Box Turtle Bulletin

Soulforce Founder Mel White’s Open Letter to American Pastors on Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill

Soulforce founder Mel White, Interim Executive Director Bill Carpenter, and Board Chair Chuck Phelan have released this open letter to Jan and Paul Crouch and other American Evangelical pastors who broadcast in Uganda, calling on them to denounce the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill that is now before Parliament.

An Open Letter from Soulforce to Jan and Paul Crouch, founders of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, and the Evangelical Christian broadcasters who are featured on Lighthouse Television, TBN\’s affiliate in Uganda, including:  Matthew Crouch, Joyce Meyer,  Andrew Wommack,  Benny Hinn,  Kenneth Copeland,  Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, and Franklin Graham:

By now you are well aware of the anti-homosexual bill pending before the Parliament of Uganda. We urge you to denounce this bill.  Use your personal friendships with President and Mrs. Museveni, with MP David Bahati (your Christian colleague who proposed this bill), and with Stephen Langa, (the Ugandan Christian organizer behind the bill) to take a public and passionate stand against it.

The media are blaming the visit to Uganda by three of your colleagues for this despicable and truly un-Christian law.  In fact, for years you have used your Lighthouse Television programs, your radio broadcasts, and your massive public meetings to warn Ugandans of the so called “threat homosexuals pose to Bible-based values and the traditional African Family.”

In no small part you are already responsible for the current call by Ugandan leaders to enforce the old law condemning lesbian and gay Ugandans to up to 14 years in prison. This new law increases that sentence to life imprisonment and even death by hanging.  Denounce this new bill or the blood of lesbian and gay Ugandans will be on your hands.

It isn\’t just the “liberal media” who are condemning the bill.  In mid-November, Exodus International, the ministry that promises to assist homosexuals in overcoming homosexuality, warned,  “If homosexual behavior and knowledge of such behavior is criminalized and prosecuted, as proposed in this bill, church and ministry leaders will be unable to assist hurting men, women and youth who might otherwise seek help in addressing this personal issue.” While Soulforce does not agree with Exodus that lesbian and gay people need to be “cured,” we wholeheartedly agree with their position on this hateful bill.

Warren Throckmorton, a member of the Clinical Advisory Board of the American Association of Christian Counselors warned that this legislation would make their mission “to extend the love and compassion of Christ to all” a difficult if not impossible task.

Your colleague, mega-church pastor Rick Warren, in a very public video appeal to his fellow clergy in Uganda, gives five reasons why Ugandan Christians should not support the bill: (1) it is “unjust, extreme and un-Christian; (2) it would “force pastors to report their pastoral conversations with homosexuals to authorities; (3) “…it would have a chilling effect on your ministry to the hurting… homosexuals who are HIV positive will be reluctant to seek or receive care, comfort and compassion from our churches out of fear of being reported; (4)  “All life, no matter how humble or broken, whether unborn or dying, is precious to God… It would be inconsistent to save some lives and wish death on others…” And (5) “the freedom to make moral choices, and our right to free expression, are gifts endowed by God.” Warren reminds the clergy that Uganda is a democratic country “…and in a democracy everyone has a right to speak up.” Warren concludes by urging them “to speak out against the proposed law.”

The People of Soulforce urge you to take Rick Warren seriously.  It is very possible that your silence on this matter will convince the people of Uganda that it is God\’s will to condemn homosexuals to life imprisonment or even death by hanging. Your powerful media voices have made you superstars to Ugandans. We implore you to use your power to denounce this bill. Wouldn\’t it be wonderful if this time the Christian community became known for love and justice rather than fulfilling the stereotype of the “liberal media” as ‘hate-filled bigots?

You often ask others, “What would Jesus do?”  This is the perfect time to ask yourselves that question. 

The People of Soulforce

Mel White, Founder
Bill Carpenter, Interim Executive Director
Chuck Phelan, Board Chair    

ADDENDUM:           EXAMPLES OF OTHERS WHO CONDEMN THE BILL

This bill has been condemned by leaders of Western nations including the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia, and Great Britain and the President of the United States. The European Parliament passed a resolution against the bill and threatened to cut financial aid to Uganda if it is enacted. They described the bill as “state-legislated genocide.”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch urge Uganda to shelve the bill and decriminalize homosexuality.

The 16,000 members of the HIV Clinicians Society of South Africa and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS warned that excluding marginalised groups would compromise efforts to stop the spread of AIDS in Uganda where 5.4% of the adult population is infected with HIV.

The Sunday Times in South Africa warned Uganda that it is in danger of being “dragged back to the dark and evil days of Idi Amin.”

The New York Times stated unequivocally “that such barbarism (in the bill) is intolerable and will make Uganda an international pariah.” 

The Washington Post labeled the bill “ugly and ignorant”, “barbaric”, and “that it is even being considered puts Uganda beyond the pale of civilized nations.”

The Los Angeles Times warned that the bill would cause gay Ugandans to face an “impossible, insulting, historical, cruel and utterly false choice of having to choose between being gay and being African.”

The Anglican Reverend Canon Gideon Byamugisha said that the Bill “would become state-legislated genocide.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has said in a public interview that he did not see how any Anglican could support it: “Overall, the proposed legislation is of shocking severity and I can\’t see how it could be supported by any Anglican who is committed to what the Communion has said in recent decades. Apart from invoking the death penalty, it makes pastoral care impossible – it seeks to turn pastors into informers.”

The Vatican legal attaché to the United Nations stated that “Pope Benedict is opposed to ‘unjust discrimination’ against gay men and lesbians.”

ADDENDUM: 

AS IN THE US, PAUL CAMERON IS THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF THE HALF-TRUTH, HYPERBOLE AND LIES ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY AND HOMOSEXUALS UPON WHICH THE BILL IS BASED

Stephen Langa, the March 2009 workshop organiser, specifically cited an unlicensed converstion therapist named Richard A. Cohen who states in a book that was given to Langa and other prominent Ugandans,

“Homosexuals are at least 12 times more likely to molest children than heterosexuals; homosexual teachers are at least 7 times more likely to molest a pupil; homosexual teachers are estimated to have committed at least 25 percent of pupil molestation; 40 percent of molestation assaults were made by those who engage in homosexuality.”

These statements were based on faulty studies performed by Paul Cameron who has been expelled from the American Psychological Association, the Canadian Psychological Association and the American Sociological Association.   Cohen, himself, confirmed the weaknesses of these studies, stating that when the book will be reprinted, these statistics will be removed.

ADDENDUM:   OUR SOURCES

Jeffrey Gettleman, writing for the New York Times,  January 4, 2010, reported on “Americans\’ Role in Uganda Anti-Gay Push.” 

Erin Roach, posted on Baptist News, November 18, 2009, the news that “Exodus Opposes Uganda\’s Proposed Anti-Gay Law.”

Baptist Press, December 13, 2009, announced that “Mega-Church Pastor Rick Warren Condemns Uganda Anti-Gay Bill.”

The editors of Wikipedia have assembled the best history of this bill and the world\’s response.

YouTube carries the complete video of Rick Warren\’s Open Letter to the Clergy of Uganda.*

*We wish to express our thanks to the Rev. Rick Warren for taking this rather courageous step on behalf of the lesbian and gay people of Uganda.  Pastor Warren did everything in his power to avoid meeting with our gay and lesbian parents and their families in 2009 during the Soulforce American Family Outing.  We have tried on many occasions to help him understand the tragic consequences of his own teachings about homosexuality and homosexuals.  And though we continue hoping that he will meet with a Soulforce delegation to hear the scientific, historic, psychological and personal evidence that homosexuality is one of God\’s gifts, we pause in our pursuit just long enough to give him thanks for reaching out to save the lives of our lesbian sisters and gay brothers in Uganda.  Thank you, Pastor Warren.  We are grateful!

Andrew Wommack and His Ministries Want To Kill You

Andrew Wommack

Andrew Wommack is an American Evangelical Pastor who has a very large presence in Uganda, where that nation’s Parliament is considering the Anti-Homosexuality Bill which  would provide for the death sentence for HIV-positive LGBT people, and life imprisonment for the rest. That bill would also penalize friends, family members, and co-workers who don’t report LGBT people to police within twenty-four hours with up to three years’ imprisonment, and would criminalize anyone “aiding and abetting” homosexuality — health care professionals fear that this would include them if they provide health care and counseling to LGBT people — with seven years’ imprisonment.

So where does Andrew Wommack stand on the bill, and would he speak out against it? We decided to ask. We sent an email to an address provided on Wommack’s contact page on Monday. We outlined just a few of the provisions of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, along with a link to the full text of the bill. We also mentioned Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren’s December statement against the bill, in which he called it “unjust, extreme and un-Christian toward homosexuals.” We reminded Rev. Wommack that he maintains a prominent office at 39 Cham Towers on Kampala Road, and his television program is broadcast daily every morning at 8:30 am and again at 8:30 pm on Kampala-based Lighthouse TV.

Andrew Wommack Ministries in Kampala

Given his prominent position in Uganda and the severity of the bill, we implored him to raise his voice as a voice of reason against this bill. We didn’t hear back from him directly. Instead, our email was passed on to Lealand Shores III, who is the Director of Andrew Wommack Ministries of Uganda. He responded by email this morning:

Dear Mr. Burroway

Thank you for your email.

As the Director of Andrew Wommack Ministries of Uganda I have been living in Uganda for 5 years now, I am married to a Ugandan and I have been embraced and loved by the people.  Our ministry serves this country sharing and teaching the “Unconditional Love and Grace of God” and one thing I have learned, as a foreigner here, is that the Ugandans are passionate about their families and their love for God.  It does not matter the denomination.

In reading through your email I have decided to respond because I believe that you must not be aware that there was a response to Mr. Warrens’ letter from Uganda.  For your convenience and review I am including the response from the Uganda National Task Force Against Homosexuality.  I believe this correspondence reveals the truth of the proposed Bill that is currently being presented.

Personally, I support this Bill, its’ premise and the proposed changes that are being made in Uganda.  While I can not speak for Andrew I believe that if you have watched his programming on Christian Philosophy 1 and 2 you would find his response in those programs.

"Teaching God's unconditional love and grace": Andrew Wommack Ministries in Kampala

If you will read CAREFULLY you will see that this bill is aimed the ACTIONS of people that are endangering the lives of innocent people.  This bill proposes accountability for actions that cause harm, especially to children and minors, and the spread of HIV/AIDS. In addition, I believe it is clear that the main aim of this bill is to protect children and minors (with an emphasis on males) that have no protection against sexual crimes under the current laws.  Further, it is aimed at upholding the moral and ethical fiber of family-rights in THIS country.  Finally, this Bill is dealing with the issues that are related to a Third-World Community. These issues are so very different from the Globalized mold Western activists and the press are trying to suggest that Uganda squeeze into.

Jim, the bottom-line is that the social-dichotomy here will always be intolerant, not hate as you have suggested, to homosexuality because of the strong social and family dynamics that dominate and drive the cultural existence here.  Therefore, the Bill is not aimed directly at the equality and family dynamics of the homosexual agenda which is the foundation of the gay-rights agenda in the Western communities.  The issues here are based from a traditional perspective which Western cultures find hard to wrap their minds around.

For example: Sodomy is promoted by traditional healers, witchdoctors, as a way of curing AIDS.  Homosexuality is used as a recruiting tool to lure young boys into receiving financial gain.  Homosexuality is used as a manipulation to keep young boys and girls as slave labor, they don’t leave or tell for fear of being shunned by the community.  Homosexuality is used in traditional rituals and in some cases ends in sacrificial offering of the victim. While in other places homosexuality is promoted as a lifestyle choice, here it is used as a way to manipulate and control others for personal gratification.  And the targets are the youth in this country.

If you will note who makes up this task force you will see that it is not a single group of anti-gay vigilante’s but a coming together of those cross-cultural sectors that are the moral foundation of this country.  As far as I know I am not aware of an American anti-gay sector within this group.

Leland Shores III

Finally, let me say that in this instance I am so proud of this nation for standing up for something they believe in regardless of the threats that have come from around the World and especially from the USA who has threatened to pull funding if this bill is passed.

In closing please know that my purpose for responding to you is not to create discord but to present you with the response to Mr. Warrens’ letter which I must say sheds quite a bit of light on the subject.  It may or may not change your view, however, I would hope that as someone that is fighting for human rights you will see that this Bill is really not about impeding on someones human rights but ensuring the protection of their human rights in accordance with needs of this country.

May the Lord Bless you,
Pastor Leand Shores, III
Director – Andrew Wommack Ministries of Uganda

[All emphases in the original]

Contrary to Shores belief, we are well aware of the provisions of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, as we have posted the entire text of the bill online for the world to see. We have also seen the the many responses from Martin Ssempa to Rick Warren’s opposition of the bill. Ssempa heads the task force that Shores finds so authoritative. Shores believes that I must not have read the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that I posted online — and it should be obvious by now that I have — but his statement makes clear that either he hasn’t read the bill despite my providing a link to it, or he is willing to go along with the distortions that Ssempa and others are putting out about the bill.

Either way, this statement has Andrew Wommack and his ministry on record as being proud to stand behind this draconian bill and all of its provisions, which include:

• Expanding 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.”
• Affirming Uganda\’s lifetime imprisonment for those convicted of homosexuality.
• Defining 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.
• Requiring anyone arrested on suspicion of homosexuality to undergo HIV testing to determine the individual\’s qualification for prosecution of “aggravated homosexuality.”
• Criminalizing “attempted homosexuality” with imprisonment for seven years.
• Criminalizing “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.
• Criminalizing “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.
• Criminalizing the act of obtaining a same-sex marriage abroad with lifetime imprisonment.
• Adding 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.
• Penalizing 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.
• Adding an extra-territorial and extradition provisions, allowing Uganda to prosecute LGBT Ugandans living abroad.
• Voiding all international treaties, agreements and human rights obligations which conflict with this bill.

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

AFA Radio Calls for Criminalizing LGBT People

Uganda’s Parliament will return after its long winter recess tomorrow, and it is expected that its first order of business will be to take up the Anti-Homosexuality Bill for its second reading. The anonymous blogger GayUganda says that police round-ups are continuing under the current law even as we speak. Does anyone doubt that there are those who would like to see the same thing here? Anti-Gay Inc., in the form of the American Family Association, thinks it’s a dandy idea. Here’s Bryan Fischer, host of the AFA’s Focus Point radio program:

It might be worth noting that what I actually suggested is that we impose the same sanctions on those who engage in homosexual behavior as we do on those who engage in intravenous drug abuse, since both pose the same kind of risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. I’d be curious to know what you think should be done with IV drug abusers, because whatever it is, I think the same response should be made to those who engage in homosexual behavior.

I don’t know that Fischer has taken a position on Uganda’s proposal for the death penalty against HIV-positive or “serial offender” gay people, nor their proposal for life imprisonment for everyone else, nor their proposal to lock up anyone — health care professionals, caregivers, landlords — who has any knowledge or contact with gay people. But it doesn’t really matter. The impulse is the same. To paraphrase an old joke about sex and prostitution, we’re just haggling over the price.

[Hat tip: Warren Throckmorton]

Reuter’s Video Roundup of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill

This is probably the best video report I’ve seen on Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill so far. It opens with Pepe Julia Onziema and her unidentified partner, talking about how the controversy surrounding the bill has already affected their lives. Ms. Onziema was also profiled last month by the South Africa Times.

The accompanying Reuters article is here.

Why did CNSNews.com Falsify Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill?

A recent post by Karen Schuberg on CNSNews.com, which claims to have caught Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) in an inconsistency over Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, purposely twists the bill’s plain English to achieve that conclusion. Schuberg’s column leads off this way:

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said that if a person purposely tries to spread sickness, such as the H1N1 flu or a sexually transmitted disease such as HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, the action should be punished.

But Baldwin did not say what specific punishment was warranted, particularly in the country of Uganda, which currently is considering legislation that would impose the death penalty on any HIV-positive person who willfully and knowingly engages in homosexual relations. [Emphasis mine]

Willfully and knowingly? Where did Schuberg get that? She certainly didn’t get it from the proposed bill itself, which actually says this:

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

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

(b) offender is a person living with HIV;

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

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

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

(f) offender is a serial offender, or

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

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

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

Pay careful attention to what the bill does not say. It does not say that the person who is living with HIV intends to infect others. Many people are in consensual serodiscordant relationships. They are in these relationships with full knowledge that their partner is HIV-positive and take cautions appropriately. But even these consensual relationships would result in the death penalty for the HIV+ partner.

And notice something else. If someone is HIV-positive and doesn’t know it, he, too, could be charged with “aggravated homosexuality” based solely on a prosecutor’s suspicion. That would compel the person to undergo an HIV test to determine his eligibility for the death sentence. And this test could very well be that individual’s first opportunity to learn he is HIV-positive. In civilized societies where Anti-Retroviral medicines are available, learning that one is HIV-positive is no longer a death sentence as it used to be before 1995. But in Uganda, it will revert back to being a literal death sentence under the law.

In fact, there is absolutely nothing in the proposed statute that requires the individual “willfully and knowingly” enter into a relationship to intentionally infect others. There is no such burden of proof required. Under this proposal, any consensual serodiscordant relationship — including mine — will open the door to the death penalty.

But the mere suggestion that serodiscordant couples — gay and straight, by the way! Where’s the death penalty against the straight HIV+ person? — can enter into loving, responsible relationships is completely outside of Karen Schulberg’s twisted imagination. That much is is obvious by her line of questioning in the article. She consistently frames it as given assumption that all HIV-positive people are irresponsible, duplicitous and wanton murderers.

One has to wonder at the real motivation of Schuberg and others like her who purposely distort the plain and simple meaning of the bill. Does she really think the bill’s provisions are justified? And since I think we all know the answer, why won’t she just come out and say it?

Update: To clarify, I should point out that not only did Schuberg butcher the actual text of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, she also willfully ignored Rep. Tammy Baldwin’s attempt to correct her. Baldwin made a very clear distinction between intentionally spreading diseases and entering into consensual relationships. Baldwin got the distinction exactly right. But while Schuberg included Baldwin’s quotes in full, she nevertheless wrote the entire column as if such a distinction neither existed nor mattered.

That’s because to Schuberg, it obviously doesn’t matter. As far as she is concerned, HIV-positive gay people are lying, sneaking killers. They have no morals, no sense of responsibility, and are incapable of entering into positive, loving, consensual, and fully informed relationships — none of these factors are addressed by the death penalty provisions. But HIV-positive straight people — AIDS is predominately a heterosexual disease in Africa, yet straight people aren’t being threatened with the gallows — I guess they are all morally upright and trustworthy. That’s Schuberg’s thesis. Otherwise, why would she go through such lengths to write what is plainly not true for something that has life-and-death consequences for gay people?

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

Bahati Won’t Attend the National Prayer Breakfast, But Others From Uganda Will

The Voice of America’s Straight Talk Africa television program this week featured a discussion of the secretive evangelical group known as the Family or the Fellowship and its connections to Uganda. Appearing on the program were Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, and Bob Hunter of the Family.

Hunter explained that Ugandan MP David Bahati, author of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, had been invited earlier this year to attend the National Prayer Breakfast on February 4. That invitation was extended before Bahati introduced the draconian bill into Parliament. Hunter said that Bahati had not accepted the invitation, and was surprised to see Bahati’s boast in Uganda’s Daily Monitor that he would be there. Then, during the program, Bahati himself called in briefly to the program and confirmed that he will not attend the Family’s National Prayer Breakfast “because of a prior engagement.”

But here’s an interesting detail. Hunter reiterated that Bahati’s invitation had been to be a “volunteer” rather than to attend the event itself. (Hunter had also described Bahati’s invitation the same way when he first confirmed that Bahati wasn’t going to attend the Breakfast.) But on the VOA program, Hunter offered a few more details. As he described it, if someone is invited to attend the National Prayer Breakfast for a second time, the invitation is to serve as a volunteer to accompany a larger delegation — in this case, a delegation from Uganda — but not to attend the Breakfast itself. In other words, Bahati has attended the Prayer Breakfast before, but this time he was asked to facilitate the attendance of a delegation from Uganda at the Breakfast.

So who’s coming? We don’t know. But just because Bahati can’t attend due to a “prior engagement,” that doesn’t mean the rest of the Uganda delegation won’t be there.

If I were to put together a “watch list” of Ugandans associated with this bill, I think it would include:

• President Yoweri Museveni
• First Lady and State Minister for Karamoja Janet Museveni.
• Attorney General Khidu Makubuya. He is heading the Cabinet subcommittee examining so-called “compromises” to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, and is believed to be a supporter of the bill.
• Regional Affairs State Minister Isaac Musumba is on the subcommittee. I don’t know his position on the bill.
• Education Minister Namirembe Bitamazire is on the subcommittee. I don’t know his position in the bill.
• Gender Minister Gabriel Opiyo is on the subcommittee. I don’t know his position on the bill.
• Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo is on the subcommittee, has been a very strong supporter from the very beginning.
• Uganda’s Speaker of Parliament Edward Ssekandi has urged passage of the bill.
• Deputy Parliament Speaker Rebecca Kadaga also appears to be a strong supporter.

And, of course, Pastors Martin Ssempa, Steven Langa, David Kiganda, Henry Mina, and Julius Oyett should also be on the watch list.

Update: Bob Hunter of the Family left a comment below to say that these people are not coming to the Prayer Breakfast. That leaves open the question of who is coming and whether they are supporters of the bill or not.

[Hat tip: Warren Throckmorton]

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

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.

This is neither a compromise nor an improvement. Remaining is a provision to punish homosexuality with lifetime imprisonment in a dank and overcrowded Ugandan prison. Can anyone believe that this is an improvement?

The other provisions of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 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 unknown at this time.
• 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.

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

Congressional Human Rights Commission Hears Testimony On Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill

Yesterday, Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) chaired a meeting of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission to discuss the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill that is now before Uganda’s Parliament. Julius Kaggwa, a leader of the Kampala-based  Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights & Constitutional Law, was among those who testified to say that personal involvement by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle would be helpful in stopping the bill.

According to written testimony supplied to BTB, Mr. Kaggwa described some of the abuses he and others have incurred in Uganda:

I have personally been a victim of this hostility on several occasions.  In one case, I was forced to resign from a job for the simple reason that controversy around my identity had placed the reputation of the organisation I worked for in question. They felt that having me on their staff drew “unwanted” attention to their organisation. In another case, a house I rented was set on fire by unidentified people.

I personally know lesbians who have been raped by male relatives in order to so-called “cure them” of their lesbianism. Sadly, although they were thus infected with HIV, they cannot access justice. I know gay men who have been habitually blackmailed to avoid arrest.  I have further seen first-hand the trauma of transgender Ugandans who have been sexually abused, including by the police, and arrested purely for their gender expression. One transgender woman had a gang of men violently insert rough pieces of wood in her anus to remind her that she was a biological man and not a woman. These and similar abuses are what LGBT Ugandans live with on a daily basis. In most cases, the government has not held the perpetrators accountable.

Mr. Kaggwa testified that as harsh as the situation has been for LGBT people, it has deteriorated further since MP David Bahati introduced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill before Uganda’s Parliament.

Since the bill\’s first reading in the Ugandan parliament, the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law has been approached for help by homosexual people who have received death threats. We have also been approached by human rights activists whose offices have been raided by police and where police surveillance continues daily.  Religious leaders have threatened to hunt homosexuals if the government does not pass the bill quickly.

The effects of the bill would be wide-ranging. If passed in its current form, it would not only impose a lifetime sentence on those who are convicted of homosexuality, it will add the death sentence if the accused is HIV-positive, a “serial offender,” or whose partner is deemed disabled — even if the relationship was consensual. The proposed statutes will also ban all advocacy on behalf of LGBT people with imprisonment if five to seven years, while “aiding and abetting” will garner a seven year sentence. Health, counseling, and HIV/AIDS workers fear that their work will be criminalized if they should aid LGBT people because of this proposal. Other proposals would force friends and family members to report LGBT people to police or risk a three year sentence, and criminalize landlords or hotel owners who knowingly rent to gay people with five to seven years’ imprisonment.

Kagwwa warned of the legal implications of all of this:

If passed, this bill will further worsen the access of sexual minorities to health services. The greatest scare for all sexual minorities in Uganda is how to protect themselves from HIV infection and to access treatment for those living with HIV.  Sexual minorities in Uganda are already excluded from mainstream HIV and AIDS interventions. We are not able to readily access relevant health care and information. This bill makes this exclusion worse by proposing the death penalty for HIV positive homosexual Ugandans. If it is passed, most homosexual Ugandans will not be brave enough to seek the medical care that any human being needs and deserves. This provision also leaves a lot of room for malicious blackmail and venomous attacks and it threatens to further prevent homosexual Ugandans from voluntarily testing for HIV, and accessing preventive information and treatment.

According to Chris Johnson at DC Agenda, the panel explored several options for opposing the draconian measure. Kaggwa emphasized the importance of local Ugandans’ voices being heard as loudly as international voices:

“It is important that these local, indigenous voices are heard as heavily or as loudly as the international voices,” he said. “We believe that if that voice supplements our own voices, then we will be productive. But if the foreign voices are louder than ours, then I\’m afraid that might have a counter-productive effect.”

Karl Wycoff, deputy assistant secretary of state for East African Affairs, testified that the State Department has been working to prevent the bill from being enacted into law:

The introduction of this anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda characterizes just such a moment — one where we must say to our friends who\’s friendship we value that together we must stand against injustice, and in this case, injustice against the LGBT community,” he said.

Wycoff noted how the White House in January issued a statement in opposition to the legislation and said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has expressed concerns about the bill with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in addition to publicly opposing the legislation in two speeches.

“Our embassy … has been very active on this subject with representatives of the Ugandan government, with civil society, with local gay and lesbian groups and with others who press for this bill to be dropped,” Wycoff said.

The panel discussed various options for dealing with the proposed law. Rep. Baldwin reminded the panel of Sen. Ron Wyden’s (D-OR) proposal to review Uganda’s trade status with the United States. Other options were explored, but reducing funding to Uganda under the President\’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was seen by witnesses as inappropriate. Said Christine Lubinski, executive director of the HIV Medicine Association, the program’s $13 billion in aid is “too much of a day-to-day lifeline for too many people.” Cary Alan Johnson, executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, however noted that the funds could be “channeled differently” to non-governmental organizations.

Yesterday, more than ninety members of Congress sent separate letters to President Barack Obama and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni urging that strong measures be taken to block the bill from becoming law, calling the proposal “the most extreme and hateful attempt by an African country to criminalize their LGBT community.”

[Julius Kaggwa’s written testimony provided to BTB by the American Jewish World Service]

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

Peter LaBarbera Wants To Kill Gay People

… and he wants to get a Christian professor who thinks that is a bad idea fired. He also admits that he has no idea what Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill would actually do, but apparently thinks it can’t be all bad.

Those are the highlights of Peter “Porno Pete” LaBarbera’s latest broadside, who thinks that no one has the right to condemn Uganda’s effort to legislate LGBT people out of existence:

Folks, I\’ve been trying to avoid the Ugandan “Culture War” on homosexuality because I figure we\’re busy enough with our own here in the USA. But that hasn\’t stopped American homosexual activists and fellow travelers like Professor Warren Throckmorton of the “evangelical” Grove City College from insinuating themselves into the Ugandan situation. …

…Tell me: does Uganda have something to learn from Christian “defectors” like the opportunistic Prof. Throckmorton — who is now a de facto promoter of homosexuality as normal, natural and healthy while ostensibly still claiming some sort of “Christian” mission at GCC? (Grove City College boasts in evangelical circles that it is “authentically Christian” — an advertising claim of diminishing accuracy the longer it abides likes of Throckmorton.)

And from there, LaBarbera goes on to urge his dozens of readers to harass Grove City College into firing Dr. Throckmorton over his efforts to prevent innocent people being killed in Uganda or thrown into prison for the rest of their lives.  (When it comes to Ugandan prisons, is there really any difference?)

In typical LaBarbera fashion, he fired off his missive without having a clue about what the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill would do. Most amazingly, he even brags about his ignorance:

Nope. What we\’re seeing here is sheer Western activist arrogance. … I haven\’t yet studied the proposed Ugandan legislation but I agree with Bob Knight\’s analysis below — and AFTAH is clearly on record opposing draconian penalties for homosexuality like those imposed by jihadist Islamic radicals.

No Peter, arrogance is going off half-cocked without knowing what you’re even talking about. But them that’s exactly par for the course. It’s just good to see that for once you admit it.

Okay, so Peter doesn’t want to see gay people tortured with electric drills and surgical glues before they are killed. Good to know. But other than that, what does he support?

We have posted the full text of the proposed bill here, and with that we have a challenge for LaBarbera — a challenge that we will issue to anyone who criticizes those who condemn the bill. What parts do you disagree with, and which provisions do you think are a grand idea?

• It expands 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.”
• Affirms Uganda\’s lifetime imprisonment for those convicted of homosexuality.
• Defines 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.
• Requires anyone arrested on suspicion of homosexuality to undergo HIV testing to determine the individual\’s qualification for prosecution of “aggravated homosexuality.”
• Criminalizes “attempted homosexuality” with imprisonment for seven years.
• Criminalizes “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.
• Criminalizes “aiding and abetting homosexuality” with seven years imprisonment. This provision could be used against anyone extending counseling, medical care, or otherwise providing aid to gay people.
• Criminalizes the act of obtaining a same-sex marriage abroad with lifetime imprisonment.
• Adds 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.
• Penalizes 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.
• Adds an extra-territorial and extradition provisions, allowing Uganda to prosecute LGBT Ugandans living abroad.
• Voids all international treaties, agreements and human rights obligations which conflict with this bill.

The ball’s in your court, Peter. Do you have the balls to answer?

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

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 (PDF: 2 MB/6 pages) and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (PDF: 5 pages/1.7 MB ) calling the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill “the most extreme and hateful attempt by an African country to criminalize their LGBT community.” According to the press release:

In the letters, the Members of Congress call the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2009 “the most extreme and hateful attempt by an African country to criminalize their LGBT community.” The Members asked President Obama to use his “personal leadership, and that of our country, in seeking to deter these legislative proposals,” and warned President Museveni that, “Should the bill be passed, any range of bilateral programs important to relations between our countries and, indeed, to the Ugandan people inevitably would be called under review.”

Rep. Baldwin called the proposed legislation “an appalling violation of human rights,” and calls on President Obama to “use the full force of his office to oppose this hateful and life-threatening legislation.” Rep. Polis said, “This is nothing more than the institutionalization of hatred and bigotry and it must be stopped,” while calling on Obama and Museveni “to do everything in their powers to prevent it from becoming law.”

Rep. Frank said, “Having accepted debt relief from the international community only a few years ago, Uganda has an obligation to show some respect for basic human rights. He also warned that “Vicious unleashing of persecution of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people should and will be an obstacle to any future Congressional initiative to provide aid to that country.”

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

Click here to read the letters sent to President Barack Obama and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

Twelve Senators Voice Opposition to Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill

Twelve U.S. Senators have written to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni calling on him to block the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that is now before that nation’s Parliament. Citing Uganda’s relative success in fighting HIV/AIDS, the Senators note:

While your nation has been a leader in Africa on many fronts, including the reduction of HIV infections, this proposed legislation will be a glaring setback in Uganda\’s human rights standing.  Unfortunately, even the mere threat of the new and severe penalties for homosexual behavior suggested in this bill, including life imprisonment and the death penalty, could easily add to an already intolerant atmosphere in Uganda based on sexual orientation.

Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman (CT) joined Democrats Benjamin Cardin (MD), Richard Duban (IL), Daniel Akaka (HI), Christopher Dodd, (CT), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Sherrod Brown (OH), Jeff Merkley (OR), Patty Murray (WA), , Mark Udall (CO), Diane Feinstein (CA) and Barbara Boxer (CA) in signing the letter.

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

Click here to read the letter sent to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni

Uganda’s Cabinet Rejects Withdrawal of Anti-Gay Bill

According to Uganda’s independent NTV, the cabinet considered and rejected the suggestion of withdrawing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. (Also, in a reminder that Uganda is not a free democracy, this report closes with an update on CBS Radio, which was closed last autumn in a political dispute between President Yoweri Museveni and the traditional king (Kabaka) of Buganda.)

As we reported earlier today, the bill now goes to a subcommittee which will recommend changes to the bill.

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

Uganda’s Cabinet Debates Anti-Gay Bill

Uganda’s state-owned New Vision reports that a “heated” Cabinet meeting took place yesterday to discuss the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The discussions don’t look good:

Sources said the Cabinet was divided on the clause spelling out the death penalty. After failing to agree on a position, works minister John Nasasira reportedly proposed that the Bill be delayed. His position was rejected, sources disclosed.

This suggests that there are people in the cabinet who don’t even want the death penalty removed, let alone any of the other draconian and wide-ranging provisions of the proposed legislation. The independent Daily Monitor reports that MP David Bahati, the bill’s sponsor, said that he is willing to amend the proposed law in a way “without putting the values of the country at risk. He was tight-lipped about the Cabinet meeting itself.

The cabinet decided to form a sub-committee headed by Attorney General Khidu Makubuya to suggest amendments to the bill. Other members of the sub-committee include Regional Affairs State Minister Isaac Musumba, Education Minister Namirembe Bitamazire, Gender Minister Gabriel Opiyo, and Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo. Buturo has been one of the bill’s strongest proponents.

It looks like any hope that the bill would be withdrawn is diminishing. Merely “amending” the bill would still leave a bill that would represent a staggering setback for human rights in Uganda. As the bill is currently written, it 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.

It’s impossible to imagine any amendments short of a “strike-all” amendment that would represent a material improvement to the bill.

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

Prayer Breakfast Spokesperson: Bahati’s Not Coming

Warren Throckmorton posted this extremely short statement from Ambassador Richard Swett, who Warren identifies as National Prayer Breakfast spokesperson. Since neither the Family nor the National Prayer Breakfast has a web site where these things could be verified, I’ll have to take his word for it. The statement says that Uganda’s MP David Bahati, the guy behind the proposal to lock up Uganda’s gays and throw away the key (the ones he doesn’t want killed, at least), is not coming to the Family-sponsored event on February 4th:

Ambassador Richard Swett, a longtime associate of the Fellowship Foundation since his days in Congress in the early ’90s, confirmed the accuracy of Mr. Hunter\’s report to Warren Throckmorton. He went on to state, “The National Prayer Breakfast is an organization that builds bridges of understanding between all peoples, religions and beliefs and has never advocated the sentiments expressed in Mr. Bahati\’s legislation.”

For more information, contact Bob Hunter at loonlakeme@aol.com.

That’s a very good start. Now how about sending this statement to Ugandan media? And what about Sen. Inhofe, who is identified as the Family’s point man with Ugandan president Yoweri Miseveni?

Update: I was called away and neglected to finish my thought on Sen. Inhofe. He’s the guy who was been identified as the point man for Uganda. He has met recently with leaders on the region about the insurgency by the murderous Lord’s Resistance Army, so we know he is currently active in the region to put a stop to those violations of human rights.

But going back to the broader questions I raised this morning, there is another egregious threat to human rights that we have yet to see any aubstantive action. I really hope I’m wrong, but there hasn’t even been a hint to suggest this is even on his radar. I hope the Family’s opposition to this bill extends to their point man in Uganda, and not just statements for domestic consumption at home.

Ugandan Boycott Called

The controversy surrounding Uganda’s draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill has resulted in at least one call for a boycott:

[Ugandan pastor Martin] Sempa said, “Most Ugandans do not support homosexuality. We are to launch a campaign against consumption of US, UK, and Canada products in Uganda if those countries continue to threaten our country because of the anti gay bill. We will make people stop buying Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola and other products from USA.”

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