Box Turtle Bulletin

Ugandan LGBT Activists Denounce The Call Uganda, Call for Protests in Kansas City

Ugandan LGBT advocates Valentine Kalende and Frank Mugisha have issued a statement asking for your help to “stop TheCall Ministries from fueling homophobia in Uganda through their May 22, 2010 Crusade.” They also call upon LGBT Americans to protest Lou Engle’s The Call Ministries in Kansas City. Anyone in Kansas and Missouri up for it?

**THECALL MINISTRIES FROM USA INTENDS TO FUEL HOMOPHOBIA IN UGANDA**

URGENT CALL TO ACTION:

STOP THECALL MINISTRIES FROM FUELING HOMOPHOBIA IN UGANDA THROUGH THEIR MAY 2, 2010, CRUSADE

22.04.2010

Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) condemns Lou Engle’s upcoming crusade scheduled for May 2, 2010. The crusade could cause incalculable damage, as it is designed to label homosexuality as a “vice” in Uganda and to incite people to “fight” against this “vice” in society. In the context of an already inflamed extremist religious movement against homosexuality in Uganda sparked off by American evangelicals, the inflammatory preaching of Lou Engle and his associates is likely to incite further violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people in Uganda.

Sexual Minorities Uganda calls on all human rights defenders, organizations, religious communities and leaders, governments, and civil society, globally to take action to ensure that Lou Engle and his associates do not set foot in Uganda and that the Call Uganda does not proceed with this inflammatory and hate-inducing plan. While Sexual Minorities Uganda supports freedom of worship, we recognize the need for restriction on any speech that incites hatred and violence against a minority group. If a prayer event is to be held in Uganda, it should be done in a manner which encourages Christ-like love and acceptance and does not incite hatred and violence toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people.

Background

Lou Engle’s extremist and violence-laden preaching is often laced with references to gay people as being possessed by demons. During a rally for Proposition 8 in California, he called for Christian martyrs. His inflammatory speech and focus on martyrdom can easily incite people in Uganda to disregard people’s human rights and go to extreme measures to eliminate whatever they characterize as “evil” or a “vice”. For example, Lou Engle preaches, “The most ‘dangerous terrorist’ is not Islam but God. One of God’s names is the avenger of blood. Have you worshiped that God yet?”

The crusade is organized by TheCall Uganda and ten Ugandan Pentecostal pastors. According to www.thecalluganda.com, the crusade is ‘intended to awaken and revive the young and the old, men and women, church and family, government and the public to fight vices eating away our society’. TheCall intends to address homosexuality in Uganda as a what they label a “vice”. The crusade is preceded by a 21 day fast.

Lou Engle is a core founder of TheCALL in the U.S. but has expanded chapters to different countries. Last year, TheCALL sent an American Evangelical, JoAnna Watson of Touching Hearts International, to be based in Uganda full-time to orchestrate this crusade to fight vices like homosexuality.

This crusade could have the same kind of impact that the March 2009 anti-gay conference had in Uganda. Scott Lively, Caleb Lee Brundidge and Don Schmierer reinforced the desire of some religious leaders to persuade the government to create laws which would eliminate homosexuality from the nation. Eventually, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was introduced in the Parliament of Uganda by MP’s David Bahati and Benson Obua.

Lou Engle’s crusade will be the second major American evangelist event with an anti-homosexuality agenda after the trio to set foot in Uganda and will definitely incite our people into more hatred of homosexuals that may lead to further violence. This is very evident with the nature of preaching that he does in the US. He claims that homosexuals have demons and has mobilized Americans on several occasions for anti –gay rallies. Since the Bill was tabled, the rate of violence and homophobia has increased drastically in Uganda. Lou Engle’s inflammatory preaching is likely to exacerbate an already worrying situation.

Actions:

• Call and/or write Letters of Protest to TheCall Ministries and ask them stop exporting homophobia to Uganda. The event they are organizing is dangerous to LGBTI people in Uganda.
• Contact:

JoAnna Watson, Coordinator of The Call Uganda
Email: Joannawatsonthint@yahoo.com
Phone: +256 779 864 985

Lou Engle
Email: response@thecall.com
Phone: +1 816 285 9351

• Hold demonstrations and/or marches in Kansas City where Lou Engle’s church is located and protest against TheCALL Uganda

ASK LOU ENGLE AND THECALL MINISTRY TO:

1. STOP THECALL UGANDA CRUSADE IN THE FORM THAT IT IS PLANNED
2. PROMOTE RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS RATHER THAN INCITING VIOLENCE
3. STOP EXPORTING HOMOPHOBIA TO AFRICA

For further information, contact:

Valentine Kalende Email: kalendenator@gmail.com Tel: +256752324249

Frank Mugisha Email:frankmugisha@gmail.com Tel:+256772616062

Will Lou Engle Unleash Another “Nuclear Bomb” In Uganda?

Here is an audio recording of Lou Engle’s The Call rally held in Las Vegas on September 25, 2007.  (I have posted the transcript after the jump for those with slow Internet connections.)

This provides a good idea of how Engle sees gay people, and it raises reasonable fears that he will provide similar over-the-top rhetoric when he holds another The Call rally in Kampala, Uganda on May 2.

Now compare Engle’s rhetoric to Scott Lively’s “Nuclear Bomb” from last year:

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

That talk, along with subsequent meetings with members of Parliament, added fuel to an already raging anti-gay bonfire, which eventually led to the introduction of the draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill into Parliament later that year. That bill calls for executing gay people who happen to be HIV positive or who are “serial offenders” of homosexuality and related offenses — related offenses which include advocating on behalf of LGBT people, providing aid and services to LGBT people, and failing to turn LGBT people over to police.

That was just the official reaction. Unofficial reaction to that “Nuclear Bomb” include demonstrations, public outing campaigns of private individuals, arrests, and even at least one death.

This is the tinderbox that Engle will strut into with his flame-throwing rhetoric in a little more than a week. If he deploys similar rhetoric as he did in Las Vegas — and there’s absolutely no reason to believe he will in any way modify his well-established routine — the aftermath will be entirely predictable. We have a well-documented precedent.

If Engle continues on his well-trodden course, he cannot pretend that no one can forsee the consequences of what he says. He risks unleashing another round of bloodletting in Uganda. And if he does, he will bear those stains for the remainder of his days.

Click here to read about Lou Engle’s Homosexual Demons.

Status of Ugandan Anti-Gay Bill Appears In Doubt — For Now

Tomorrow’s edition of Uganda’s largest independent newspaper, Daily Monitor, citing unnamed sources, reports that a Cabinet committee has recommended changes to the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill “that preclude the possibility of discarding it.” But later, the same article says:

The recommendations mean that the legislation may never be passed in its current shape, if at all, and that it may be long before it is discussed with seriousness.

Which makes it difficult to discern exactly where the bill stands.

Daily Monitor does not indicate what changes were recommended to “soften” the proposed legislation.

When Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni cited international opposition and cautioned ruling party leaders in January to “go slow” on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, he announced a Cabinet committee to meet with the bill’s sponsor, MP David Bahati, to iron out some of the issues with the bill. Four months later, this may well be the same Cabinet committee preparing to making their recommendations to the full Cabinet.

The unnamed Cabinet source castigates the bill’s sponsor, MP David Bahati, for “not applying the kind of sophistication that would have anticipated the international condemnation” of the bill:

“It is far from being a law,” a source on the committee said, requesting anonymity so as to preserve his credibility. “It is a [good] principle, but the approach of the mover has stigmatised his mission.”

It is not known when, if ever, the bill will be taken up by the full Cabinet.

Meanwhile, the bill has been referred to two Parliament committees: the Presidential Affairs committee and the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee. Despite earlier promises that the bill would be among Parliament’s top priorities when it returned from its recess last February, the bill has apparently languished in both committees with little if any action. Two weeks ago, one Legal Affairs committee member declared the bill “useless” and the chairman confirmed that the bill was not a priority.

Yesterday, the Guardian observed that Ugandan officials “appear to be using stalling tactics, suggesting it will not come to a vote until 2011,” but warned that this could change depending on the political climate in next year’s presidential elections.

One factor that could lead to the bill’s revival could be whether presidential candidate Olara Otunnu of the Uganda Peoples Congress poses a serious challenge to Museveni’s bid to extend his 25-year reign for another five year term. Otunnu, whose party is on record as opposing the draconian bill, is unmarried and the subject to a widespread anti-gay whisper campaign. Otunnu himself has declared the bill “a violation of basic human rights.” Otunno’s candidacy has already drawn a steady stream of official harassment on the part of police and governmental officials against his campaign.

Another factor, of course, could be overwhelming popular sentiment. As we reported earlier, the first week of May will mark several high-profile Pentecostal rallies and marches, including one rally to be staged by American anti-gay extremist Lou Engle. That May 2 rally in Kampala, The Call Uganda, will identify “homosexuality and increased immorality” as a “social evil” to be addressed at the rally.

Ugandan LGBT people fear that these rallies may unleash another anti-gay pogrom and wave of public vigilantism similar to the one that followed a much smaller anti-gay conference put on by three American activists last year. That conference went ahead despite warnings from international human rights groups, local LGBT advocates, one lone American Evangelical, and even this humble blogger. The potential fallout from The Call Uganda is anybody’s guess but one man’s direct responsibility: Lou Engle.

American Evangelist To Rally Against Gays In Uganda

The month of May will be a very dangerous time to be gay in Uganda, as Pentecostal churches there gear up for a series of crusades, marches and rallies commemorating the 50th Jubilee of the Pentecostal movement there. An anonymous BTB reader in Uganda reports that television is already carrying commercials advertising at least one event, a three-day conference to be held at the sports grounds at Makerere University (Uganda’s largest institution of higher learning) with a march and rally to be held the following Friday, May 7.

In the midst of that expected furor steps yet another American anti-gay extremist, Lou Engle of The Call, who has announced plans to hold a rally in Kampala on May 2, also at the Makerere University Sports Field. The Call Uganda’s web site gives these reasons for holding the rally:

It is intended to awaken and revive the young and the old, men and women, church and family, government and the public and to fight vices eating away at our society. We shall all join our hearts across tribal, political, denominational, and generational boundaries, to cry to God to help us with the challenges in our country such as:

• The heightened political tensions and wrangles in the country, especially as we go towards the 2011 general elections
• The increasing level of social evils in our society, some which are threatening our values and lifestyles e.g.
  • Witchcraft and human sacrifice
  • Homosexuality and increased immorality
  • Disasters and the resultant suffering of the people
  • The decay of morals and infrastructure of our city Kampala

Engle’s emotionally-charged extremism and violence-laden rhetoric has become quite familiar here in the U.S. Engle believes that gays are possessed by demons, and was part of a major rally for Prop 8 in San Diego where he called for Christian martyrs. Casey Sanchez, of the Southern Poverty Law Center describes one talk that Engle gave this way:

“I believe we’re headed to an Elijah/Jezebel showdown on the Earth, not just in America but all over the globe, and the main warriors will be the prophets of Baal versus the prophets of God, and there will be no middle ground,” said Engle. He was referring to the Baal of the Old Testament, a pagan idol whose followers were slaughtered under orders from the prophet Elijah.

“There’s an Elijah generation that’s going to be the forerunners for the coming of Jesus, a generation marked not by their niceness but by the intensity of their passion,” Engle continued. “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. Such force demands an equal response, and Jesus is going to make war on everything that hinders love, with his eyes blazing fire.”

Engle has also said, “The most ‘dangerous terrorist’ is not Islam but God. One of God’s names is the avenger of blood. Have you worshiped that God yet?”

Lou Engle at The Call in Nashville, 2007

Last year, a BTB reader shared with me his experience of attending a Call rally in Nashville in 2007.  Tyler (his last name is being withheld) remembers that day vividly — July 7, 2007 (07/07/07 was their “Holy Date”):

I went to Nashville and the day was a whole day of fasting and prayer to “turn the nation back to God.”  Their tactics include, in my opinion, a lot of manipulation using emotionally-driven songs, yelling, dancing, and the like to get individuals charged up.

The Call Uganda’s web site lists the following endorsements by Ugandan Christian leaders:

• Bishop Simon Peter Emiau – Chairman Evangelical Fellowship of Uganda;
• Archbishop Luke Henry Orombi – Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Uganda;
• Pastor Jotham Mutebi – Chairman Full Gospel Churches of Uganda;
• Pastor Titus Oundo – Chairman Deliverance Churches of Uganda;
• Apostle John Mulinde – World Trumpet Mission, which also has extensive staff in Orlando, Florida under International Director Mark Daniel.
• Apostle Jackson Ssenyonga – Christian Life Ministries;
• Pastor Gary Skinner – Watoto (formerly Kampala Pentecostal) Church. An elder of that church is Stephen Langa, who helped to organize last year’s anti-gay conference featuring three American anti-gay activists. That conference delivered the “nuclear bomb” that served as a precursor and catalyst to the draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill that is now before Uganda’s Parliament.
• Apostle Joseph Ssewadda – General Overseer of Born Again Federation;
• Peter Asiimwe – Uganda Evangelical Mission Agency;
• Pastor Fred Wantaate – Coordinator for Pentecostal Golden Jubilee – Full Gospel Church.

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

The next several weeks will prove to be exceedingly dangerous for LGBT Ugandans. Last year’s conference led to a massive public anti-gay pogrom that included a public vigilante campaign in a major Ugandan tabloid and various FM stations in Kampala in which gay people were forcibly outed. We have reports that several people lost their jobs and were abandoned by their families as a result. Several were arrested, and there are reports of at least one death in the eastern city of Mbale.

Frank Mugisha, president Sexual Minorities of Uganda, said, “Gay people are already fleeing their homes and have to move from house to house because of threats to their lives. Americans need to stop Lou Engle from coming to Uganda.”

When we first reported on the anti-gay conference last March in Uganda, we warned that it was a very dangerous move. But even knowing and warning of those dangers, we had no idea that it would ultimately lead to a proposal to put gay people to death under certain circumstances.

After that experience, there now can be no excuse. We know what can happen following rallies like this one. And whatever happens as an aftermath of this rally, no one can say they could not predict what would happen next. Given the virulent hatred openly expressed by ordinary Ugandans and their religious leaders toward the gay community, Engle’s rally is a dangerous and reckless escalation.

UK Prepares to Ban Ugandan “Kill the Gays” MP; Ugandan Parliament To Delay Until 2011

The Guardian reports two new developments in Uganda’s attempt to legislate gay people out of existence. First, the British Foreign Office, the Department for International Development and the Borders Agency are drawing up plans and procedures to ban Ugandan MP David Bahati, sponsor of the draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill, if he does not drop the bill. That bill, if passed, would provide lifetime imprisonment for gays and lesbians, and would impose the death sentence under certain circumstances. It would also criminalize knowing gay people with three years imprisonment for failure to report them to police. The Guardian also reports that a senior unnamed British governmental official said that the bill would become “major diplomatic incident if the Ugandans do not back down.”

The second development also comes from the same story in the Guardian:

Ugandan government officials appear to be using stalling tactics, suggesting it will not come to a vote until 2011, deflecting pressure from a government that could change in the forthcoming general election.

If true, that would confirm earlier reports which suggest that the bill is dead for now. But with President Yoweri Museveni’s bid to extend his twenty-five year rule for another five years, the bill could be resurrected at any time if Museveni decides it is to his political advantage.

Joyce Meyers: Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill “Profoundly Offensive, Dangerous, and Disturbing Attack”

Our post asking whether popular televangelist Joyce Meyer supported Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexualty Bill inspired Michael Jones to follow up with a post at Change.org asking the same thing. I had written to Rev. Meyer’s ministries three tmies, and Michael also wrote seeking a statement. Michael now sends word that he has an answer. Here’s the statement:

It is increasingly evident that the proposed “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” introduced in the Ugandan parliament is a profoundly offensive, dangerous and disturbing attack on the very foundation of individual liberties and human rights afforded not only to the good citizens of Uganda, but on the at-large global community.

If enacted, this hostile legislation will also further, and adversely, serve as a major setback in the global health efforts to combat Uganda’s AIDS epidemic and reduce the record-high infection rates among the country’s HIV population, an already at-risk community that could be further ostracized, threatened, and targeted as potential criminals.

Our missions and ministry message has always been to teach that the Word of God is about helping people – all people – learn that God loves them and has a purpose for their lives, not put guilt or condemnation on them.

As a global society, we do not have to agree, endorse or condone the lifestyle choices of others. However, history has taught us that we equally cannot and should not excuse those who would hide behind religion or misuse God’s word to justify bigotry and persecution.

With this statement, our motivation and intent is not to interfere with Uganda’s political agenda or internal affairs.  As believers, however, we have a moral and ethical duty that compels us to speak out against injustice wherever it may be in the world.

Joyce Meyer Ministries

The Quiet Death of Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” Bill?

Uganda’s draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which imposes life imprisonment on gay people, with the death penalty added under certain circumstances, was introduced in Parliament last fall. It was then sent to two Parliamentary committees for further review, namely the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee and the Presidential Affairs Committee. A month later, Uganda president Yoweri Museveni urged the Parliament to “go slow” on the bill, citing international outcry and the resulting foreign policy implications.

And slow it has certainly gone since then. When Parliament returned from recess in early February, the anti-gay bill was expected to be near the top of the agenda with passage expected in March and a presidential signature by Easter. But Easter has come and gone with no apparent action from either Parliamentary committee. AFP is now reporting that Members of Parliament say there is little enthusiasm for the bill and no time table has been set for its debate:

“I think it is useless and will not achieve what it intends to achieve,” said Alex Ndeezi, a member of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee tasked with reviewing the bill before it can be presented to the house.

…The panel’s chairman Stephen Tashyoba said the draft law was not a priority. “As far as I am concerned, we really have more urgent matters to discuss like electoral reforms, which are already behind schedule,” he said.

Does Televangelist Joyce Meyer Support Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill?

That might be an odd question to ask. After all, televangelist Joyce Meyer isn’t known for getting involved with culture wars type stuff. My observations of what Meyer’s all about seems to jive pretty well with this Wikipedia entry:

Meyer frequently talks about overcoming obstacles and finding strength to deal with difficult circumstances. She shares her views on how to deal with everyday life situations, often drawing on her own experiences. Meyer speaks candidly and with a sense of humor, sharing with her audience her own shortcomings and taking playful jabs at stereotypical church behavior.

Building directory for Crown House in Kampala, home to Joyce Meyer Ministries' Uganda office in Suite 11. (Click to enlarge)

She’s also been criticized for her lavish lifestyle, but that’s not uncommon with contemporary televangelists, nor is it the point of this post which is this: Does she support Uganda’s draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill?

There’s a good reason why I’m asking that question. According to Meyer’s web site, her Enjoying Everyday Life program broadcasts all over the world. BTB readers in Uganda report that Meyer enjoys tremendous popularity in that country, where her program is not only available over satellite television via South Africa, but is also broadcast over the air via Lighthouse Television (JPG: 460KB). LTV appears to be an affiliate of Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) headquartered in Costa Mesa, California. Joyce Meyer’s program airs on LTV three times every weekday, at 8:00 a.m., 4:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. (She also enjoys a fourth time slot on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesdays at 4:30 a.m., and her program airs again on Sundays at 2:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.)

But Meyer’s presence in Uganda isn’t just from afar and over the airways. Her ministry also maintains a physical presence in Kampala, right there on the main road through the business district. A helpful BTB reader in Uganda sent these photos of her ministry, located at in Suite 11 of Crown House, located at Plot 4A on Kampala Road.

Joyce Meyer Ministries in Kampala, Uganda. (Click to enlarge)

In February, we asked another American evangelist who maintains a physical presence in Kampala, Andrew Wommack, whether he supported Uganda’s proposal to legislate gay people out of existence and criminalize their families, friends and acquaintances. The answer we got was a resounding and enthusiastic “yes!” — complete with a full-throated apologia from Wommack’s man in Uganda who repeated the same distortions about the bill that we’ve heard before and have disproved repeatedly.

When we wrote to Wommack’s ministry asking for their opinion on the bill, we also attempted to contact Joyce Meyer’s ministry as well but we received no response. We followed that up with further inquires this week, but again we’ve received nothing but silence.

As I said, Meyer is very popular in Uganda — popular enough to maintain a physical presence there. And she seems like a genuinely nice lady. Her latest book, Eat the Cookie, Buy the Shoes, is all about lightening up and not being too obsessed with some of the sillier rules in life. Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren likes to come across as a genuinely nice guy and he condemned Uganda’s proposed anti-gay bill by calling it “unjust, extreme and un-Christian toward homosexuals.” Exodus International, whose board member Don Schmierer participated in that “nuclear bomb” of a conference that sparked this legislation, eventually came around and denounced the bill. It’s what good people of conscience do, especially when they have a measure of popularity and influence in Uganda, and who have sought to reach ordinary people in that country — as Warren and Exodus have done, and Meyer does as well.

So why the silence? Where does she stand? Is she with Rick Warren, who came out firmly against criminalization of homosexuality? Or is she with Andrew Wommack, whose response was to say, in effect, that yes, his ministry really does support killing gay people?

As it happens, there may well be a chance for some of you to ask Joyce Meyer directly. Next week she will be on a whirlwind book tour, hitting five cities in three days. So here’s your chance. If you happen to live near any of these locations, you can go and ask her yourself. Does she support killing gay people? And more importantly, will she add her voice to those of Rick Warren and Exodus against the bill.

Meyer will appear at:

• April 13: Plano, TX: Legacy Books, 7300 Dallas Parkway, 12:00 noon.
• April 13: Tucson, AZ: Barnes & Noble, 5130 E. Broadway, 6:00 p.m.
• April 14: El Cajon, CA: Walmart, 13487 Camino Canada, 12:00 noon.
• April 14: Ontario (Rancho Cucamonga), CA: Borders Books & Music, 12370 South Mainstreet, 6:00 p.m.
• April 15: Concord, CA: Sam’s Club, 1225 Concord Ave., 12:00 noon.

Canadian social workers condemn Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Canadian Association of Social Work
Condemns the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda

The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) strongly condemns the Anti-Homosexuality Bill currently before the Ugandan Parliament and firmly rejects the position taken by the National Association of Social Workers of Uganda (NASWU) to support the bill.

CASW condemns any move that perpetuates and advances positions on homosexuality that run contrary to the principles and values of the social work profession and international conventions and treaties. Specifically, social workers do not tolerate discrimination based on age, abilities, ethnic background, gender, language, marital status, national ancestry, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation or socio-economic status.

“CASW cannot go far enough in condemning these actions,” said CASW President Darlene MacDonald. “Upholding basic human rights is not an option for social workers, but rather an ethical responsibility. The CASW Code of Ethics commits social workers to upholding human rights as enshrined in Canadian law as well as to international conventions on human rights created or supported by the United Nations.”

CASW joins the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), the Parliament of Canada and many other organizations and individuals who are calling on the Ugandan Parliament to reject the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Further, CASW encourages social workers in Canada , who respect the unique worth and inherent dignity of all people and uphold human rights, to make their views known to NASWU.

“CASW extends its unwavering support and solidarity to the people of Uganda who are experiencing the real threat of incarceration and death based on sexual orientation,” states MacDonald. “We are appalled by their situation in Uganda and will remain vigilant in the defence of their basic human rights.”

Please click the link to access the IFSW Statement on Human Rights and Social Work in Uganda.

Lies and death, brought to you by corporate advertising

In February, we shared with you a video by Molotov Mitchell in which he defended Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Mitchell endorsed the idea of executing gay people and called the Ugandan bill “more American than Americans”.

Make no mistake, Mitchell would delight to have homosexuality recriminalized in the West and would have no problem with death as the punishment. Because, as he says, God makes the rules and Jesus didn’t abolish the Old Testament.

But calling for the execution of gay people doesn’t sit comfortably with most Americans, even those who are socially conservative. So Mitchell is back with a new video, one in which he clarifies which gay people should be hanged at dawn.

And to do it, he lies about the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality bill. Mitchell claims to have read the bill and tells us that it is limited to three things: intentionally spreading HIV, child molestation, and coercion. Either he has never read the bill, is just lying about its contents, or he is a blithering idiot without any ability to comprehend simple English. (Unlike Mitchell and every other supporter of the bill, we provide it so that you can read for yourself).

But this time, Mitchell’s endorsement of executing some gay people is funded by corporate advertising. Depending on when viewed, Mitchell’s call for death is preceded by an advertisement encouraging you to buy Dell computers or French’s fried onions or search the internet on Bing (or perhaps even others).

Those who wonder why Bing, Dell or French’s would pay for propaganda designed to justify and deceive about the criminalization and execution of gay people can inquire with those companies by calling:

Reckitt Benckiser (French’s) USA: (973) 404-2600

Dell: (512) 338-4400

Microsoft: (800) 518-5689

Our international readers may wish to find their own local number for Reckitt Benckiser here.

I don’t know much about French’s, but Dell and Microsoft pride themselves on their inclusive diversity programs.

Archbishop Tutu and the Clinton Health Access Initiative Join African Coalition Against Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill

In a press release issued yesterday:

Leading African clergy and prominent individuals, as well as more than 60 civil society and human rights groups from 10 sub-Saharan African countries have endorsed a statement calling on the President, Government and Parliament of Uganda to reject the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in its entirety.

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill provides for severe punishment, inclusive imprisonment, for those engaging in same sex relations, as well as for members of the public who fail to report such activities to the authorities.  The original draft also provides for the death penalty and life imprisonment.  The Bill has already gone through the first reading in Parliament and is now before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee. “We are very concerned that it could become law within a few weeks or months”, said Adrian Jjuuko, Coordinator of Uganda’s Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law.

The statement has been endorsed by leading African clergy such as Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, the current Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Reverend Dr. Thabo Cecil Makgoba and Canon Gideon Byamugisha of Uganda. Others endorsing the statement include Pius Langa, the former Chief Justice of South Africa, and other jurists, academics, truth commissioners and human rights activists.

In the declaration, the endorsing individuals and organizations reaffirm their commitment to the universality of the human rights of all persons.  They note that “all forms of discrimination, in particular against vulnerable groups, undermine the human dignity of all in Africa”.  The statement declares that the Bill “promotes prejudice and hate and encourages harmful and violent action against marginalized groups in Africa”.

“Civil society organizations throughout Africa are mobilizing to persuade Ugandan Parliamentarians to block this pernicious Bill”, said Phumi Mtetwa, Executive Director of the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project in South Africa. Godwin Buwa, a lawyer with the Refugee Law Project in Kampala said that “if the Bill is passed, even in diluted form, it would constitute a massive setback for human rights in Africa”.

The statement calls on African governments and the African Union to call on the President and Government of Uganda to withdraw the Bill and to respect the human rights of all in Uganda, without exception.

Click here to read the full statement and list of signatories.

Exodus Steps Up Opposition to Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill

More than a year after we warned the President of Exodus International against their board member’s conducting an anti-gay conference in Kampala, Uganda alongside an SPLC-certified hate group founder, and long its draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill was introduced into Parliament, Exodus is stepping up its vocal opposition to the draconian proposal. This morning, Exodus issued a press release, which is available on the organization’s main web site with a link from the front page, condemning the National Association of Social Workers of Uganda’s (NASWU) endorsement of the bill. That press release reads, in part:

The organization did recommend changes to the legislation, such as an exemption for counselors helping those struggling with same-sex attraction to report “homosexual offenses” to the government. However, overall, the NASWU recommended the bill continue through the legislative process so that “an appropriate law will emerge from this process that even other countries will want to emulate.”

In response, Exodus International President Alan Chambers said, “Although the NASWU seems genuinely concerned in helping those struggling with same-sex attraction, the organization fails to see that Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009–as any legislation that criminalizes homosexuality–does more to hurt than help homosexuals. Exodus continues to urge Uganda’s Parliament to reject this hurtful legislation; we also ask the country’s evangelical churches to take the lead in offering hope and healing to all people, regardless of their particular struggles.”

Exodus’ first public response to the anti-gay conference last year was to “applaud” board member Don Schmierer’s participation in the conference. But a full month after the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was introduced into Parliament, Exodus President Alan Chambers and Vice President Randy Thomas were signatories to an open letter to Uganda President Yoweri Museveni which urged the president to “consider the influence this law will have upon those who may seek help in dealing with this difficult issue as well as church and ministry leaders committed to demonstrating the compassion of Christ to all.”

While we welcomed that statement as a first step, it would prove to be an only step for several months to come. Another six months passed with no further action or statement from Exodus, leaving us to believe that the letter was little more than a fig leaf. Then, Exodus International Board of Directors issued a statement last week condemning the bill, and that statement was followed by just another week with this statement which reinforces Exodus’ opposition to the bill, along with the clearest statement to date against criminalizing homosexuality. This statement also went out on Exodus International’s mailing list.

Uganda social worker association endorses the Kill Gays bill

The National Association of Social Workers of Uganda (NASWU) has issued a statement in response to the Kill Gays bill currently before the legislature.

The purpose of this statement is to ensure that Uganda and other nations in Africa and around the world develop appropriate policy responses to the issue of homosexuality. Professional ethics demand that professional bodies like NASWU provide guidance that is free of political influence; because when wrong policies are developed based on politically-based positions, it is members of the public who suffer or miss out on the good life they could have enjoyed. [emphasis in the original]

They begin with a history lesson. But sadly, there is little fact included in their statement. They rely heavily on the anti-gay pseudo-scientific group NARTH and anti-Kinsey writer Judith Reisman. Both of these sources have been criticized by the communities of science for radical historical revision, shoddy research, and analysis that begins with the conclusion and searches for confirmation.

They use this “history” to explain that homosexuality is changeable (by “professionals like clinical psychologists or religious leaders”) and has no genetic basis (as backed up by “all authoritative scientific studies”).

Then NASWU explains “how human behavior operates”:

1) “indulgence in a given behavior conditions an organism to continue exhibiting such behavior with greater intensity” and ceasing the behavior leads to “extinction”;

2) “social acceptance and legal approval” leads to “social learning”,

3) Human behavior may be influenced at the spiritual level. Human beings are composed of three main parts, namely: the body, the soul and the spirit. A human’s spirit can either be empty or inhabited by a good (or holy) or bad (or evil) spirit. These spiritual forces are capable of influencing human behavior beyond the voluntary control of the person possessed by them. This is why, in the New Testament Bible, Jesus cast out evil demonic forces from people exhibiting what psychologists would term “schizophrenia”, and the affected persons immediately recovered normal behavior patterns. Demonic activity can be violent or latent as in the case of Mary Magdalene, a woman whose work as a prostitute had demonic link, until she met Jesus. For this reason, Social Work should include the study of the spiritual dimension of life and how it may be applied to promote well-being and social functioning.

4) Human behavior can be influenced at the level of the soul. The soul consists of the “Mind”, the “Will” and the “Emotions”. When individuals understand with their mind the justification for not behaving in a certain way, that strengthens their ability to exercise their “Will” to “reign-in” their emotions, which are often difficult to control.

And before the usual litany of imaginary, exaggerated, and discredited ookie-spookie mental and physical plagues and weird sounding diseases they weigh in on “the question of human rights”. They decide that there is no “right to indulgence” and that those in the US who voted against marriage did not go far enough (they link to Yes on 8):

It is delusional and unsustainable, however, to allow the population to practice a behavior which they cannot consummate as marriage. Any restrictions on same-sex marriage must first involve restrictions on homosexual behavior itself.

Finally we come to their recommendations based on their “independent findings”.

Given the aforementioned information about homosexuality and human behavior and these developments in Uganda and internationally, we advise as follows:

• 1. NASWU rejects the view that same-sex attraction is an innate “orientation”, rather, it is part of a range of feelings individuals ought to learn to bring under control as they mature;
• 2. There is justification for Uganda to put in place appropriate legislation to comprehensively prohibit homosexuality;
• 3. The Anti-homosexuality Bill has drafting errors in the way some offences and penalties are conceived, that should be corrected before its passage;
• 4. The clause requiring mandatory reporting of all known homosexual offences should be amended to exempt disclosure made in counseling situations, in organizations licensed to offer same-sex counseling services, to encourage those experiencing same-sex attractions to seek professional help on behavior management. To be licensed, such counseling organizations must sign an undertaking not to dispense pro-homosexual advice to their clients.
• 5. The Parliament of Uganda is acclaimed worldwide for writing some of the best laws in the world. The Anti-homosexuality Bill will go through the established scrutiny that all bills undergo before they become law. As in previous instances, an appropriate law will emerge from this process that even other countries may want to emulate. Members of the public as well as Social Workers should express their views to the concerned committee in Parliament to ensure that their views inform the law-making process.

It appears that while NASWU seeks to remove provisions for mandatory reporting and included provisions for forced therapy, it has no problem with death sentences or life-time imprisonment. In fact, they call for comprehensive prohibition along with a de-licensing of anyone who disagrees with their political agenda.

There is little doubt that this statement will discredit NASWU in the eyes of the international social worker community. Few western social work organizations will see this as other than ignorance, superstition, and a totalitarian instinct to stifle dissent.

And such proclamations not only reflect poorly on NASWU, but they harm the greater population of the nation and the continent. Such endorsement of exorcisms and the rejection of legitimate science seems intuitively out of place in a modern world and will lead to further dismissal of the Ugandan people – and all Africans – as backwards, third World, and intellectually inferior.

But this statement does add confirmation to those of us who see the current anti-gay upsurge in Uganda to be related to anti-gay advocacy imported from America. Throughout the lengthy piece runs two contradictory themes: the moral superiority of Ugandans, and the complete reliance on American sources, American beliefs, and American actions.

While homophobia is undoubtedly deeply rooted in Ugandan culture, they seem to be seeking American permission and confirmation for these attitudes, exactly the sort of permission and confirmation that was provided by the anti-gay conference in March 2009 attended by American holocaust revisionist Scott Lively, International Healing Foundation’s Caleb Brundidge, and Exodus International boardmember Don Schmierer.

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

Canada’s House of Commons Condemns Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill

Canada’s House of Commons yesterday unanimously condemned Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which is currently before Uganda’s Parliament. That bill, if enacted, would impose the death sentence in certain circumstances, and would even criminalize providing health services to, renting to, or merely knowing someone who is gay.

The motion before Canada’s House of Commons was introduced by New Democrat MB Bill Siksay (Burnaby-Douglas, BC). According to a press release from Siksay’s office, the motion reads:

That this House commends the Government of Canada for the clear position it has taken against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill currently being debated in the Parliament of Uganda and encourages continued direct diplomatic efforts in conjunction with other countries and organizations to see the bill withdrawn, homosexuality fully decriminalized in Uganda, and the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and transsexual Ugandans fully respected.

After the vote, Siskay said:

“I very much appreciate the co-operation of the Conservative Party, the Bloc Québecois, and the Liberal Party.  All parties in the House worked together to take a stand against this regressive bill and in solidarity with the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and transsexual community in Uganda,” said Siksay.  “Given this strong all party commitment to GLBTT rights, I hope that the government will continue to pursue this issue at all possible levels.”

“This bill is an attack on human rights and civil liberties.  Canada must continue to do all it can to see that it is withdrawn,” concluded Siksay.

MP Siksay became the first openly gay non-incumbent to be elected to Parliament in 2004. Siksay serves as the NDP’s Critic in the shadow government for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Transsexual issues.

Congress to Consider Resolutions Condemning Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill

The Senate and House are both expected to vote on separate resolutions condemning Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill that is now before that nation’s Parliament.

The House version of the resolution was introduced by Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-CA), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He is joined by 58 co-sponsors including Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Barney Frank (D-MA), Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Jared Polis (D-CO). The House resolution notes the disastrous effect the proposed anti-gay bill would have on human rights as well as the fight against HIV/AIDS, and calls on the US government to ensure that “resources committed to the global HIV/AIDS response are utilized in a manner that is efficient, effective, and appropriate.” It also expresses “unequivocal United States opposition” to the anti-gay bill. The resolution is now in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, which is chaired by Rep. Berman.

The Senate version is much shorter but to the point. Introduced by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), it has collected 20 co-sponsors, including Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT). The Senate resolution calls on Uganda’s parliament to reject the anti-gay bill and calls on all governments around the world to “eject and repeal similar criminalization laws.”It is now in the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which is chaired by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA).

Please call your Senators and Representative and ask them to cosponsor and support these bipartisan resolutions.