulletin’s complete coverage of recent anti-gay developments in Uganda, from beginning to end — whenever the end may be.

Jim Burroway

We’ve compiled all of our posts over the past year on Uganda, and added more information that we’ve learned since then. That added information is presented in blue. This page will be updated as events continue to unfold.

L-R: Don Schmierer, Scott Lively, Caleb Brundidge

Feb 24, 2009: Exodus Board Member Joins Nazi Revisionist At Uganda Conference. When BTB first broke this story, we couldn’t believe what we saw. Exodus International board member Don Schmierer would join Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively and ex-gay “counselor” Caleb Brundidge in a three-day anti-gay conference in Kampala, Uganda. Scott Lively already had a notorious reputation as author of The Pink Swastika, in which he claims that the Nazi movement was, at its core, a gay movement, and that violent fascism is the natural consequence of “the homosexual agenda.” “The Nazi Party was entirely controlled by militaristic male homosexuals throughout its short history,” he writes in his book, which is available online for free, and would be made available to conference attendees. He also adds that  “There is no question that homosexuality figures prominently in the history of the Holocaust,” saying that German gays were eager to target Jews for extinction because of Judaism’s traditional prohibition against homosexuality. He doesn’t explain why Christianity’s traditional prohibition against homosexuality — which held a far greater moral influence throughout Europe — was ignored.

It is this sort of rhetoric that has brought him the attention of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hate Watch project. There are only ten groups with anti-gay rhetoric so violent-laden and provocative as to qualify to appear on the SPLC’s list of anti-gay hate groups. Mere opposition to homosexuality isn’t close to being enough. It’s a very easy list to avoid landing on. But Scott Lively serves in a foundational or leadership capacity with nearly one-third of those groups: Abiding Truth Ministries (his own personal platform), Watchmen On the Walls (Lively was a co-founder of th group) and the School of Christian Activism (affiliated with the Springfield, MA church he attends and where he is a regular lecturer).

Seeing an official of Exodus International and Brundidge, a relative unknown who is a “counselor” for Richard Cohen’s International Healing Foundation, appearing alongside  someone associated with three separate hate groups was shocking enough. To see the three of them putting on an anti-gay conference in Uganda, which already had a recent history of anti-gay vigilantism and extra-judicial torture at the hands of police, we feared the worst. The problem was, we had no idea what the worst would be.

Ugandan tabloid "Red Pepper" headlines in 2007. Click to enlarge.

Mar 2, 2009: Anonymous Ugandan Blogger Wants Answers From American Anti-Gay Activists. The anonymous blogger GayUganda– gay bloggers are well advised to remain anonymous in Uganda — provided an excellent history of anti-gay persecution in Uganda, including public outing campaigns carried out by Ugandan media in 2005, 2006 and 2007. “Ok, my friends from over the seas. Now, I can actually say there is proof that you do export homophobia,” he writes.

Mar 4, 2009: Anti-Gay Conference Announced in Uganda’s Parliament. I wish we had written a post by this title, but we would not discover this until much later. According to official minutes of Uganda’s Parliament, the anti-gay conference slated to begin the next day was announced at the end of this day’s Parliamentary session:

Before we go, I have this communication to make. All Members are invited to an executive breakfast meeting seminar on the dangers of homosexuality. The theme is, “Exposing the truth about homosexuality and the homosexual agenda”. The meeting will take place in the Parliament Conference Hall tomorrow Thursday, 5th March starting at 7.30 a.m. to 9.00 a.m. Guest speakers include Dr Scot Libley (sic) of the United States, Caleb Lee (sic) of the United States and Mr Stephen Langa of the Family Life Network. All Members are invited to attend and breakfast will be served. The House is adjourned until tomorrow at 2.30 p.m.

Mar 5, 2009: International LGBT Group Expresses Concern About Uganda Conference. Mindful of past human rights abuses by Ugandan authorities and media against LGBT people, The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and Sexual Minorities Uganda issued a statement denouncing Lively, Schmierer’s and Brundidge’s participation in the Kampala conference.

Mar 5, 2009: Warren Throckmorton Speaks Out Against Uganda Conference. Pro-gay groups weren’t the only ones raising their voices against the conference. Grove City College professor and “sexual identity therapy” proponent Warren Throckmorton became the first Evangelical person of note to condemn the conference. Ugandan news outlet UGPulsereported, “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.”

L-R: Unidentified woman, American holocaust revisionist Scott Lively, International Healing Foundation's Caleb Brundidge, Exodus International boardmember Don Schmierer, Family Life Network (Uganda)'s Stephen Langa, at the time of the March 2009 anti-gay conference in Uganda.

Mar 5, 2009: Anti-Gay Conference Kicks Off In Kampala. We received our first report of the Anti-Gay conference in Uganda which got underway at Kampala’s posh Hotel Triangle. It began with Stephen Langa, head of Family Life Network and conference organizer,decreeing that Uganda’s anti-homosexuality law, which already called for lifetime imprisonment for anyone convicted of homosexuality, wasn’t strong enough. The balance of the day was turned over to Exodus Board Member Don Schmierer, who blamed the development of homosexuality on child sexual abuse. This characterization would find fertile ground in Uganda, where popular lore has it that homosexuality is a foreign import, brought in by wealthy gay foreigners recruiting Ugandan youth into the “vice.”

Mar 6, 2009: Exodus Board Member Participates In Uganda Conference Calling For Forcing Gays Into Conversion Therapy. While the conference was taking place, Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively and conference organizer Stephen Langa met with Minister of Ethics and Integrity James Nsaba Buturo to propose a new law which would force convicted gays into conversion therapy. Don Schmierer of Exodus International, which boasts that it is “the largest Christian referral and information network dealing with homosexual issues in the world,” remains silent about the proposal.

BTB’s Jim Burroway reacted: “Exodus International now has the moral imperative to to state unequivocally its position on both the criminalization of homosexuality as well as its position on bills which would force unproven, unsanctioned, and unregulated ex-gay ‘conversion’ therapies on gays and lesbians.” He wasn’t alone. Warren Throckmorton called on Alan Chambers and Richard Cohen to have their representatives make public statements distancing themselves from this latest proposal. “And they should come early,” he added. David Roberts at Ex-Gay Watch warned that Exodus had a “very short window in which to soundly renounce the entire conference, the idea of forced therapy and, as we suggested earlier, call for the decriminalization of homosexuality in Uganda and the rest of the world.”

Mar 6, 2009: Exodus’ Silence About Uganda: Day Five. BTB’s Timothy Kincaid revealed that he had contacted Exodus International president Alan Chambers on February 27 to warn him about Don Schmierer’s participation in the upcoming conference. Chambers’ response was off the record, but it confirmed that Chambers received Timothy’s email. Beyond that, there was no substantive response from Chambers.

Mar 6, 2009: Uganda Anti-Gay Conference: Day Two. Meanwhile, the conference went on for the second day as Don Schmierer continued his talk. When asked whether homosexuality was unnatural, Schmierer deferred to “other facilitators” in an apparent reference to Scott Lively. The afternoon was given over to Caleb Brundidge, who testified to his own “conversion” to homosexuality through Richard Cohen’s controversial “touch” therapy, prayer, and casting out of demons. We would later learn that Brundidge, in addition to being affiliated with Cohen’s International Healing Foundation, is also a member of Phoenix-based Extreme Prophetic, which dispatches teams of prayer warriors to area funeral homes to try to raise the dead.

Mar 8, 2009: Uganda Anti-Gay Conference: Day Three — Gays Blamed For Rwandan Genocide & Pedophilia; More Exodus Ties To Holocaust Revisionism. This was the highlight of the anti-gay conference, and Scott Lively was true to form. Presented himself as a “foremost expert” on homosexuality, he began by exploiting Ugandan’s fears of child sexual molestation as a prime recruitment tactic into homosexuality. H also delved into his historical revisionism behind The Pink Swastika, and used that theory to explain that gays were probably responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Rwanda lies on Uganda’s southwest border.

Exodus website featuring link to Scott Lively’s article “Homosexuality and the Nazi Party” (Link highlighted, click to enlarge)

We ended by noticing that Exodus International’s web site linked to an essay by Scott Lively which was a condensed version of The Pink Swastika, with an endorsement of Lively’s views. We wondered what business Exodus had in promoting an SPLC-certified purveyor of hate.

Mar 9, 2009: Exodus Removes Link To Scott Lively From Its Web Site. That didn’t take long.

Mar 9, 2009: EU Group Condemns Ugandan Conference. European Parliament’s Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights strongly condemned the March 5th meeting between several Ugandan parliamentarians and Scott Lively, Don Schmierer, Caleb Lee Brundidge and Stephen Langa.

Mar 10, 2009: Scott Lively: The Gay Agenda Is “To Turn The Whole World Gay”. We learned more about Lively’ inflammatory talk, in which he described gays as people who are utterly incapable of controlling their insatiable sexual desires, and that they won’t rest until they turn the whole world gay. Ominously, there was a warning: an unnamed facilitator was asked about gays who might be in the room to observe the conference. The facilitator responded, “If you have been planning to get us, we are planning to get you back.”

Mar 11, 2009: Open Letter To the Exodus International Board of Directors. The anti-gay conference clearly lived up to our worst fears, and Exodus’ inaction was not only shocking, but irresponsible. Four signatories — Wayne Besen and Mike Airhart of Truth Wins Out, David Roberts of Ex-Gay Watch, and BTB’s Jim Burroway issued an open letter demanding that Exodus lives up to its responsibilities by removing Don Schmierer from its board, firing president Alan Chambers for his inaction, publicly condemning forced or coerced conversion therapy schemes, and committing to ending participation in all future conferences calling for the criminalization or persecution of LGBT people.

Stephen Langa, of Kampala-based Family Life Network

Mar 12, 2009: Ugandan Conference Leaders Call For Another Meeting While Pushing Pedophilia Theme; Exodus Continues Silence. The conference is over, but the danger isn’t. Kampala-based Family Life Network’s Stephen Langa called for an urgent meeting for March 15.

Mar 12, 2009: Ex-Exodus Minister Condemns Uganda Conference. Canada’s New Direction ministry, which had left the Exodus network the year before over political differences, issued a statement condemning Exodus’ participation in the conference and calls for decriminalization of homosexuality around the world.

Mar 12, 2009: South African LGBT Advocates Condemn Exodus. South African Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (SA GLAAD) denounces the Kampala conference.

Mar 13, 2009: Exodus Applauds Schmierer’s Part in Uganda Conference. Exodus finally breaks its silence — by “applauding” Don Schmierer for his effort to convey an “alternative message that encompasses a compassionate, biblical view of homosexuality.”

Mar 13, 2009: Scott Lively and Alan Chambers Respond to Questions About Uganda Conference. Scott Lively also weighs in, in which he confirms that he proposed forced conversion therapy as an “alternative” to imprisonment. “I don’t think under the circumstances homosexuality should be decriminalized in Uganda since it seems to be the only thing stopping the international ‘gay’ juggernaut from turning Uganda into another Brazil,” he said.

Exodus International vice president Randy Thomas

Mar 13, 2009: Sanctimony Alert. Exodus International vice-president Randy Thomas decided to throw his two cents in: “It isn’t going to be a gay activist yelling at the Ugandan government that will actually get our ssa brothers and sisters out of jail. It will be people like me pleading with these leaders to recognize the Christ-likeness inherent in respecting self-determination and the dignity of every soul that draws breath. If I had the opportunity I would go directly to the jail and visit these people and plead for their freedom.”

Thomas would travel internationally in 2009. He took a wonderful and fun-filled trip to London just two months later, and he attended an ex-gay conference in Mexicali, Mexico in September.

Mar 16, 2009: Commentary: When Good Men Do Nothing. We have had numerous differences with Exodus International, but considering the wide range of anti-gay organizations in the United States, Exodus had a reputation for being among the lesser of the range of evils. But their puzzling and frustrating refusal to constructively engage in Uganda put their reputation to the test. And they were failing miserably.

Mar 17, 2009: Lively Defends Forced Therapy Proposal. Peter LaBarbera approvingly re-posted Scott Lively’s proposal for forced therapy, saying “The Ugandans are a thousand times better off inviting Scott Lively to their country than pro-homosexuality, Christian-hating activists like Wayne (’Anything but Straight’) Besen.”

Mar 23, 2009: Schmierer’s & Lively’s Uganda Talks Continue to Reverberate. We finally learned some details of the March 15 follow-up meeting, in which Stephen Langa preached from two books: Scott Lively’s The Pink Swastika and Richard Cohen’s Coming Out Straight. We also learn that one participant told the audience that parliament was drafting a new law that “will be tough on homosexuals.”

George Oundo

Mar 25, 2009: Another Anti-Gay Vigilante Campaign May Have Begun In Uganda. Stephen Langa organized a press conference at the Hotel Triangle, scene of the March 5-7 anti-gay conference. This news conference, carried live on television and radio,  featured a reputed ex-gay by the name of George Oundo, who named several prominent Ugandans as being part of an international  homosexual conspiracy to recruit schoolchildren.

Mar 25, 2009: More on Uganda’s Anti-Gay Vigilante Incitement. We learn more about Oundo’s accusations, in which he claims he had been part of an international conspiracy to lure schoolchildren into homosexuality. If Oundo’s allegations were true, then that would have meant that Oundo broke the law — a serious one at that. But no criminal investigations every took place. Surprised?

Mar 26, 2009: The “Ex-Gay” Star of the Uganda Anti-Gay Campaign. Here, we learn some background on George Oundo, who had a reputation in Uganda’s gay community for instability and for constantly seeking money.

We didn’t note the significance at the time, but we we also looked at the reputation of Uganda’s tabloid Red Pepper, which had been responsible for past public vigilante campaigns. We noted a curious article published on March 5, the same day the conference began, in which he Red Pepper reported, “Members of Parliament are set to discuss the rate at which bumshafters are slowly but surely entrenching themselves in Uganda, Red Pepper can exclusively Uganda’s Anti-Gay Vigilante Incitement. We learn more about Oundo’s accusations, in which he claims he had been part of an international conspiracy to lure schoolchildren into homosexuality. If Oundo’s allegations were true, then that would have meant that Oundo broke the law — a serious one at that. But no criminal investigations every took place. Surprised?

Mar 26, 2009: The “Ex-Gay” Star of the Uganda Anti-Gay Campaign. Here, we learn some background on George Oundo, who had a reputation in Uganda’s gay community for instability and for constantly seeking money.

We didn’t note the significance at the time, but we we also looked at the reputation of Uganda’s tabloid Red Pepper, which had been responsible for past public vigilante campaigns. We noted a curious article published on March 5, the same day the conference began, in which he Red Pepperreported, “Members of Parliament are set to discuss the rate at which bumshafters are slowly but surely entrenching themselves in Uganda, Red Pepper can exclusively reveal. The meeting which is to take place on March 5 at the parliamentary conference hall will be officiated over by the first lady Janet Kataha Museveni.” [Emphasis added.]

Mar 26, 2009: Ugandan Gov’t Poised to Take “Stern Action” Against Gays. Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo responded to calls for action from Family Life Network by saying that legislation was being prepared to “take stern action against promoters of homosexuality and lesbianism in Uganda.”

Family Life Network's Stephen Langa speaking at a follow-up meeting on March 15.

Mar 27, 2009: Videos Surface of Ugandan Activist Stirring Anti-Gay Fervor; Fears of Violence Grows. Ex-gay Watch obtained exclusive videos of Stephen Langa’s talk at the March 15 follow-up meeting. Langa can be seen quoting from Lively’s The Pink Swastika and Michael Swift’s satire, A Gay Revolutionary, as though it were a factual manifesto.

Mar 30, 2009: Uganda Situation Continues To Deteriorate; Exodus Washes Their Hands. Langa appears on FM radio calling for mass arrests of gay people. The anonymous blogger GayUganda sums up Exodus’ position better than anyone: “Did his American friends know that they were stirring up this kind of hatred and hate mongering? They will throw up their hands in helplessness. They never planned this, they will say, with wide eyed innocence.” Maybe Exodus should hire GayUganda to write their public statements.

Mar 31, 2009: Uganda Activist Cites Disbarred “Therapist” As Authority on Homosexuality. Ex-Gay Watch posts another video of Stephen Langa preaching from Richard Cohen’s book, Coming Out Straight, at the March 15 meeting. Cohen is an American ex-gay “counselor” who has been banned for life by the American Counseling Association for ethical violations.

Mar 31, 2009: Forced Outings Continue As Uganda LGBT Advocates Allege Oundo Is In It For The Money. Family Life Network and George Oundo continue to hold news conferences to publicly accuse ordinary Ugandans of homosexuality. Sexual Minorities Uganda held a sparsely-attended news conference confirming some of our earlier reporting on George Oundo.

Apr 2, 2009: Press Release from Ugandan LGBT Advocacy Group. Sexual Minorities Uganda issued a press release calling for the protection of human rights for all Ugandans.

Apr 2, 2009: Exodus Maintains Month-Long Silence Amid Ugandan Gov’t Calls For LGBT Arrests. A popular Catholic priest — and rival to Stephen Langa — was publicly accused of homosexuality. Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo and Member of Parliament Latif Sabagala appeared on radio KFM. Sabagala called on Uganda authorities to initiate mass arrests of accused homosexuals. Butuaro said that they would discuss the issue in Parliament.

Apr 3, 2009: Uganda to Ban LGBT Advocacy? The first reports of the outlines of a new bill begin to circulate. We noted a report from China’s Xinhua news agency that “The government is making preparations to enact a comprehensive law that will make it a criminal offense to promote homosexuality, said the official.” That official was James Nsaba Buturo.

Apr 6, 2009: Uganda Press Crank Up “Predator” Rhetoric. Uganda’s Weekly Observer published a series of tips on how to identify homosexuals, while the Red Pepper published a series of “confessions” by reputed LGBT people.

Apr 10, 2009: Uganda Columnist: “Happy Easter …Irrespective of Sexual Orientation”. A rare and welcome column appeared in Uganda’s largest independent newspaper The Monitor. Bernard Tabaire asked the question nobody else was asking: given Oundo’s “confession,” why hasn’t he been reported to police? He continues, “There is something potentially dangerous in what Mr Langa is doing in inveighing against fellow Ugandans just because they are not heterosexual. It will come as no surprise if individuals falsely name others as gay or lesbian to settle personal scores.”

Apr 15, 2009: Uganda’s Parliament Takes Up the Homosexual Problem. Little did we know, but the anti-gay conference is now reverberating around the halls of Parliament. Ethics and Integrity Minister Kames Nsabea Buturo warns Parliament that same-sex marriage is illegal in Uganda, and from their launches into a diatribe against non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and advocacy groups, saying “Uganda will not be forced to legalise a practice that we consider illegal, unnatural and abnormal.” He appeals to media not to “give oxygen or publicity to these groups which are operating on fringes of our society.”

Opposition MP Christopher Kibanzanga recalled a recent press conference by Sexual Minorities Uganda (see Mar 31) and demanded that authorities round up and arrest everyone involved. “We must exterminate homosexuals before they exterminate society,” he said. Opposition MP Beatrice Anywar said, “as Ugandans we are saying that this is poison for the future generation as well as the current generation.” She also asked the government to ban the importation of “gadgets… that are being used by the lesbians.”

National Resistance Movement member (NRM, the ruling party) Grace Oburu asked, “is there no way that the country can further investigate these people and even outlaw them from this country? This is because they are killing our culture.” She also asked that the law be amended to add the death penalty. Both suggestions would eventually find their way into the Anti-Homosexuality Bill to be tabled before Parliament later this year. (See April 20 and Oct 15.) Buturo promised to return in a few weeks with a resolution for Parliament’s consideration (See April 29).

For the sake of providing a complete record, we have re-posted the relevant portions of the official transcript..

Apr 17, 2009: Uganda Government Attacks Human Rights Groups for “Promoting Homosexuality”. The US state department’s February 2009 Human Rights Report for 2008 decried Uganda’s dismal human rights record toward that nation’s LGBT citizens. The Ugandan government today launched a campaign against UNICEF for “promoting” homosexuality in Uganda.

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

Apr 19, 2009: Uganda’s Anti-Gay Vigilante Campaign Is Now In Full Swing. The Red Pepper finally does it. They publish their “killer dossier” — their own words — consisting of a full-page spread of names, photos, occupations, and other identifying features of more than fifty Ugandans accused of homosexuality.

Apr 20, 2009: Alan Chambers Addresses Developments In Uganda. “Several American gay activists and even some conservative Christians have raised a ruckus about the event and rightfully so. Uganda’s policies seem reprehensible. Publicly exposing or arresting gay-identified men and women for homosexual behavior or forcing them to undergo therapy is a true violation of free will and a compassionless transgression.” BTB’s Jim Burroway saw this as a first opening, but noted that this statement needed to be much more public, not just a post on his personal blog.

Apr 20, 2009: Draft of a Death Penalty For Gays Created. We wouldn’t know about it until much later when we made it public on September 15, but as early as April and unknown to the world, Uganda’s political leadership was already plotting to propose legislation to exterminate gays in Uganda.

Apr 24, 2009: Uganda Anti-Gay Activists March, “Storm Parliament”. This seems to mark the entrance of Ugandan Evangelical pastor Martin Ssempa in this year’s events. Ssempa, who is associated  with Saddleback pastor Rick Warren and is a recipient of U.S. funds to combat HIV/AIDS through “abstinence only” programs, has been linked to prior public vigilante campaigns against LGBT people.

Apr 29, 2009: Parliament Passes Resolution Calling For a New Anti-Homosexuality Bill. MP David Bahati, a member of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) returned to Parliament asking for a resolution permitting him to submit a “private member’s” bill before Parliament to “strengthen” UGanda’s laws against homosexuality. (A private member’s bill is submitted by an individual member of Parliament and does not represent an official governmental proposal.)

A couple of MP’s questioned the need for the bill since homosexuality was already illegal, but others contend that a “strong message” was needed in order to “stop the spread of this vice.” The leader of the opposition, MP Morris Ogenga-Latigo put it this way: “It is not about criminalising homosexuality but an anti-homosexual one, which is different even from criminalising, which is already done. “Anti” means that we are going to provide for how we can campaign against it, what we must do with those who promote it, et cetera.”

MP Benson Obua-Ogwal, who would later be identified as helping to draft the Anti-Homosexuality BIll, spoke at length on what he characterized as an international conspiracy to make homosexuality legal in Uganda. He predicted that foreign donors would threaten to cut off aid. But he countered, “We have oil and very soon Uganda will be a donor in real terms, and we can afford to do without aid if it is pegged to homosexuality.” (BTB’s Jim Burroway would later explore that possibility on Dec. 4)

The motion to allow Bahati to submit the bill was passed. That bill would be submitted on October 14. (See also Oct 15 for the official text of the bill.)

For the sake of providing a complete record, we have re-posted the relevant portions of the official transcript.

May 4, 2009: Uganda Gays Arrested, Blackmail Attempts Reported. A couple was followed home from a bar in Mbale and arrested. Other arrests and blackmail attempts were also reported. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) posted video of a March 29 broadcast on Nation TV featuring an appearance with George Oundo. It also show clips from a 2007 press conference by Sexual Minorities Uganda calling for the nation to allow LGBT people to live in peace. Interesting, everyone at the press conference wore masks.

May 14, 2009: Uganda’s Anti-Gay Campaign Snares LGBT People and Rival Pastors, Tabloid Promises More “Outings”. We learn a few more details about the arrest in Mbale and other arrests. We also learn that several Evangelical pastors are taking advantage of the latest anti-gay hysteria to exact revenge on rival pastors by publicly accusing them of homosexuality. Martin Ssempa is implicated in the false accusations.

Jun 1, 2009: Nazi Comparisons. Sexual Identity Therapy proponent and American evangelical professor Warren Throckmorton discusses Scott Lively’s equating the LGBT community with Nazism.

Jun 23, 2009: Scott Lively, Gays, and the Nazi Party. Grove City College professor Warren Throckmorton published a twelve-part series on his web site examining Scott Lively’s The Pink Swastika. Throckmorton finds several instances of blatant distortion of the source material Lively and his co-author, Kevin Abrams, used in their book, which posits that homosexuality and Nazism are essentially the same movement. We provide links to the twelve posts which represent a remarkable exposé of Lively’s shameless exploitation of one of history’s darkest chapters.

Uganda Minister of Ethics and Integrity, James Nsaba Buturo speaking at a press conference about the government’s stand on homosexuality.

Jul 3, 2009: Uganda May Ban All LGBT Advocacy. Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo held a press conference and announce that he would bring a bill before Parliament to ban all free speech and advocacy by and on behalf of the country’s beleaguered LGBT community. He also promises not to yield to pressure from donor nations.

Jul 6, 2009: Sports Figure Latest Victim Of Ugandan Anti-Gay Offensive. The public vigilante campaign touches all areas of Ugandan life — even sports heroes.

Jul 26, 2009: Uganda Parliament To Take Up Bill Banning LGBT Free Speech. We receive further confirmation via Uganda’s independent newspaper The Monitor that the government is preparing a proposal to ban free speech on behalf of LGBT people.

Sep 15, 2009: Draft Anti-Gay Bill Circulating In Uganda. We receive a copy of the draft Anti-Homosexuality Bill dated April 20, 2009. It turns out the free speech limitations aren’t the worst part of the bill. This is the first time we learn that Uganda is considering the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.”

Oct 14, 2009: Uganda Parliament Takes Up Anti-Gay Bill Adding Death Sentence and Bans on Free Speech”. It is now official. Member of Parliament David Bahati introduced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill into Parliament. According to a report in the government-owned New Vision, the proposed bill looked very similar to the draft bill we published on September 15.

The proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009, as published in the official Uganda Gazette on September 25, 2009.

Oct 15, 2009: Here It Is: The Text of Uganda’s Proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill. We obtained a copy of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill and posted it online in its entirety. The proposed Act, if passed, would:

• Expand the definitions for homosexual acts, making conviction easier. Current law requires evidence of penetration. The new law would expand the definition of homosexual activity to”touch(ing) another person with the intention of committing the act of homosexuality.” Touching itself is defined as “touching—(a) with any part of the body; (b) with anything else; (c) through anything; and in particular includes touching amounting to penetration of any sexual organ. anus or mouth.”
• Affirm Uganda’s lifetime imprisonment for those convicted of homosexuality.
• Define a new crime of “aggravated homosexuality” for those who engage in sex with someone under the age of 18, who are HIV-positive, who is a “repeat offender” (so broadly defined as to include anyone who has had a relationship with more than one person, or who had sex with the same person more than once), or who had sex with a disabled person (consensual or not). The penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” is death by hanging.
• Require anyone arrested on suspicion of homosexuality to undergo HIV testing to determine the individual’s qualification for prosecution of “aggravated homosexuality.”
• Criminalize “attempted homosexuality” with imprisonment for seven years.
• Criminalize “promoting” homosexuality with fines and imprisonment for between five and seven years. This overly-broad provision would criminalize all speech and peaceful assembly for those who advocate on behalf of LGBT citizens in Uganda . It would also criminalize any attempt to repeal or modify the law in the future, as those moves could also be seen as “promoting” homosexuality.
• Criminalize “aiding and abetting homosexuality” with seven years imprisonment. This provision could be used against anyone extending counseling, medical care, or otherwise providing aide gay people.
• Criminalize the act of obtaining a same-sex marriage abroad with lifetime imprisonment.
• Add a clause which forces friends or family members to report LGBT persons to police within 24-hours of learning about that individual’s homosexuality or face fines or imprisonment for up to three years.
• Penalize people who run “brothels” with five to seven years imprisonment for renting to LGBT people. However, it defines a brothel as “a house, room, set of rooms or place of any kind for the purposes of homosexuality” instead of the more normal definition of a place where commercial sex work takes place. Anyone’s bedroom would be a “brothel” under this definition, placing landlords and hotel owners in jeopardy for renting to LGBT people.
• Add an extra-territorial and extradition provisions, allowing Uganda to prosecute LGBT Ugandans living abroad.
• Void all international treaties, agreements and human rights obligations which conflict with this bill.

Oct 15, 2009: Human Rights Watch, Sexual Minorities Uganda Condemn Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Human Rights Watch joined sixteen other local and international human rights organizations in condemning the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Sexual Minorities Uganda has also circulated a statement condemning the bill, warning that “These positions will further set a dangerous precedent and send a signal that any Ugandan’s privacy is unguaranteed — that all of our civil society could be put under attack.”

Exodus International president Alan Chambers

Oct 16, 2009: Does Exodus Support Criminalizing Homosexuality? Exodus International does not have a stated position on the criminalization of homosexuality, despite this question coming up repeatedly in other contexts. A search through the Exodus web site for clues on their position reveals only two hints. The first is a post by Exodus vice-president Randy Thomas who quotes an unnamed writer who fears that the U.S. Supreme Court would strike down anti-sodomy laws in fourteen states (which it did in 2003.) The other clue is a quote from Exodus president Alan Chambers following the Supreme Court ruling. “We are risking the moral upbringing of all the generations to come,” he warned.

Oct 17, 2009: Uganda’s Daily Monitor: All Ugandans Should Fear Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Michael Madill, writing for Uganda’s independent Daily Monitor, asked: “Do you know the fear which arrives with the knock on the door in the middle of the night?  If you were an outspoken opponent of any government from 1962 until today you felt it even if it never happened to you. …If you are a gay man or woman living in Uganda today, then you carry the same burden of persecution for your identity.”

Oct 18, 2009: Take Action: Tell Uganda To Respect Human Rights And Dismiss the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission issued an Action Alert, asking everyone to write to the Ugandan authorities about the pending bill.

Oct 22, 2009: Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill Put Off Until 2010. Ugandan media reported that the Anti-Homosexuality Bill is expected to be taken up again for a second reading in January 2010.

Oct 23, 2009: Uganda Civil Rights Coalition Denounces Anti-Homosexuality Bill. A coalition of twenty-two Ugandan professional and civil rights advocacy groups  denounced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. They described the bill as not just an “anti-homosexuality” bill, but also as “the ‘Anti Civil Society Bill,’ the ‘Anti Public Health Bill,’ or the ‘Anti-Constitution Bill,’” or more specifically, “the Anti Human Rights Bill.” And they liken the bill’s measures with some of the more repressive practices of the Idi Amin era.

Oct 28, 2009: A Call for Christian Action in Uganda — A Time to Show the Love. Anti-gay Christians often protest that they act not out of hate, but of love. BTB’s Timothy Kincaid challenges Christians to demonstrate the love they claim to have by calling out the evil bill. “This situation provides us with a ‘put up or shut up’ moment,” he said.

Oct 28, 2009: Uganda Religious Leaders Call for Anti-Gay Bill… But Maybe Not Death. Leaders from the Church of Uganda, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventist, and the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council unanimously supported the Bill, but called for a change in the penalties. The Anglican Church of Uganda says that maybe the penalty should be changed to life imprisonment.

Nov 2, 2009: Uganda Parliament Committee, Religious Leaders Weigh Death Penalty for LGBT People. More details on the meeting between religious leaders and a Parliament Committee first reported on Oct 28.

Clockwise from top left: U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Tammy Baldwin, Gary Ackerman, and Howard Berman.

Nov 2, 2009: US Reps Condemn Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill. U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) Gary Ackerman (D-NY) and Howard Berman (D-CA) wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Citing the significant U.S. aid to Uganda provided in the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), they ask Sec. Clinton to “use every means possible to convey to Ugandan leaders that this bill is appalling, reckless, and should be withdrawn immediately.”

Nov 2, 2009: Throckmorton Appeals to Ugandan Christians. Dr. Warren Throckmorton, an American Evangelical and proponent of “Sexual Identification Therapy” published a guest blog in The Independent, a Ugandan news blog. In it, he appeals to fellow Christians to follow the lead of Christ and avoid harsh civil punishment for spiritual sins.

Nov 6, 2009: Uganda Women’s Group: “Kill the Gays”. The Uganda Women Parliamentary Association is angry that anyone would think that they might show sympathy or mercy to gay people.

Nov 6, 2009: Australian Senate Refuses to Oppose Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. The title says it all.

Nov 7, 2009: The “Biblical” Worldwide Anglican Communion. “When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”(Matthew 27:24) BTB’s Jim Burroway wondered if the worldwide Anglican communion’s silence on the Uganda bill might have a Biblical basis after all.

Fred Hartley, College of Prayer International

Nov 9, 2009: More American Evangelical Ties To Uganda’s Anti-Gay Politicians. Until now, we’ve focused most of our attention on the role that Schmierer, Lively and Brundidge performed in the March 5-7 Kampala conference to bring us to this point. Now we discover other areas in which American Evangelicals have had extensive influence with Ugandan leaders behind the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. This story involves Fred Hartley, and the College of Prayer International’s newly-established Uganda campus.

Nov 9, 2009: Uganda’s “Kill Gays” bill is “Providing Leadership to the World”. Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo revels in the controversy, saying “It is with joy we see that everyone is interested in what Uganda is doing, and it is an opportunity for Uganda to provide leadership where it matters most.”

Nov 10, 2009: Uganda’s Most Wanted. A notice briefly appeared on the Daily Monitor’s web site: “Two homosexuals, [names redacted] are wanted by the police, anyone who sees them and has information leading to their arrest should report to the nearest police station for the safety of our country. A big reward waits.” The notice was removed by the end of the day.

Davis Mac-Iyalla

Nov 11, 2009: Nigerian calls on Anglican Communion to oppose Ugandan “Kill Gays” bill. Nigerian LGBT Advocate Davis Mac-Iyalla, who in 2008 was forced to flee his country due to anti-gay attacks. Members of the Anglican Church of Nigeria were suspected of being behind those attacks. Mac-Iyalla called on the Anglican Communion to condemn the proposed legislation in Uganda. “Whatever the divisions within the communion about homosexuality as a moral issue, Anglicans should unite in condemnation of violent persecution and discrimination of LGBT people whoever and wherever they are, particularly when it is carried out in the name of Jesus Christ.”

Nov 14, 2009: Anglican’s Communion’s Tangled Connections To Uganda’s Anti-Gay Pogrom. It turns out that the number two man in the worldwide Anglican Communion, Archbishop of York John Sentamu, is the brother of a megachurch pastor in Kampala, Robert Kayanja. And it just so happens that Kayanja was accused of homosexuality by rival pastors. (see May 15.) Does Kayanja’s brush with deadly-serious accusations  explain the Archbishop of York’s silence? And what implications does this hold for the Archbishop of Canterbury’s refusal to address these life-and-death developments in one of the Church’s most active countries?

Nov 16, 2009: Exodus Sends Letter To Ugandan President. More than eight months after this whole saga began when Exodus boardmember Don Schmierer traveled to that fateful conference, Exodus International issues a letter addressed to Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni. “While we do not believe that homosexual behavior is what God intended for individuals, we believe that deprivation of life and liberty is not an appropriate or helpful response to this issue.” Signing the letter were Exodus president Alan Chambers, Exodus vice-president Randy Thomas, Christopher Yuan of the Moody Bible Institute, and Warren Throckmorton of Grove City College.

Nov 20, 2009: Canada’s Anglicans Oppose Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. Canada’s Council of General Synod called upon the Church of Uganda to oppose the bill. It also called “upon our own Government of Canada, through the minister of external affairs, to convey to the Government of Uganda a deep sense of alarm about this fundamental violation of human rights and, through diplomatic channels, to press for its withdrawal…”

Stephen Lewis, The UN Secretary-General’s special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Nov 24, 2009: HIV/AIDS Envoy: Uganda’s Chairing Of Commonwealth Meeting “A Mockery of Commonwealth Principles”. At a meeting in preparation for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago, the United Nations Secretary-General’s special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis rebuked Uganda for its draconian proposal targeting the country’s LGBT community. “The credibility of the Commonwealth is hanging by a spider’s thread. …If the once-upon-a-time civilized values of the post-colonial Commonwealth are to be restored, then the monstrous war on homosexuality is the place to start the restoration. Uganda makes a perfect beginning.” Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was finishing up his term as chair of the Commonwealth meeting.

Nov 25, 2009: Follow The Money: The American Connection to Uganda’s Death Sentence For Gays. Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, appeared on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, where he laid out for the first time the pipeline of money and support from the secretive American Evangelical group known as The Family to many of those behind Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Eric Goosby, PEPFAR chief coordinator.

Nov 27, 2009: PEPFAR Coordinator: Don’t Link Uganda Funding To Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Eric Goosby, chief coordinator for the President’s emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) said, “I think I would do more harm than good by connecting our resources to respond to the epidemic to making them dependent on a behavior that they’re not willing to engage in on their own. My role is to be supportive and helpful to the patients who need these services. It is not to tell a country how to put forward their legislation.”

Nov 28, 2009: United Church of Canada Urges PM To Bring Up Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill at Comonwealth Meeting. “In the next few days there is an opportune moment at the summit of Commonwealth leaders for Canada to show leadership in advocating for the protection of the human rights of all people, especially those who are most marginalized, such as gay, lesbian and bisexual people in Uganda. At this summit we urge you to raise these issues and speak firmly against this regressive proposed legislation by the Parliament of Uganda.”

Nov 28, 2009: Canada PM To Denounce Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. Canadian Transport Minister John Baird announced that Prime Minister Stephen Harper will confront Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni “face to face” over the Anti-Homosexuality Bill during the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago. Said Baird, “The current legislation before Parliament in Uganda is vile, it’s abhorrent. It’s offensive. It offends Canadian values. It offends decency.”

Nov 28, 2009: Catholic News Source: Scott Lively Blames Foreign Gays for Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. Guess who’s responsible for Uganda trying to kill off it’s gay citizens. Lively says it’s foreign gays, not the government.

Nov 28, 2009: UK PM Gordon Brown Denounces Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. The UK’s Telegraphreported that Prime Minister Gordon Brown met one-on-one with Museveni at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and denounced the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill. No details of the conversation were provided

Nov 28, 2009: Sweden responds to Uganda’s proposed “Kill Gays” bill. Sweden’s Development Minister Gunilla Carlsson announced that Sweden will cut its $50 million in aid to Uganda if the Anti-Homosexuality Bill goes forward. Said Carlsson, “The law itself is wretched, but it’s also offensive to see how the Ugandans choose to look at how we see things, and the kind of reception we get when we bring up these issues.”

Rick Warren appears on Meet the Press.

Nov 30, 2009: Rick Warren refuses to oppose Uganda’s “Kill Gays” bill. Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren told Newsweek that he would not take a position on Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, despite his deep interest and connections in that country. “It is not my personal calling as a pastor in America to comment or interfere in the political process of other nations,” he told Newsweek. He took the same position on NBC’s Meet the Press: “As a pastor, my job is to encourage, to support. I never take sides.”

Dec 1, 2009: Clinton Condemns Criminalization of Homosexuality. Without mentioning Uganda specifically, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned attempts to criminalize homosexuality. “We have to stand against any efforts to marginalize and criminalize and penalize members of the LGBT community worldwide.”

Dec 1, 2009: Going Rove In Uganda. We’ve focused most of our coverage on the religious element driving  Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, but there are other factors at play. Elections are coming up in 2011, and as American political strategist Karl Rove has demonstrated, wedge politics can win elections. And nothing is wedgier than gays. Ugandan political observers help us understand the political dynamics in play.

Dec 3, 2009: International Healing Foundation Issues Statement On Uganda. Rachel Maddow has been investing a lot of coverage of Uganda on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show. Today, she reads a portion of a brief and vague statement from Richard Cohen’s International Healing Foundation, condemning “any harsh and extreme punishment of persons who identify as homosexual or who engage in homosexual behavior.”

James Nsaba Buturo speaking at the government Media Centre.

Dec 3, 2009: Uganda Responds To International Furor Over “Kill Gays” Bill. Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo held a press conference at the Uganda Media Centre to defend the Anti-Homosexuality BIll. “We should remind them (the donors) that there is integrity to be defended and threats are not the way to go. If one chooses to withdraw their aid, they are free because Ugandans do not want to engage in  anal sex. We do not care.”

Dec 4, 2009: Anti-Gay Bill Likely To Pass As Oil Surpasses Donors For Influence In Uganda. Uganda’s newly discovered oil fields near the country’s western borders with the Congo may embolden Uganda’s leaders to thumb their noses at warnings from donors.

Dec 4, 2009: Archbishop of Canterbury In “Private Talks”; Ugandan Pastor Calls “Kill Gays” Bill “Genocide”. The worldwide Anglican Communion’s silence continues, but The Times of London reports that Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is in “private talks” with leaders of the Ugandan Anglican Church. But one brave Ugandan Anglican pastor, Canon Gideon Byamugisha isn’t waiting. ““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.

Dec 4, 2009: Seven Mountains Theology At the Heart of Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. Grove City College professor Warren Throckmorton and Talk To Action’s Bruce Wilson simultaneously discover the Dominionist “Seven Mountains” theology that appears to motivate several key players in the Uganda saga.

IHS Statement (Click to download PDF)

Dec 4, 2009: Statement from International Healing Foundation Regarding Uganda. We obtained the full statement from Richard Cohen’s International Healing Foundation. The full statement doesn’t answer any of the questions we raised when Rachel Maddow read a brief excerpt. (See Dec 3.)

Dec 4, 2009: State Department Guidance On Uganda. It’s not an official statement, but at least it’s on the record: “If adopted a bill further criminalizing homosexuality would constitute a significant step backwards for the protection of human rights in Uganda.”

Dec 4, 2009: American Episcopal Leader “deeply concerned” about Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said, ”We note that much of the current climate of fear, rejection, and antagonism toward gay and lesbian persons in African nations has been stirred by members and former members of our own Church. We note further that attempts to export the culture wars of North America to another context represent the very worst of colonial behavior. We deeply lament this reality, and repent of any way in which we have participated in this sin.”

Dec 5, 2009: Rachel Maddow: Should US Politicians Try To Stop The “Kill Gays” Bill? Rachel Maddow  reviewed the role that several U.S. politicians played — specifically Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) — in their own meddling in Uganda’s political affairs, mostly in changing Uganda’s previously successful fight against AIDS by insisting on abstinence only education. Maddow asks, “Is it reasonable to expect that American politicians who have been, frankly, pretty interventionist in Uganda in the past, should be trying to stop the ‘kill the gays’ bill there?”

"What, me worry?" Exodus board member Don Schmierer.

Dec 5, 2009: Don Schmierer On Uganda: “What, Me Worry?” Exodus International board member Don Schmierer, whose participation in the March 5-7 conference in Kampala kicked off this whole mess, finally issued a statement on the Exodus blog. Four paragraphs were devoted to his “surprise” at being mentioned by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and excusing his participation in a conference alongside Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively and the International Healing Foundation’s Caleb Brundidge. It’s not until he gets to his fifth paragraph until he says what should have been said in his first paragraph. “What is true, however, and worth all the news media coverage possible, is the tragic nature of and heartbreaking potential this bill holds.” But even then, he creates a “gay bishop” to excuse his participation in the conference.

Dec 5, 2009: Cockroaches. Uganda’s independent Sunday Monitor reports on Rev. Michael Esakan Okwi, a senior member of the Anglican Church of Uganda, who said that not even “cockroaches,” who are in the “lower animal kingdom,” engaged in homosexual relations.

Dec 6, 2009: What’s Good For Uganda Is Good For Canada? David Chotka, of the College of Prayer International’s Canada chapter, has been very impressed with COP’s Ugandan counterparts have accomplished. “I have three-twelve members of the Canadian Parliament who have heard about what God is doing in Uganda and would like to attend the Parliamentary COP [College of Prayer -- ed.] in Uganda next year. They are interested in bringing the College of Prayer to the Canadian Parliament.”

Dec 8, 2009: US Christian Leaders Oppose Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. A coalition of religious leaders organized by Faith in the Public Life issued a statement. ”We appeal to all Christian leaders in our own country to speak out against this unjust legislation. In our efforts to imitate the Good Samaritan, we stand in solidarity with those Ugandans beaten and left abandoned by the side of the road because of hatred, bigotry and fear.”

Richard Cohen appears on The Rachel Maddow Show

Dec 8, 2009: Cohen On Maddow: “Disavows All Relationship” To Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. Cohen appeared on Rachel Maddow’s show. Every time he goes on television, he embarrasses himself and everyone else connected with the ex-gay movement. This time is no different. But at least he came out against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Dec 9, 2009: Bloomberg: Uganda To Drop Death Penalty, Add Forced “Conversions”. Bloomberg’s Johannesburg bureau reports that Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo said that the death penalty will be dropped. He also said that the bill would be modified promote counseling to help “attract errant people to acceptable sexual orientation.” This sounded remarkably like the forced conversion proposal that Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively was proposing last March. No other news agency confirmed this report, and Buturo hasn’t made this suggestion since then.

Dec 9, 2009: What Did Don Schmierer Know? According to Exodus International boardmember Don Schmierer’s five-paragraph statement (see Dec 5), he had no idea what was happening during the Kampala conference in March, or what the aftermath was. Apparently, he remained clueless as events spiralled out of control for more than nine months. BTB’s Timothy Kincaid reconstructs a timeline to demonstrate that Schmierer couldn’t be as clueless as he pretends to be.

Dec 9, 2009: Ugandan Church Leaders Back “Kill Gays” Bill. Two hundred religious leaders met in Kampala to voice their support for the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The Inter-Religious Council of Uganda passed a resolution saying, “Government should cut ties with donor communities and other groups which support ungodly values such as homosexuality and abortion.” The group’s secretary general, Joshua Kitakule, told The Daily Monitor, “The Bill is OK. But it has been misunderstood. We need to educate people on this proposed law.” This would become the main talking point among the bill’s supporters in the days to come.

Dec 9, 2009: Time Magazine Covers the Ugandan “Kill Gays” Bill. The story is finally getting the attention of the mainstream press in the U.S. (aside from Rachel Maddow, that is).

Jeff Sharlet appears on the Rachel Maddow Show

Dec 10, 2009: Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill Sparks Schism Inside The Family; U.S. Sens. Remain Silent. Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, appeared on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show for an update on The Family’s reactions to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. While the March 5-7 anti-gay conference in Kampala may have given renewed life to the bill, MP David Bahati, the bill’s sponsor and a “rising star” in The Family, first shared his ideas for the legislation during an October 2008 Ugandan Prayer Breakfast which was organized by Bahati. Some members of The Family counseled against the bill, but chose not to disrupt access and relationships to Uganda’s political leadership. Now that the Family’s ties to the controversial legislation has become public, some Family members want to head off a public relations disaster. Bahati and Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo plan to come to the American National Prayer Breakfast, also organized by The Family, in February 2009. Sharlet reports that some members of The Family are pushing to dis-invite the two if the Anti-Homosexuality Bill passes.

Dec 10, 2009: Uganda’s Official Media Centre Publishes Article Suggesting Anti-Homosexuality Bill Not Needed. The official governmental Ugandan Media Centre, which acts as a “centralized location where all official government correspondence and information can be easily accessed,” published an interesting op-ed by Columnist Obed K. Katureebe criticizing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. “One wonder whether parliament is utilising its time optimally by focusing on homosexuality when the majority of our people are suffering from hunger, lack of access to water and disease and collapsing infrastructure.” What does this columns appearance on an official high-profile governmental web site mean? Is it a trial balloon? An attempt to deflect criticism? Or is it intended to lay the groundwork for dropping the bill?

Saddleback pastor Rick Warren denouncing the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Dec 10, 2009: Rick Warren “Vigorously Condemns” Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Saddleback pastor Rick Warren, after refusing to denounce the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (see Nov 30), released a “video encyclical” to Ugandan pastors calling on them to oppose the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, calling it “unjust, extreme and un-Christian toward homosexuals.” In an accompanying “key facts” issued by his publicist, Warren goes further: “I oppose the criminalization of homosexuality. The freedom to make moral choices is endowed by God.  Since God gives us that freedom, we must protect it for all, even when we disagree with their choices.” While there are clearly problems with many of the other “key facts,” we’ll save that for another post. Right now, this statement is the clearest, most direct statement made to date by an American conservative in opposition to the bill.

Dec 10, 2009: Vatican Statement about Uganda’s Proposed Legislation. In contrast to Warren’s bold statement condemning the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, the Vatican’s statement at the United Nations was more circumspect. “The Holy See also opposes all forms of violence and unjust discrimination against homosexual persons, including discriminatory penal legislation which undermines the inherent dignity of the human person.” This is not a call for decriminalization of homosexuality (which the Vatican opposed in 2008), just against “discriminatory penal legislation.”

Uganda MP David Bahati, prime sponsor of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Dec 10, 2009: Ugandan MP Defends “Kill Gays” Bill. On Dec. 9, MP David Bahati, the prime sponsor of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, said that “The Bill is OK. But it has been misunderstood.” He repeated that again today to the BBC, saying, “There has been a distortion in the media that we are providing death for gays. That is not true.” He tried to claim that his bill was actually an anti- child molestation bill, not an anti-gay bill. This is a boldfaced lie, and we examine the actual text of the bill to prove it.

Dec 11, 2009: Uganda Media Centre Removes Op-Ed Questioning “Kill Gays” Bill. We were hopeful when the Uganda Media Centre posted an op-ed questioning the need for the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. We were disseminated to notice that the column had been taken down. Later, the column re-appeared again under a different URL, and with a link to it from the Media Centre’s front page.

Dec 11, 2009: Scott Lively Issues Statement On Uganda. Scott Lively issued another statement on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. He’s against the death penalty and is still pushing for forced conversions. But other than that, he’s fine with the bill as written. “If the offending sections were sufficiently modified, the proposed law would represent an encouraging step in the right direction. As one of the first laws of this century to recognize that the destructiveness of the “gay” agenda warrants opposition by government, it would deserve support from Christian believers and other advocates of marriage-based culture around the world.”

John Nagenda

Dec 11, 2009: Op-Ed In Ugandan Gov’t Newspaper: “Parliament Should Not Pass This Bill”. In another encouraging sign, the government-owned New Vision published a column by John Nagenda, a senior advisor to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, saying that, “hunting down people for same-sex love, I believe to be a sin, against Love, one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind. …Parliament should not pass this Bill.” This follows a similar encouraging column in the official governmental Ugandan Media Centre web site. When New Vision picks up on the same theme, something is likely afoot.

Dec 12, 2009: Manhattan Declaration Authors Criticize Aspects of Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. The three principle authors of the Manhattan Declaration, a conservative Christian manifesto in support of bans on abortion and marriage equality, published a letter to the “beloved brothers and sisters of Uganda” to criticize two principle features of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The two areas they criticize are the death penalty and lifetime imprisonment. As this letter only addresses two aspects of the proposed legislation, the authors’ positions on the criminalization of homosexuality or any other aspect of the bill remain vague.

"I'm brave." Although Val Kalende (L) is open about her sexuality; her partner is not. (via The Sunday Monitor)

Dec 12, 2009: Ugandan Lesbian Goes Public: “Tell Me, What Will Happen To Us?” The inability of LGBT people to reveal themselves to their own family is perhaps the greatest obstacle to improvement in Ugandans’ attitudes toward gay people. Uganda’s main opposition newspaper, The Monitor, published an amazing profile of a lesbian couple which seeks to begin to change all that.

Dec 12, 2009: Donor Nations Formally Protest Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. Delegations from the European Union, Canadian and American embassies have formally protested the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, according to Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dec 12, 2009: White House Condemns Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill. “The President strongly opposes efforts, such as the draft law pending in Uganda, that would criminalize homosexuality and move against the tide of history.”

Dec 12, 2009: Uganda “Kill Gays” Bill Sponsor Refuses To Budge. As far as Ugandan Member of Parliament David Bahati is concerned, the death penalty provision will remain. And he continues with the theme first revealed on Dec 9. “Most people have misunderstood the bill,” he told Britain’s The Guardian, before being — shall we say — less than honest (again! see Dec 10) about who would qualify for the death penalty.

Dec 13, 2009: Archbishop of Canterbury Mumbles Something About Uganda. Archbishop of Canterbury, responding to worldwide pressure to say something — anything — about the situation in Uganda, utters a few brief sentences to a friendly reporter — a few sentences in a fawning 1,500-word story. If you blinked, you might have missed it. He doesn’t like the bill’s death penalty or the requirement to report gay people to police. But then, he notes that Uganda’s archbishop Henry Orombi “has not taken a position on this bill.” So umm,  you know, we’ll see.

L-R: Sens. Russ Feingold, Chuck Grassley, Tom Coburn

Dec 14, 2009: Sens. Feingold, Coburn, Grassley Denounce Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. Sen. Russ Fiengold: “Over the last month, I have conveyed these concerns to the State Department and directly to President Museveni, and I urge Uganda’s leaders to reject this bill.” Very good. Sen. Chuck Grassley: “I’m a born again Christian, I can tell you that I don’t agree with this un-Christian and unjust proposal, and I hope the Ugandan officials dismiss it.” Not bad. Sen. Tom Coburn: “Sadly, some who oppose Uganda’s common sense ABC strategy are using an absurd proposal to execute gays to undermine this coalition and winning strategy. Officials in Uganda should come to their senses and take whatever steps are necessary to withdraw this proposal that will do nothing but harm a winning strategy that is saving lives.” Huh?

Dec 14, 2009: UN Official: Uganda May Lose AIDS Research Center If “Kill Gays” Bill Passes. The African AIDS Vaccine Programme (AAVP) is slated to be relocated from Geneva, Switzerland, to Entebbe. But if the bill passes, UNAIDS and WHO will revisit that decision.

Dec 14, 2009: American Evangelical Connections: The Disciple Nations Alliance and Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. Stephen Langa, who organized the March 5-7 anti-gay conference in Kampala, is a member of Phoenix-based Disciple Nations Alliance and serves as the head of their Uganda chapter. DNA worked with Langa in 2006 to change a bill before Uganda’s Parliament that would have opened up equality opportunities to LGBT citizens. What role is DNA playing now with the Anti-Homosexuality Bill?

Uganda's top scout: MP David Bahati is honored during an East African scouting conference in Kampala. (Click to enlarge)

Dec 15, 2009: David Bahati Is A Boy Scout — And Other Examples of Ugandans Talking About Gay People. A BTB reader in Uganda sent us a couple of clippings from the print version of the independent Daily Monitor which gives us some insight into how Uganda’s talk about gay people.

Dec 15, 2009: Hillary Clinton Denounces Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a speech at Georgetown University, denounced Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill. “Once rights are established, governments should be expected to resist the temptation to restrict freedom of expression when criticism arises, and be vigilant in preventing law from becoming an instrument of oppression, as bills like the one under consideration in Uganda to criminalize homosexuality would do.”

Dec 16, 2009: “The Family” Opposes Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. Jeff Sharlet, whose appearance on NPR’s Fresh Air first revealed connections between Uganda’s political leaders and the secretive American evangelical movement known as The Family (see Nov 25), wrote a guest post on Warren Throckmorton’s web site to update us on the Family’s growing opposition to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Dec 16: 2009: Uganda’s Slow U-Turn? Leading Minister Supported “Kill Gays” Bill; Now Vows Silence. More encouraging signs that Uganda’s leaders may reconsider the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Today’s Monitor newspaper reported for the first time in Uganda that President Barack Obama condemned the bill. This is important because Obama is revered throughout East Africa. The Monitor also reported that Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo, previously an outspoken supporter of the bill, will “remain silent about the proposed law until it has been passed or defeated.” The Monitor also said, “By yesterday, however, the official stance was that the government had not yet reached a position on the proposed law.”

"Hey Gay Pervert": MP Benson Obua-Ogwal

Dec 16, 2009: “Hey Gay Pervert”: A Gay Ugandan’s Conversation With A Legislator. The anonymous blogger GayUganda reveals an email exchange he conducted with MB Benson Obua-Ogwal, who has been identified as a co-sponsor of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Obua-Ogwa is also a core member of the American-based College of Prayer International, and serves as one of eight MP’s on the group’s “servant leadership team.”

Dec 16, 2009: BBC: “Should Homosexuals Face Execution?” That’s what the BBC asked in an online “Have Your Say” forum. And to make matters worse, BBC’s editors defended the decision.

Dec 17, 2009: EU Condemns Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The European Parliament passed a resolution strongly condemning Uganda’s  proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, calling on Uganda “not to approve the bill and to review their laws to decriminalize homosexuality.” The resolution also calls on the European Commission and Council to reconsider EU aid to Uganda if the anti-gay bill passes.

Dec 17, 2009. LGBT Group: Archbishop of Canterbury Quietly Condemns Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill. The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams had his press secretary tell someone at the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement that he views the Anti-Homosexuality Bill as “entirely unacceptable from a pastoral, moral and legal point of view.” Nice third-hand information to know.

Dec 17, 2009: Ugandan Parliament to Debate “Kill Gays” Bill Dec. 18. The news we’ve been dreading to hear. Uganda’s Parliament will take up the Anti-Homosexuality Bill for more debate.

In unrelated news, the government-owned New Vision reports that Uganda’s Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo spoke at a fundraiser for the construction of a Catholic Church. This time, he spoke about the need people could live together despite tribal and religious differences. “If we are to have everlasting peace, the need for tolerating each other cannot be over-emphasised,” he said. “People living together in peace is the foundation for developing this country.” He reportedly said this with a straight face.

Martin Ssempa

Dec 17, 2009: Ugandan Pastor Responds To Rick Warren’s Statement; Endorses “Forced Therapy” Option. Pentecostal pastor Martin Ssempa lashed out at Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren’s call for Ugandan pastors to denounce the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (see Dec 10). He also said that two amendments to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill will be offered. One would lower the maximum penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” to twenty years, and the other would revive the forced therapy option first proposed during the March 5-7 anti-gay conference in Kampala.

Dec 18, 2009: Newsweek: Is Uganda’s Anti-Gay Ferver Spreading? Newsweek’s Katie Paul examines the “domino theory” that many have placed on Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill — the theory that suggests that Uganda’s passing of the anti-gay bill would represent a first domino to fall across Africa — and finds it lacking. BTB’s Jim Burroway agrees, and also reminds readers of the larger context in which these events are taking place.

Dec 18, 2009: Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill Second Reading In February. We can now confirm that the required Second Reading for the Anti-Homosexuality Bill will take place in February according to two independent sources.

Dec 18, 2009: Bahati Refuses To Answer Questions About Ties To “The Family”. When the BBC asked Ugandan MP David Bahati, prime sponsor of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, whether he is a member of The Family, one would imagine it would be a simple yes or no question. Turns out it’s not.

Dec 18, 2009: Scott Lively Denies Responsibility for Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. Scott lively appeared in NPR to deny that he had any influence in current response in Uganda, saying “It’s racist to suggest that Africans have no will of their own to produce public policy to suit their own values.” This despite NPR’s East African correspondent corroborating what we’ve reported (see Mar 27) that “Scott Lively’s words [have been] reiterated by Ugandan Evangelicals and others who are proponents of the bill. And they believe it to be Gospel. They believe it to be scientific fact, what they’re listening to.”

Dec 18, 2009: Major Medical Journal Warns “Ugandan Bill Could Hinder Progress on HIV/AIDS”. The British medical journal The Lancet published an article warning about the detrimental effect Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill would have on that nation’s fight against HIV/AIDS.

Dec 18, 2009: US Ambassador Urges Uganda To Drop Anti-Gay Bill by BTB’s Jim Burroway and State Department concerned about Uganda’s Kill Gays bill by Timothy Kincaid. Without know the other was picking op on the same story, we both published our respective posts simultaneously — right down to the minute. Timothy spotted a Reuters article while I reported on a similar one from AFP, in which Johnnie Carson, the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, told reporters that he has met with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni twice since October to urge him to “to do everything he can to stop this particular legislation.”

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni

Dec 19, 2009: Will Musevini Sign the Anti-Homosexuality Bill? There’s something I missed in the prior day’s AFP report: a hint that Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni does not support the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. In this analysis, I recount the reasons for optimism that Museveni might veto the bill, along with a few compelling reasons why he might not.

Dec 19, 2009: State Dept: Ugandan President Promises To Block Anti-Gay Bill. Confirming the hint dropped in the the prior day’s AFP article, DCAgenda reports that Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has made at least two commitments to U.S. State Department diplomats to block the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. While Museveni has not made his commitment public, this continues to build on earlier encouraging signs.

Dec 20, 2009: A Gay Wedding Ceremony In Uganda. The anonymous blogger GayUganda writes a heartwarming account of a traditional Introduction ceremony taking place between two grooms.

Lou Engle at TheCall in Nashville, 2007

Dec 21, 2009: Lou Engle’s TheCall Going To Uganda in 2010? It looks like plans are being made for Lou Engle’s TheCall to put on a rally in Uganda on May 29, 2010. Given Engle’s radical, fear-mongering and violence-laden rhetoric, this is very worrying.

Dec 21, 2009: Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill: Will It Stay Or Will It Go? Uganda’s Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa gives conflicting signals.

Dec 21, 2009: Ugandan Pastors Demand Apology from Rick Warren. In another letter posted on Warren Throckmorton’s web site, a group of Ugandan pastors including Martin Ssempa denounce Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren’s statement against criminalizing homosexuality and demand an apology.

Dec 21, 2009: Some of Uganda’s Religious Leaders Walking Back Slowly. We had earlier reported on a meeting of 200 religious leaders in Entebbe who demanded that the Ugandan government sever ties with nations and groups which threatened to cut aid to Uganda should the Anti-Homosexuality Bill become law (see Dec. 9). Now the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda issued a press release backtracking on that assertion. “The idea that development partners should refrain from interfering in the process of legislation regarding the bill or that Government should cut ties with countries supporting homosexuality was not in any way a conclusion but part of the debate on the floor during the Assembly. … As of now, IRCU does not have a common position on the said bill.”

Caleb Lee Brundidge speaking in Uganda

Dec 22, 2009: My lunch date with Caleb Lee Brundidge. Freelance writer Ted Cox is a straight man who posed as a gay man in order to enter several ex-gay ministries. Among the ex-gay groups he attended was a retreat put on by Journey Into Manhood. And that’s where he met Caleb Lee Brundidge, one of the three American’s presenting at the March 5-7 conference in Kampala.

Dec 22. 2009: Australia Finally Condemns Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. Australia’s mission in neighboring Kenya has formally protested Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Dec 22, 2009: Anti-gay Republican congressmen oppose Uganda’s Kill Gays bill. Republican congressmen Chris Smith, Frank Wolf, Joe Pitts, Trent Franks and Anh “Joseph” Cao oppose the Kill Gays bill while endorsing the Manhattan Declaration.

Dec 22, 2009: Ugandan mobs call for passing Kill Gays bill. Led by religious leaders, Ugandan protesters marched to demand that the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill be passed.

Dec 23, 2009: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO #1: Ugandan News Broadcast of Anti-Gay Rally. Cell-phone video of a Ugandan news broadcast showing Tuesday’s anti-gay demonstration in Kampala by pastors Solomon Male and Michael Kyazza.

Dec 23, 2009: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO #2: Ugandan Minister Considers Forced Counselling to “Rehabilitate” Gays. NTV News broadcast by the independent NBS television on Dec 22 which mischaracterizes the actual text of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that is now before Parliament.

Martin Ssempa

Dec 23, 2009: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO #3: Barack Obama “Preaches A Gospel of Sodomy!”. Martin Ssempa condemns the White House for its statement against measure which would provide the death penalty for LGBT people, calling it “a gospel of sodomy”.

Dec 23, 2009: Buturo targets Gay Uganda blogger. Nsaba Buturo names three “civil society organisations” as having been given $20m to promote homosexuality, including one individual gay blogger.

Dec 24, 2009: Archbishop of York Denounces Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. The Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu, who was born in Uganda and has a brother who is a prominent Pentecostal there (see Nov 14), appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today to denounce the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Act.

Dec 24, 2009: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Uganda’s Main Opposition Party Comes Out Against Anti-Homosexuality Act. BTB learned through exclusive video provided by a BTB reader that the Secretary General of Uganda’s main opposition party announced that the party would oppose the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Secretary General Chris Opaka said, “The state has no business with what people do in their bedrooms. What two consenting adults do, the state has no business… absolutely! It is discriminatory.”

Dec 24, 2009: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Uganda’s Catholic Archbishop Opposes Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Uganda, Cyprian Lwanga, denounced the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill in his annual Christmas message from Rubaga Cathedral. We also have the full text of the Archbishop’s remarks. About 42% of Ugandans are Roman Catholic, making Catholicism the country’s largest Christian denomination.

Dec 26, 2009: Catholic Doublespeak In Uganda – Did The Bishop Tacitly Support Anti-Gay Bill During Christmas Mass? The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Uganda, Cyprian Lwanga, appeared to support some aspects of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in his homily during Christmas mass. This leads to questions of which provisions the archbishop would actually support in the bill. Meanwhile, Anglican sermons weren’t nearly so ambiguous.

Dec 26, 2009: Focus On the Family Denounces Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill. Jim Daly, president of Focus On the Family said, “My reaction is to denounce this. It sets a horrible precedent and has a potential for developing hatred.”

Dec 27, 2009: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Ssempa and Bahati Discuss Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill. Once again, we catch pastor Martin Ssempa and member of Parliament David Bahati lying about the provisions in the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Ssempa also announced a nationwide rally for January 19th, 2010 to support the measure.

Dec 28, 2009: Putting the Kill Gays bill in perspective. An op-ed writer in East Africa noticed that the Anti-Homosexuality Bill would impose the death sentence on many gay people, but “the killers who rob medical funds and send thousands to early graves” will receive no such sentence.

Dec 28, 2009: Anti-Gay Bill Dominates Ugandan Christmas Messages. BTB obtained exclusive video of Christmas messages aired on several Ugandan television newscasts. It appears the theme for Christmas this year consisted mainly of exhortations to pass the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Dec 29, 2009: NARTH: Forced Therapy Is “Unethical and Unworkable”. Getting anyone from the National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) to say that forced conversion therapy is unethical can be extraordinarily difficult. But Grove City College professor Warren Throckmorton managed to get past-president A. Dean Byrd to do just that. But good luck finding any statements to that effect on NARTH’s web site where Ugandans — or anyone else — can find them. And by the way, the same goes for Exodus International, whose president Alan Chambers also wrote against forced conversion — in an obscure Facebook location.

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

Dec 30, 2009: Ugandan Tabloid Invites More Anti-Gay Vigilantism. Uganda’s notorious tabloid The Red Pepper published another full-page spread, this time purporting to expose the “city tycoons who bankroll Ugandan homos.” The tabloid hints at outings in an upcoming issue.

Dec 30, 2009: Ugandan Religious Leaders Announce National Anti-Gay Rally. Two more religious leaders have announced plans for a nationwide rally in support of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, slated for January 19, 2010. This announcement repeats pastor Martin Ssempa’s call for an anti-gay rally revealed during an interview on state-run television just before Christmas (see our Dec. 27 post).

Dec 31, 2009: Ugandan Pastor Issues Video Response to Rick Warren. Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa released a video response to Rick Warren’s vigorous condemntion of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (See Dec 10). We fact-check Ssempa’s video, which includes blatant lies about the proposed bill, as well as blatant lies about the current state of Ugandan law with regard to child sexual abuse, which he claims the bill is supposed to correct.

Jan 3, 2010: Exodus Board Member Plays the “Dupe” In Uganda. The New York Times has finally taken notice of the anti-gay pogrom that has been brewing in Uganda for nearly a year now. They quote Exodus International board member Don Schmierer as saying he felt “duped” for participating in the conference. We remind readers that we had warned Exodus via confirmed email before the conference took place.  Ex–Gay Watch’s David Robers added in comments that he and Warren Throckmorton had also sent warnings to Exodus, all of which were received but went unheeded. BTB’s Jim Burroway wonders whether Exodus will ever man up and take responsibility for their actions.

Jan 4, 2010: BBC Faces Furor in UK’s Parliament. Remember the question the BBC posed in an online forum, asking, “Should homosexuals face execution?” (See Dec 18). An editor responded that he had thought long and hard about posing the question. Well, at least he thought about it…

Jan 4, 2010: Ugandan LGBT Advocates Denounce Child Sexual Abuse. In normal situations, being against child sexual abuse and molestation is an assumed position. But things are not normal in Uganda, where child molestation is constantly used as justification for the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. So LGBT activists put into writing the position they’ve always held. They condemn all forms of child sexual abuse and exploitation, and offer to work with the government to fight it.

Jan 4, 2010: World Vision’s Concern About Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill. The Christian relief oranization World Vision’s national director in Uganda, Rudo Kwaramba, said the Anti-Homosexuality Bill would undermine its work by stigmatizing people with HIV/AIDS and in other communities that the group helps. Kwaramba warned that the stigma could deter people from learning their HIV status.

Jan 4, 2010: Scott Lively: Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill “A Step In the Right Direction”. Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively, one of three Americans who put on the anti-gay conference in Kampala last March, appeared on Alan Colmes radio program to discuss the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. He called it “a step on the right direction” because “they want to actively discourage the mainstreaming of homosexuality.” But Lively said that the bill “goes way over the line in punishment.”

"Can anyone say AIDS?" Scott Lively calling AIDS a just punishment from God at an anti-gay conference in Kampala, Uganda, March 7, 2009.

Jan 6, 2010: BTB Videos: Scott Lively Delivering His “Nuclear Bomb” To Uganda. Two weeks after the March 5-7 anti-gay conference put on by the three American anti-gay activists, Scott Lively bragged that he had delivered a “nuclear bomb against the gay agenda in Uganda.” Ex-Gay Watch and Box Turtle Bulletin obtained videos of that conference, and for the first time we get to see what that “nuclear bomb” looks like.

Jan 6, 2010: “Family” Member Speaks About Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill. Bob Hunter appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show last night on behalf of the secretive conservative Christian group known as The Family, to talk about The Family’s links to Ugandans pushing for the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. He claimed that The Family never involved themselves in politics, and that The Family was working to try to get the Anti-Homosexuality Bill withdrawn. Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, took strong exception to Hunter’s claim that The Family doesn’t involve themselves with politics.

Jan 7, 2010: Museveni To Drop Death Penalty, WaPo Says Bill Is Still “Ugly and Ignorant”. The Associated Press reports that Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has urged that country’s lawmakers to drop the death penalty provision from the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Given the wide and draconian scope of the remaining provisions, the Washington Post points out in a harshly-worded editorial that the move “should neither be celebrated nor considered a concession.”

Jan 7, 2010: AP Misquotes Ugandan LGBT Advocate Saying Dropping Death Penalty Is Good Enough. The Associated Press misquoted Frank Mugisha, head of Sexual Minorities Uganda, as saying that the group will now support Uganda President Yoweri Museveni now that Museveni has called from dropping the death penalty from the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. In a phone conversation he had with Grove City College professor Warren Throckmorton, Mugisha said that the group doesn’t make political endorsements, and added, “I said, ‘if the President protects gays, then he is being democratic.’ We do not know yet what he is going to do.”

Jan 7, 2010: Adventist magazine draws attention to Uganda’s Kill Gays bill. Spectrum publishes online commentary concerned about the endorsement of the Kill Gays bill by the Ugandan Union president. Seventh-day Adventist Church responds with vague statement that does not disavow endorsement for the bill.

Jan 7, 2010: Uganda Cabinet Member Says Anti-Gay Bill May Be Withdrawn. The State Minister for Investments, Mr Aston Kajara, told The Monitor that the government was looking at ways to withdraw the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. “The government’s official position is that we have enough laws to cover homosexuality acts,” Mr Kajara said. “Government did not sponsor this Bill. It is a private member’s Bill. The government is studying it and we may talk to the honourable Member of Parliament (David Bahati) to consider withdrawing it.” Meanwhile, Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsabe Buturo, who is also a member of the secretive American evangelical group known as The Family, insists that the bill will be ready for Parliamentary debate within the next three weeks.

Jan 7, 2010: Sharlet: US Government At the Beck and Call of the Family. Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, appeared on Rachel Maddow’s show tonight to counter some of the claims made by “The Family” member Bob Hunter on Tuesday’s show (See Jan 6). Sharlet countered Bob Hunter’s claim that the Family doesn’t involve itself in politics, and also countered Hunter’s claim that Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo wasn’t a member of The Family. Rachel Maddow led the segment with video clips provided by BTB and Ex-Gay Watch.

Jan 8, 2010: Don Schmierer “sets the record straight”. Don Schmierer continues his defense offensive, claiming that his role in the anti-gay conference last March which kicked this entire mess into high gear was all a “misunderstanding.” BTB’s Timothy Kincaid invites Schmierer to set the record straight at BTB, where we know the true story of how we, David Roberts at Ex-Gay Watch, and Grove City College professor Warren Throckmorton all tried to warn him away from the conference before the conference took place.

Jan 8, 2010: Ugandan MP Refuses To Withdraw Anti-Gay Bill. Throwing cold water on statements reported earlier today by State Minister for Investments Aston Kajara, MP David Bahati said that he has no intentions of withdrawing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Jan 8, 2010: Seventh-day Aventists update their statement on the Ugandan legislation. We had noted that the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Uganda is on record as supporting the Anti-Homosexuality BIll (see Oct 28), and that the American church’s statement was extremely ambiguous (See Jan 7). The Church released another statement from Communications Director Rajmund Dabrowski said that earlier reports “values of the Church as expressed in published statements on same sex conduct.” While encouraging, it’s still a very long way from being a condemnation of the bill itself.

Jan 9, 2010: “Family” Member Defends Statements Made To Rachel Maddow, Provides Transcript of Conversation With Sharlet. Family associate Bob Hunter left a comment which we reposted, in which he defends his statements he made to Rachel Maddow (See Jan 6, and Jeff Sharlet’s counterclaims Jan 7).

Jan 9, 2010: Uganda’s NTV Television Coverage of Conflicting Statements from Cabinet Members. We discovered that Uganda’s independent NTV has a YouTube channel, and posted some video of their coverage of conflicting statements from Cabinet members about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Jan 10, 2010: “Un-African” Homosexuality? Many of those behind Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill complain that homosexuality is a foreign import. Douglas Foster, writing for the Los Angeles Times, prove otherwise his visits to a Johannesburg, South Africa gay nightclub which served as a haven for Africa’s gay diaspora.

Jan 10, 2010: Jeff Sharlet Responds: “We Agree On Central Points… Ugandan Bill Is Wrong and Must Be Stopped.” Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, responded to Bob Hunter’s comment made on January 9 on the BTB web site: “…We’re in agreement on some central points: The bill, proposed and supported by men in relationship with the Family — David Bahati, James Nsaba Buturo, and Yoweri Museveni — is wrong and must be stopped; the Family has been too secretive, which has hindered its ability to take a stand; and Hunter is doing the right thing by going public in order to make that stand.”

Jan 10, 2010: New Zealand Herald looks at gay scapegoating by African leaders. The New Zealand Herald profiles a Uganda doctor named by the notorious tabloid Red Pepper as one of of the “city tycoons who bankroll Ugandan homos” (see Dec. 30). They also review official homophobia that is rampant throughout Africa.

Jan 10, 2010: Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill Still Has American Defenders, Death Penalty And All. Grove City College professor Warren Throckmorton has a rundown on several American evangelicals who support Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill, with some even supporting the death penalty or explaining it away by lying about its application.

Jan 10, 2010: Uganda’s Public Vigilante Campaign Continues To Claim Victims. After noting the New Zealand Herald’s article earlier this morning on a Ugandan doctor dealing with his public outing by Uganda’s notoriously homophobic tabloid Red Pepper, we find that the same tabloid gives further evidence of an ongoing public vigilante campaign.

Scott Lively

Jan 10, 2010: Scott Lively Endorses “Revised” Ugandan Bill. Do Exodus and Cohen?
Scott Lively posted a statement on his web site that he endorses the “revised” Ugandan bill, apparently sight-unseen since a marked-up bill has not been made available. Lively says that he likes the “revised” bill because, according to him, the death penalty was dropped and “choice” of counseling will be offered in lieu of spending the rest of one’s life in a Ugandan prison. But what about the rest of the bill’s many provisions? And do Exodus and Cohen endorse such a move?

Jan 11, 2010: Mixed Messages Can Lead to Violence. Dr. Jack Drescher, Emeritus Editor of the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health, explains how mixed messages of “loving the sinner” but “hating the sin” can lead to the kinds of violence we are witnessing in Uganda.

Jan 11, 2010: Head of Uganda’s Catholic Church Rejects Anti-Gay Bill. Repeating a statement issued just before Christmas (see Dec 24), Archbishop Cyprian Lwanga reiterated the Church’s opposition to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Jan 11, 2010: Grassroots Adventists seek denunciation of draconian anti-gay bill from Uganda Adventist leader who endorsed it. There has been increasing attention paid among American Adventists to statements made by the president of the denomination’s Uganda Union Mission, John Kakembo (see Nov 2). The blog for the quarterly magazine Adventist Today is urging readers to encourage church leaders to speak out against the bill.

Jan 12, 2010: Lutherans tells State Department that Uganda bill is “abhorrent injustice”. The Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to express the church’s grave concern over the Proposed Anti-Homosexuality bill in Uganda.

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni addressing members of his ruling party.

Jan 12, 2010: Ugandan President To Pressure Anti-Gay Bill Sponsor. Uganda’s The Independent and The Monitor both report that President Yoweri Museveni announced at a party meeting that he will meet with MP David Bahati “to reach a position that will leave both the local and international community satisfied.”

Jan 12, 2010: Audio and News Reports of Uganda President’s Comments on Anti-Gay Bill. We were able to obtain an early TV report on Museveni’s statement before the Executive Council of his ruling party, and an anonymous BTB reader in Uganda provided us with audio of his remarks.

Jan 12, 2010: Ugandan State-Owned Media Highlights Museveni’s Speech Against Anti-Gay Bill. Anonymous reports indicate that Museveni’s remarks got wide play on state-owned television. We also noted that the state-owned New Vision newspaper gave extensive coverage to his statement that he will meet with MP David Bahati to discuss the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Jan 12, 2910: US Senator Threatens Uganda With Trade Sanctions. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), chair of the Senate finance Committee’s subcommittee on International Trade, Customs and Global Competitiveness, released a statement threatening Uganda with trade sanctions if that nation proceeds with passing the wide-ranging and draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Jan 13, 2010: Transcript of Ugandan President’s Remarks To Ruling Party Meeting. Provided by an anonymous BTB reader in Uganda.

Jan 13, 2010: Ugandan State-Owned TV’s Cautious Coverage of Museveni’s Remarks. Another BTB reader in Uganda provided us with a video image of state-owned UBC coverage of President Museveni’s remarks before his ruling party concerning the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. MP David Bahati was reportedly on another television station, still determined to push the bill through Parliament.

Jan 13, 2010: US Human Rights Commission To Hold Hearings on Ugandan Anti-Gay Bill. US Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WS) announced that she will chair a meeting of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission next week to hear testimony on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that is now before Uganda’s Parliament. The Commission is a congressional body charged with promoting public awareness and developing strategies for Congress in the area of human rights.

Former Ugandan ambassador Olara A. Otunnu

Jan 13, 2010: Voice Of America on Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The Voice of America’s Straight Talk Africa program devoted its hour to discussing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, with guests Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power; Ugandan MP David Bahati, sponsor of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill; and others. Jeff Sharlet revealed that Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo plans to attend the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C., which is put on by the secretive Evangelical Group known as “the Family.” Former Ugandan ambassador Olara A. Otunnu, who served under Milton Obote’s government before it was overthrown in a civil war by Museveni, announced his opposition to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, calling it a violation of basic human rights. He is angling to be the Uganda People’s Congress nominee for the 2011 Presidential election.

Jan 14, 2010: Ugandan News Blog: “What Makes Someone Gay and Can People Change Orientation?” When I saw that title appear on the Uganda Talks blog of that nation’s The Independent newspaper this morning, I was prepared for the worst. But then I saw the byline: Warren Throckmorton. He alone among American evangelicals was out front on this issue clear back in March of last year (see March 5).

Jan 14, 2010: Ugandan Opposition Party Reiterates Stance Against Anti-Gay Bill. Leaders of Uganda’s main opposition party, the Uganda People’s Congress, reiterate their opposition to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. This reinforces a statement made by the party’s General Secretary just before Christmas (see Dec 24). It also builds on aspiring UPC presidential candidate Olara Otunno’s comments made to Voice of America (see Jan 13).

Jan 14, 2010: Video: Ugandan MP Remains Defiant on Anti-Gay Bill. MP David Bahati, sponsor of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, appeared on Uganda’s independent NTV. He remained confident that pending discussions with President Yoweri Museveni’s cabinet (see Jan 12, 13) will produce “a fine piece of legislation.”

Jan 14, 2010: Video: Ugandan State-Owned TV Coverage of Public Reaction to Anti-Gay Bill. We’ve been noticing the prominent yet cautious and non-committal coverage by Uganda’s state-owned media (See Jan 12, 13) of President Yoweri Museveni’s comment that his cabinet will “discuss” the Anti-Homosexuality Bill with sponsor MP David Bahati. Uganda’s state-owned UBC television airied public reactions to the prospect that the bill might be withdrawn. If this is to be taken as a tea-leaf, it’s not an encouraging one.

Jan 14, 2010: US Trade Rep Strongly Urges Sanctions Over Anti-Gay Bill. U.S. Trade Representative Kirk Wyden has written a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday recommending that she review Uganda’s trade status with the US if the Anti-Homosexuality Bill becomes law.

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni

Jan 15, 2010: Beware of a “Compromise” In Uganda. Uganda’s Speaker of Parliament insisted that the Anti-Homosexuality Bill will go forward in Parliament, and the Foreign Minister denies that the bill has become a foreign policy issue — directly contradicting President Yoweri Museveni’s “go slow” remarks (see Jan 12, 13). Given that Uganda is effectively run as a one-party state by a President entering his twenty-fifth year in power, is he getting things lined up for a “compromise”? And considering the breathtaking scope of the bill, could there even be a serious compromise?

Jan 15, 2010: Ugandan Anti-Gay Rally Announced for February 17. Martin Ssempa, who enjoys close ties to American evangelicals as well as the Ugandan ruling family, announced a “million man march” for February 17 to support the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. This follows earlier calls for a rally on January 19 (See Dec 27, 30). This appears to be a re-scheduling of those earlier rallies.

Jan 15, 2010: On American Christians In Uganda: Silence As Consent. National Public Radio broadcast a story about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, exploring the silence and delayed “mortification” of American Evangelicals to what’s happening in Uganda. Says Jim Naughton, a former canon in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., I think if they were mortified, they would have been mortified immediately. Instead they were mortified — oh, two, three months into the campaign against this thing, when it was getting real traction.”

Jan 15, 2010: UN Official Condemns Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The UN High Commissioner on Human Rights condemned the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, saying “this type of discrimination is unacceptable.”

Ugandan MP David Bahati

Jan 16, 2010: Uganda’s “Kill-The-Gays” Bill Author Coming to National Prayer Breakfast. MP David Bahati, sponsor of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, announced that he will be coming to Washington, D.C. to attend the National Prayer Breakfast put on by the American secretive Evangelical group known as “the Family.” Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo will also reportedly attend the event (see Jan 13).

Jan 18, 2010: Uganda’s Kill Gays Bill author not coming to US National Prayer Breakfast. So says the Family’s member Bob Hunter and others within the organization to Warren Throckmorton.

Jan 19: 2010: Is Uganda’s “Kill-the-Gays” Bill Author Coming to Washington or Not? Ugandan MP David Bahati says he is, Bob Hunter says he’s not. But is Hunter authorized to speak on behalf of the Family? Not according to his statement on Rachel Maddow’s show (see Jan 6). Why doesn’t the Family’s leader, David Coe, speak up? Why won’t anyone go on the record on behalf of the Family?

Jan 19, 2010: Prayer Breakfast Spokesperson: Bahati’s Not Coming. Ambassador Richard Swett, identified as a spokesperson for the National Prayer Breakfast, confirmed that MP David Bahati will not be coming to the National Prayer Breakfast.

Jan 20, 2010: Uganda’s Cabinet Debates Anti-Gay Bill. Uganda’s Cabinet met to discuss the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Early indications aren’t promising. It looks like the bill will be amended but not withdrawn. Given the wide-ranging implications for the bill, it’s hard to imaging an acceptable “compromise.”

Jan 20, 2010: Uganda’s Cabinet Rejects Withdrawal of Anti-Gay Bill. Uganda’s NTV reports that the Cabinet has rejected the idea of withdrawing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Jan 20, 2010: Twelve Senators Voice Opposition to Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill. Eleven Democrats and one Independent Senators have written to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni calling on him to block the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. We have posted the complete letter online.

Jan 21, 2010: Ninety US Congress Reps Denounce Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) issued a press release announcing that more than ninety colleagues in the House of Representatives, including Barny Frank (D-MA) and Jared Polis (D-CO), have sent separate letters to President Barack Obama and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni calling the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill “the most extreme and hateful attempt by an African country to criminalize their LGBT community.” We have posted both letters online.

Jan 22, 2010: Congressional Human Rights Commission Hears Testimony On Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) chaired a meeting of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission to discuss the proposed Anti-Homosexuality. Julius Kaggwa, a leader of the Kampala-based Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights & Constitutional Law, was among those who testified, along with Karl Wycoff, deputy assistant secretary of state for East African Affairs, Christine Lubinski, executive director of the HIV Medicine Association, and Cary Alan Johnson, executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission.

Jan 22, 2010: NTV: Uganda’s Cabinet Reaches Non-Compromise “Compromise”. According to this report from Uganda’s independent NTV, the Cabinet has agreed to remove the death penalty from the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, but apparently virtually nothing else.

Jan 25, 2010: Martin Ssempa’s Pornographic Demons. Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa appeared on a talk show on Uganda’s state-owned UBC television, where he displayed a strange obsession with what he imagines to be the sex lives of gay men. Meanwhile, the independent Monitor newspaper reported on a press conference Ssempa held that broke up early when his audience walked out in disgust with his presentation.

Jan 28, 2010: Bahati Won’t Attend the National Prayer Breakfast, But Others From Uganda Will. It appears that while MP David Bahati, sponsor of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, won’t be coming to Washington, D.C. to attend the national prayer breakfast, others from Uganda will. But what we don’t know is who.

Jan 28, 2010: Why did CNSNews.com Falsify Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill? Conservative websites like CNSNews.com are starting to report on Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The problem is that they are distorting what the bill would actually do, and criticizing those who oppose it. Which is a round-about way of observing that the bill has quite a few supporters in this country. But why won’t they come right out and say it?

Andrew Wommack Ministries in Kampala

Feb 3, 2010: Andrew Wommack and His Ministries Want To Kill You. Well, now someone has come right out and said it: Andrew Wommack Ministries, which maintain offices in Kampala, fully supports the bill.

Feb 3, 2010: Soulforce Founder Mel White’s Open Letter to American Pastors on Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill. The former ghostwriter for Jerry Falwell issued an open letter calling on American evangelicals who broadcast in Uganda to oppose the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Feb 3, 2010: American Prayer Hour vs. National Prayer Breakfast. “Moses”, a gay Ugandan who is seeking asylum in the United States, was a featured speaker at a news conference announcing the American Prayer Hour, a multi-city event billed as an alternative to the National Prayer Breakfast organized by the secretive Evangelical group known as the Family. Moses spoke while wearing a paper bag because he feared being identified if he is forced to return to Uganda.

Feb 9, 2010: Did the Anglican Church of Uganda Endorse Criminalization With Death Penalty? Archbishop Orombi of the Church of Uganda calls for legislation separate from the Kill Gays bill to enact a number of provisions that would increase harassment of gay people are the banning of any human rights endeavors.

Feb 10, 2010: Anglican Church of Uganda endorses a milder evil – do local Anglican Churches? Clarification on the statement of Archbishop Orombi and an invitation to readers to participate in having local churches state the support for or opposition to the political efforts of the ecclesiastical partners.

Cliff Kincaid

Feb 11, 2010: Right-Wing Accuracy In Media: Abandoning freedom of speech and the press are a “natural reaction” to pro-gay “propagandizing”. Not only does Cliff Kincaid fully support Uganda’s draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill in its current for, he denounces anyone who tries to show what the bill really does and goes after Republicans who have denounced it.

Feb 15, 2010: Ugandan Police Block Demonstration to Support Anti-Gay Bill, Pro-Gay Conference Held In Secret. Ugandan police vow to block pastor Martin Ssempa’s planned “million man march” slated for February 17 (see Jan 15). Meanwhile, an American pastor from Tulsa traveled to Kampala to hold a day-long conference to condemn the bill. That conference was held in secret and attracted approximately 200 people. Police announced that the pastor would be arrested if they found him.

Feb 16, 2010: Despite Protest Ban, Hundreds of Ugandans Call For Killing Gays. Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa got around the protest ban by quickly organizing a protest in Jinja, about fifty miles east of Kampala.

Feb 16, 2010: Southern African Anglicans Denounce Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill. Anglican bishops of several southern African countries released a statement calling the Anti-Homosexuality Bill “a gross violation of human rights,” and deplores “the violent language used against the gay community across Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Feb 17, 2010: Ugandan Police Block Kampala Anti-Gay Demo. Uganda’s independent newspaper Daily Monitor reports again that Ugandan police are blocking Ssempa’s planned “million man march.” The anonymous blogger GayUganda reconstructs a timeline and concludes that the Jinja demonstration was organized after police announced the ban for Kampala.

Martin Ssempa showing gay porn

Feb 17, 2010: When All Else Fails, Reach For the Porn. Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa thought he hit on a brilliant idea to explain why the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was needed: just show gay porn in his church.

Feb 17, 2010: How Uganda’s Proposed Anti-Gay Bill Might Kill Just About Anyone, Gay or Straight. In a new eye-opening video, Rob Tisinai demonstrates just how open to rampant abuse this abysmally-constructed Anti-Homosexuality Bill really is.

Feb 18, 2010: World Net Daily and Molotov Mitchell Want To Kill You. World Net Daily posted a video defending of Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, including a full-throated justification for the death penalty.

Feb 18, 2010: Polygamy a Slippery Slope to Killing Gays. Opponents of same-sex marriage often claim that allowing marriage equality would be the first skid down the slippery slope to polygamy. But while Uganda considers the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, the government is defending polygamy against a constitutional challenge aimed at outlawing the practice.

Feb 19, 2010: Ugandan Lawmaker Would Kill His Own Gay Son. During a human rights forum held in Kampala, MP Otto Odonga declared that he would execute his own son if he were found guilty of homosexuality.

Feb 24, 2010: Ugandan LGBT Advocate Talks About Anti-Gay Bill. Frank Mugisha, chairperson of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUg), appears in a YouTube video to talk about conditions in Uganda, the role of the three American anti-gay activists whose conference last March encouraged the creation of the draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill, and a death in police custody of one gay man in Mbale.

The Red Pepper's cover story of February 25, 2010. (Click to enlarge.)

Feb 25, 2010: Ugandan Pastor Wars Reignite, Benny Hinn Accused of Sodomy. Uganda’s notorious tabloid The Red Pepper is at it again, this time accusing American televangelist Benny Hinn of sodomy. We explore the background of this latest campaign. Clearly, heterosexuals would become as much a target of the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill as much as gay people.

Feb 26, 2010: Will Gay Porn Becomes Chritianity’s New Recruiting Tool? A colimnist for Uganda’s independent Daily Monitor authored a brilliant essay skewering pastor Martin Ssempa’s decision to show gay porn in his church (See Feb 17).

Feb 28, 2010: Ugandan Religious Leaders, Human Rights Advocates to Petition Against Anti-Gay Bill. A group of Ugandan human rights advocates and AIDS service providers led by Anglican priest Canon Gideon Byamugisha, announcing a meeting with Parliament speaker Edward Ssekandi Kiwanuka to present a petition signed by nearly half a million people around the world. The meeting would be held the following day (March 1).

Mar 1, 2010: UK Scouts Condemn Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill. On first blush, that’s doesn’t look like a headline that would strike fear in the hearts of those who support Uganda’s proposed “kill the gays” bill, but there is an important angle to it. Ugandan Member of Parliament David Bahati, the bill’s sponsor, also happens to be chairman of Uganda’s Scouts Board. IK Scouts call on the world governing body to take action against the Ugandan scouting organization.

Mar 1, 2010: Martin Ssempa Has A Blog. Not much to add to that.

Mar 2, 2010: Group Presents Petition Against Anti-Gay Bill to Ugandan Parliament, Warns of More Pastor Wars. We were able to provide a video of television coverage of a group led by Ugandan pastor Gideon Byamugisha presenting a petition signed by nearly half a million people to Parliament Speaker Edward Ssekandi Kiwanuka (See Feb 28). Canon Byamugisha warned that the bill would encourage more witchhunts against innocent people. And speaking of witchhunts, we provide more information on the Red Pepper’s attempt to name American Televangelist Benny Hinn as a “bonkmate” (See Feb 25).

Mar 2, 2010: American Political Science Association Moves Conference From Uganda. The theme for the APSA’s 2010 African Summer Workshop is Global Perspectives on Politics and Gender. But given the current political climate in Uganda, the APSA felt that it could not hold a productive forum in Kampala as scheduled.

Mar 3, 2010: Reuters: Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill Hinders Investments. Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill is likely to hamper the country’s ability to obtain aid grants from the U.S. government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), according to senior adviser Cassandra Butts. “How a government deals with its human rights situation is definitely an indicator that we think is important.”

Mar 4, 2010: State Department Investigating LGBT Treatment In Uganda and Throughout Africa. In response to a letter written by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), the US State Department confirmed that it has repeatedly “reached out at the highest levels” to Uganda’s political leadership, including President Yoweri Museveni, to urge killing the kill-the-gays bill. The State Department also revealed that they were “also evaluating attitudes and laws that marginalize and criminalize and penalize the LGBT community in Africa more broadly.”

Mar 4, 2010: Uganda’s Unfair Trade, Coming To Your Grocer’s Coffee Aisle. An American coffee distributor has begun importing organic coffee from Uganda in a bid to improve the lives of impoverished coffee growers. Now that the coffee is starting to appear in Sam’s Clubs as a discount organic gourmet coffee, a Ugandan columnist writing for the Daily Monitor observes that this poses a dilemna for the well-informed American.

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