Box Turtle Bulletin

Ugandan News Blog: “What Makes Someone Gay and Can People Change Orientation?”

When I saw that title appear on the Uganda Talks blog of that nation’s The Independent newspaper this morning, I was prepared for the worst. But then I saw the byline: Warren Throckmorton. He alone among American evangelicals was out front on this issue clear back in March of last year. I hope this article is able to make its way into the print edition.

But this just goes to show that if those who claim to be against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill were really serious about their claims, they could quite easily demonstrate their sincerity rather than falling back to playing the part of a helpless dupe. But Exodus’ shirking their responsibility is a well-established pattern that is giving Christianity a black eye to millions of people around the world. As I said before: Uganda will forever be their legacy and their cowardly silence will become the indelible image of Christ seen by LGBT people the world over. And thousands of Ugandans — and many more thousands of Americans — will never forget it.

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

Voice Of America on Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill

The Voice of America’s hour-long Straight Talk Africa television program today was devoted to Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Today’s program featured Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power; Ugandan MP David Bahati, sponsor of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill; Matt Kavanagh of the Health Gap Coalition; and Olara A. Otunnu, Former Ambassador of Uganda to the U.N. (1980-1985).

Some background on Otunno is warrented. He was ambassador for the government of Milton Obote, who was overthrown by Uganda’s current President Yoweri Museveni in a civil war. Otunnu is a member of the Obote’s Ugandan People’s Congress, and he is actively courting the divided party’s nomination for the 2011 presidential elections.

The program is available this week for download.

David Bahati continues to assert that “homosexuality is learned and can be unlearned” (wonder where he got that idea?), and characterized gays as being predators who “recruit” children in schools (wonder where he got that idea?), and that is why, he says, the bill is essential. Bahati insisted that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni “has common ground” with Bahati on the need for the bill.

Bahati was asked if he was a member of The Family. He acknowledged having “friends” in Washington and having attended the National Prayer Breakfast which is organized by the Family. However, he denied that the Family had any input to the bill.

Matt Kavanagh pointed out that the provisions in the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill would criminalize efforts to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS in the LGBT community, since providing such aide could be seen as “aiding and abetting” homosexuality with prison sentences of five to seven years. “Driving people underground is a horrible public health policy. It means only that you are going to increase the spread of HIV.”

Jeff Sharlet talked about the tremendous influence people like Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who “adopted” Uganda and has a close personal relationship with President Museveni. He said that Museveni, and Bahati are members of the Family, but that the Family is now shedding its secretive image in order to “throw Mr. Bahati under the bus” in order to protect their relationship with Museveni, which the Family considers their more valuable asset.

Sharlet confirmed that Uganda’s Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo plans to attend the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. on February 4th. Buturo has been a heavy promoter of the draconian anti-gay bill throughout the year, having responded to the anti-gay conference put on in Kampala by three American anti-gay extremists with promises to “strengthen” Uganda’s law against homosexuality. Uganda’s laws against “crimes against nature” already provide for lifetime imprisonment. Buturo’s very office was created at the suggestion by the Family.

Ambassador Otunnu denounced the death penalty aspects of the bill and said that all Ugandans deserve equal human rights, but called for sensitivity to the “deeply held traditions and cultures of particular societies. …When a society  sees suddenly a practice that was not (known to be) so widespread, it begins to ask questions, it goes into shock, it begins to panic, and you see reaction which can be irrational.” He went on:

I am very sad that it has taken the issue of homosexuals for key western leaders and key western governments to discover the human rights disaster in Uganda. We’ve had genocide in Northern Uganda for fifteen years, no comments from any high officials in the West.  We had thirty people massacred in the streets of Kampala on the tenth of September the last. No high level comments. We have torture chambers in Kampala as we speak. WE have widespread corruption, fraud in elections. So I’m very disappointed that is has taken this issue to have any comment on human rights, and even then the comments are not about human rights in general in Uganda, but specific to the fate of homosexuals.

Much of the rest of the program was devoted preparations for the 2011 elections, which international observers fear will not be free and fair.

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

US Human Rights Commission To Hold Hearings on Ugandan Anti-Gay Bill

Chris Johnson at DCAgenda reports that US Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WS) will chair a meeting of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission next week to hear testimony on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that is now before Uganda’s Parliament. The Commission is a congressional body charged with promoting public awareness and developing strategies for Congress in the area of human rights.

Yesterday, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), chair of the Senate finance Committee\’s subcommittee on International Trade, Customs and Global Competitiveness, issued a statement threatening Uganda with loss of preferential trade relations if that nation proceeds with passing the wide-ranging and draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

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

Ugandan State-Owned TV’s Cautious Coverage of Museveni’s Remarks

Uganda’s state-owned UBC television this morning featured Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s comments made yesterday during an Executive Council meeting of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party meeting at State House, Entebbe about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. In these videos, provided by an anonymous BTB reader in Uganda, we see a report on Museveni’s remarks.

As you can see, the report on state-owned TV, which is followed by remarks by Deputy Attorney General Fred Ruhindi, is extremely cautious and does not speculate on the implications of Museveni’s remarks. Early coverage by the state-owned newspaper New Vision gave Museveni’s remarks extraordinarily large and thorough coverage, but offered no analysis of the bill’s future either. However, New Vision printed another article quoting Executive Director of the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, Livingston Sewanyana, as backing Museveni’s remarks, saying that the bill infringes on human rights. This is, I believe, the first time this opinion has been reported in the state-owned paper.

Independent media has been less cautious. The earlier report by NTV speculated that Museveni’s remarks might be a “nail in the coffin” for the draconian anti-gay bill. Uganda’s independent Monitor newspaper, which is owned by the same media group as NTV, this morning said:

He also left Ndorwa West MP David Bahati holding the can, when he, for the first time publicly, disowned the legislator\’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009, saying it does not represent the party or government position.

As for Bahati himself, he was reportedly on WBS television last night, still determined to push the bill through Parliament.

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

Click here to see a transcript of the UBC television reports

Transcript of Ugandan President’s Remarks To Ruling Party Meeting

We’ve posted earlier an audio clip of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s remarks to the Executive Council of the ruling National Resistance Movement party meeting at State House, Entebbe yesterday. A BTB reader in Uganda has provided us with a transcript of those remarks.

When I was at the Commonwealth conference, the Prime Minister of Canada came to see me – and what was he talking about? Gays.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown came to see me – what he talking about? Gays.

When I got to New York, when I was coming back, Assistant Secretary Carson called me. What was he ringing me about? Somalia, and Gays.

The other day when I was here Mrs. Clinton rang me. What was she talking about? Gays.

Now, we need to clarify this issue. This motion of gays was brought by a private member, the Honourable Bahati. In fact, I had not even had time to discuss with him, and that\’s what I was telling these people. I was telling them “but you\’re Democrats.. you\’re the ones who have been talking about democracy. Now, this is a private members bill, so why should it cause so much excitement?”

Recently we sat in the cabinet and we said that the cabinet should invite the Honourable Bahati, look at what he\’s talking about, and see how they can handle it all of them together.

I think you should listen carefully because its better more minds discuss this and see how to navigate through all this.

But the point I\’m making here – I\’m using this forum to clarify that this position is not… this issue was not brought by the government, it was not even brought by the party, it was brought by a private member and we have not had time even to discuss with him. Those who are saying we should not discuss with him, I would advise them to trust my judgement  – that our foreign policy is not managed just by some individuals we must all be involved.

We have got our values here and our stand.. historically, socially… but we need to know, also, that your partners –  the ones who you\’ve been working with so much – in fact, you are the ones who work with Europeans more than I do. You are the ones who are always there… in Europe… in America… They have got their system there.

One day… I can talk about this because it happened. I don\’t think anybody will say I am misrepresenting anything, because I saw it in the papers… there was a rally in New York of 300,000 homosexuals. Now, I would want to challenge you, Members of Parliament… how many of you, other than me, who have had a rally of 300,000 people? And even me I have not had those rallies very often.

Now, President Clinton was supposed to go there to attend but he didn\’t attend… but he sent a message. He said “I have not come, but I\’m with you in spirit.”

So therefore, I strongly advise you that you agree to the idea that the cabinet sit down with Bahati, a sub-committee, and see how best to handle this issue because… because… it is a foreign policy issue. It\’s not just our internal politics. It is a foreign policy issue, and we must handle it in a way which does not compromise our principles, but also takes into account our foreign policy interests.

When I was discussing with Mrs. Clinton on the phone she did not sound dogmatic. In fact, she appeared sort of… inquisitive, and she was asking me, “how is this problem”? I said, “Even me I don\’t know. But I had been told..” (because I really don\’t know much about homosexuals, even here). “I\’d been told..” that\’s what I told her. I said that I had been told… I have heard…(nobody has even really told me, seriously) I have heard… that homosexuals come from Europe, and come here, and try to recruit young people.

Now, that\’s why you need to calm down.

Then Mrs. Clinton said, “no, but that\’s very bad! That is…” She called it “exploitation”. These were her own words.

She said… I simply said..I have heard… which is true because I don\’t really know… and I\’ve not studied this issue. I said I have heard that homosexuals come from Europe, they come with money to lure young people into that practice. That\’s what I said, on the phone, I said. And what did Mrs. Clinton say? She said “Oh, but that is exploitation”.

So you see that if you take a dialogue approach, you would actually come to… like I had that about 45 minutes on the phone with Mrs. Clinton… and I could see we were getting near each .. err…but I was not very briefed myself.. I did not have the facts.

So therefore, don\’t sensationalise this, let\’s be systematic among ourselves, and then we dialogue with these Europeans… the Americans… and then we shall come with a final position.

But, for the press… the rumor mongers… Chairman of NRM Yoweri Museveni is telling you, that this is a private member’s motion, number one. It is not a government position, yet… or a party position… and even the private member is still in the process of discussing this with his colleagues, so it is all premature and out of proportion to kick up all this problem.

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

US Senator Threatens Uganda With Trade Sanctions

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who chairs the Senate finance Committee’s subcommittee on International Trade, Customs and Global Competitiveness, has released a statement  threatening Uganda with trade sanctions if that nation proceeds with passing the wide-ranging and draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, Sen. Wyden warns:

As you know, Uganda is a beneficiary of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which was signed in to law in 2000. AGOA provides duty-free treatment to imports originating from beneficiary African countries. Beneficiaries of AGOA must meet certain eligibility criteria, one of which is to not engage in “gross violations of internationally recognized human rights,” and the jurisprudence in the area of international human rights supports respect of sexual orientation and gender identity as human rights. I strongly urge you to communicate immediately to the Ugandan government, and President Yoweri Museveni directly, that Uganda\’s beneficiary status under AGOA will be revoked should the proposed legislation be enacted.

Sen. Wyden promises to sponsor legislation to amend America’s trade preference programs “to make clear that failure to appropriately respect sexual orientation and gender identity as human rights shall preclude a country from benefitting from any U.S. trade preference scheme.”

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

Ugandan State-Owned Media Highlights Museveni’s Speech Against Anti-Gay Bill

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s announcement before the executive council of his ruling party that he will “discuss” the Anti-Homosexuality Bill with MP David Bahati received prominent play in tomorrow morning’s edition of the state-owned New Vision newspaper. Anonymous BTB tipsters from Uganda report that Museveni’s remarks were also featured in the evening newscasts from state-run UBC televsion and similar news broadcasts from other private independent television stations. (You can see NTV’s coverage of Museveni’s remarks here.)

The New Vision article contained extensive quotes from Museveni’s remarks:

Museveni said he had been questioned about the bill by several foreign leaders, including the Canadian prime minister, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He said Clinton called him for over 45 minutes over the issue.  “I told them that this bill was brought up by a private member and I have not even had time to discuss it with him. It is neither the Government nor the NRM party. It is a private member,” Museveni told the NRM meeting at State House Entebbe.

“It is my judgment that our foreign policy is not managed just by some individuals. We have our values and our stand, historically and socially, but we need to know also that our partners we have been working with have their systems,” he added as members murmured in disapproval.

Museveni narrated that the gay community in New York organised a rally and invited then President Bill Clinton.  “In that rally, about 300,000 homosexuals attended. I challenge you. Who of you, MPs, has ever had a rally of 300,000 people, other than me? Even for me, it is not often that I get those numbers,” he said.

Here is audio of Museveni’s remarks, as provided by an anonymous BTB reader in Uganda.

While Uganda has the apparatus of a parliamentary democracy, real power resides in the hands of the president who has held power for almost 24 years since overthrowing his successor in a 1985 civil war. Last fall, he shut down opposition radio stations which were critical of his policies against the traditional king of Buganda following widespread rioting.

So when President Museveni announces that he is going to “discuss” the Anti-Homosexuality Bill with MP Bahati, it’s reasonable to assume that some sort of action will take place. Whether it will be a modification around the edges of the far-reaching bill or its complete withdrawal, it’s hard to say. But it does mean that whatever happens from this point on, it happens because Museveni wants it to happen. This makes Museveni’s remarks — and the prominent attention those remarks are receiving in state-owned news outlets — the most encouraging development in the past year.

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

BREAKING: Audio and News Reports of Uganda President’s Comments on Anti-Gay Bill

Uganda’s NTV has posted video of President Museveni’s announcement at a meeting of his ruling party that he will be speaking to MP David Bahati about the Anti-Homosexuality bill. The reporter suggests that Museveni’s remarks were a final “nail in the coffin” for the draconian measure.

An anonymous Ugandan reader sent audio to BTB and Grove City College professor Warren Throckmorton. In this audio clip, we can hear President Museveni speaking before a rowdy crowd at State House, Entebbe, before a meeting of his National Resistance Movement party. After recounting numerous phone calls and personal conversations he has had with foreign leaders and representatives, he announced that he and the Cabinet will sit down with MP Bahati “to see how best to handle this issue”:

I strongly advise you that we agree that the cabinet sit down with Bahati and see how best to handle this issue…

Because it is a foreign policy issue, it is not just our internal politics, and we must handle it in a way which does not compromise our principles but also takes into account our foreign policy interests. So let’s be systematic among ourselves, and then we dialogue with these Europeans and the Americans and then we shall come up with a final position.

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

Ugandan President To Pressure Anti-Gay Bill Sponsor

There is a post up on the blog for Uganda’s The Independent newspaper indicating that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his cabinet will talk to MP David Bahati, the sponsor of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, in order “to reach a position that will leave both the local and international community satisfied.” Museveni reportedly made the announcement to members of his National Resistance Movement party.

The president\’s pronouncement attracted wild murmurs from the audience prompting him to repeat his statement. He said ever since the bill was tabled in the last quarter of last year; he has been receiving calls from various international figures including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to find out updates on the proposed law. Museveni observed that the bill is affecting Uganda\’s image abroad. He said although there\’s need to protect Uganda\’s values, it also necessary to take care of concerns of the international community.

An earlier report went out on the blog’s RSS feed suggesting that the President intends to pressure Bahati into withdrawing the bill, but that post itself was withdrawn.

The Monitor, Uganda’s largest independent newspaper, also has a similar story posted moments ago:

President Museveni says that government will hold discussions with David Bahati, the Ndorwa West Member of parliament who tabled the bill which has been labled harsh to reach an agreed position. The president made the revelation today while opening the National Executive Conference of the ruling National Resistance Movement at State House Entebbe. Mr Museveni told the delegates that despite the fact that Uganda, has to protect its values and cultures, there is need to exercise extreme caution on the anti-gay bill. He said that the anti-gay bill is already impacting negatively on Uganda\’s foreign policy.

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

Lutherans tells State Department that Uganda bill is “abhorrent injustice”

The Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to express the church’s grave concern over the Proposed Anti-Homosexuality bill in Uganda.

Here is a portion of his letter:

The ELCA is gravely concerned that this measure, introduced last year by Ugandan member of parliament David Bahati, would, in certain cases, impose the death penalty for persons convicted of “aggravated homosexuality.” Enactment of this kind of legislation would be an abhorrent injustice and outside the norms and standards of internationally-recognized human rights.

For the ELCA such an action would be inconsistent with various aspects of our church’s social policy, such as the social statements, including “Death Penalty” (1991), “For Peace in God’s World” (1995), and “Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust” (2009), as well as the 1993 Church Council action related to “harassment, assault, and discrimination due to sexual orientation,” all of which affirm the foundational human dignity of each person created in the image of God.

We welcome this strong witness.

Grassroots Adventists seek denunciation of draconian anti-gay bill from Uganda Adventist leader who endorsed it

In response to objections made by members of their own church about the statements of endorsement from John Kakembo, the president of the Uganda Union Mission, the Seventh-day Adventist Church issued a tepid statement. They did not mention Kakembo by name, denounce the bill, or demand that he retract his endorsement.

This limited reaction has not been satisfactory to Adventists of good conscience. Spectum Magazine’s Alexander Carpenter has asked his fellow churchmembers to contact Kakembo directly and express what such statements do to their Christ-like witness and their religious liberty work.

Since I believe that letter writing campaigns like this should follow a bottom-up approach as outlined in Matthew 18:15-20, I would encourage folks to address their letters to John Kakembo at the Uganda Union Mission.

The quarterly magazine Adventist Today is joining the effort on their blog site and is encouraging readers to join Spectrum’s advocacy.

As this issue is of concern to all of good will irrespective of their personal views concerning the nature of homosexual orientation and the Adventist Church’s manner of relating to this community, Adventist Today appreciates that Alexander Carpenter has given us permission to post this as well.

In contrast, the weekly Adventist Review only reports the vague statement, choosing instead to emphasize that Kakembo only endorses the non-death penalty portions of the bill.

Even if the death penalty were removed, the 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 imprisonment for life.
• 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 of seven years.
• criminalize “promoting” homosexuality with fines and imprisonment of 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 could also be used against anyone extending counseling or otherwise aiding gay people. 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 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 of up to three years.
• label landlords and hotel owners as proprietors of “brothels” and penalizes them with five to seven years imprisonment 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.

Adventists of good will can sincerely differ about the manner in which to interpret and apply scripture. One need not find homosexual behavior to be a morally acceptable option for one’s own life to oppose criminalization, oppression, and discrimination.

If you are an Adventist who finds the above proposal abhorrent, are shocked that the president of the Uganda Union Mission would endorse these provisions, and are ashamed that your church has been unwilling to vociferously and aggressively work against this bill, I encourage you to let your voice be heard.

(I’d STRONGLY advise others not to participate in this process as it could be counter-productive)

Head of Uganda’s Catholic Church Rejects Anti-Gay Bill

Uganda’s largest independent newspaper The Monitor reports:

The titular head of the Catholic Church in Uganda has weighed in on the proposed anti-homosexuality law, saying he rejects it because it is “at odds with the core values” of Christians. But while Kampala Archbishop Cyprian Lwanga\’s opposition to the 2009 Anti-Homosexuality Bill is based on compassion, the cleric retains the view that homosexuality is immoral and violates God\’s will. “The Bible says homosexuality is strictly forbidden,” Dr Lwanga said in a statement made public yesterday.

“However, the Church equally teaches the Christian message of respect, compassion, and sensitivity. The Church has always asked its followers to hate the sin but to love the sinner… In our view, the proposed [law] is not necessary considering that acts of sodomy are already condemned in the Penal Code.”

…Still, in a country where homosexuality is taboo and where many preachers have condemned gays, Dr Lwanga\’s comments will be seen as unlikely opposition to a piece of legislation that proposes death or life imprisonment for gay people.

Based on the Montor’s reporting, it appears that the Bishop may have rejected the entire Anti-Homosexuality Bill, and not just the death penalty provision. The Monitor carefully distinguishes this difference between the Catholic bishop’s position and that of the Anglican Church in Uganda:

Essentially, however, Dr Lwanga\’s views run counter to the position of Uganda\’s Anglican community, whose leaders have supported the proposed law but opposed the death penalty, and alienate junior priests who have expressed contrary views. In Uganda\’s Pentecostal community, where pastors like Martin Ssempa have supported the proposed law in its current shape, homophobia is even more intense.

About 42% of Ugandans are Roman Catholic.

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

Mixed Messages Can Lead to Violence

Uganda\’s government is now considering the passage of antigay laws that would, among other punishments, impose life imprisonment or even the death sentence on those who engage in homosexual behavior.

Equally disturbing, and as reported in Box Turtle Bulletin and now in the mainstream media, was the role played by American evangelical Christians, including members of a so-called ex-gay movement that believes homosexuality can be “cured.”  As noted in a New York Times editorial last week, these Americans were part of a process that initiated this hateful legislation by giving a series of talks in Uganda last March to “thousands of police officers, teachers and politicians in which, according to participants and audio recordings, [they claimed] that gays and lesbians are a threat to Bible-based family values.”

The evangelical Christians who went to Uganda are now saying, somewhat disingenuously, that they had no idea their condemnatory words might lead to such a violent outcome.  What could they have been thinking?

Typically, many antigay activists, while condemning homosexuality, claim they actually love the sinners (gay men and women) but hate their sins (the act of engaging in homosexual behavior).  For example, Focus on the Family for many years sponsored a series of antigay workshops around the country called “Love Won Out” where motivational speakers claimed that homosexuality could be “changed.”

For gay people, whose same sex attractions feel like an essential part of who they are, this is not a loving message. For most gay people, hating “homosexuality” means hating gay people.  Similarly, not all heterosexuals who hear the mixed message of love and condemnation can psychologically separate “homosexuals” from their homosexuality. Violent gay-bashers, for example, often attack people who they believe “look gay” or who may just be walking around a gay neighborhood. This unitary frame of mind appears to have shaped the legislation being considered in Uganda:  Want to stamp out homosexuality?  Stamp out the “homosexuals.”

Is antigay violence an inevitable outgrowth of moral condemnations of homosexuality?  Not always.  In the wake of a growing international outcry, many American evangelicals who oppose gay civil rights in this country are now condemning the Ugandan legislation\’s harshest measures.

However, one lesson “traditional values” advocates might take from this experience is that claims of “loving” gay people while condemning their homosexuality can lead to the kind of violent responses being contemplated in Uganda.  Do the preachers of a mixed message of love and hate bear responsibility for the hateful acts that may ensue?  Now that they have seen some of the consequences of such messaging, they do from now on.

The author, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, is Emeritus Editor of the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health.

Scott Lively Endorses “Revised” Ugandan Bill. Do Exodus And Cohen?

Scott Lively issued a statement dated today saying that he now supports the “revised” Anti-Homosexuality Bill. We have no idea what the revisions might be. Media reports indicate that it’s merely an elimination of the death-penalty provision, leaving the life imprisonment aspect intact, which is hardly an improvement given the prospect of spending the rest of one’s life rotting away in a Ugandan prison. Lively indicates that there is a forced conversion option, which would please him to no end. Of course, without knowing what the text of the “revised” bill might be, we have no way of verifying any of his claims which must be taken with a grain of salt.

In the lead-in to his statement, Lively says:

“I can\’t say that I necessarily agree with every element of the revised bill, but I believe this revision is an acceptable compromise under the circumstances and well within the prerogative of a civilized sovereign nation”

The bill, as currently written, has the following provisions:

• 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 of seven years.
• Criminalizes “promoting” homosexuality with fines and imprisonment of 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 could also be used against anyone extending counseling or otherwise aiding gay people. 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 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 of up to three years.
• Labels landlords and hotel owners as proprietors of “brothels” and penalizes them with five to seven years imprisonment 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.

Since Lively has lent his endorsement to a revised version of this bill apparently sight unseen. Assuming the death penalty is stricken and the alternative to rotting away the rest of one’s life in a dank Ugandan prison is the false “choice” of forced conversion, it is incumbent upon him to answer which of these provisions he thinks are “well within the prerogative of a civilized sovereign nation”?

Let’s face it, Scott Lively is irredeemably evil, fully earning his three spots on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of anti-gay hate groups. But what about the others? Exodus International board member Don Schmierer and International Healing Foundation’s Caleb Lee Brundidge cast their lot with Lively when they agreed to speak on the same platform with him. They haven’t fully condemned his continuing agitation in Uganda for a bill that he calls “a step in the right direction.” And, more importantly, they haven’t condemned Scott Lively’s hate-filled vendetta itself.

In fact, when Exodus International removed their link to Lively’s online condensed version of The Pink Swastika (which blames gays for Nazism and the Holocaust), they kept the tantalizing title “Homosexuality and the Nazi Party” which a quick Internet search lands the unsuspecting searcher onto Lively’s exercise in Holocaust revisionism. As for the link, Exodus now explains, “This opinion article by Scott Lively from 1995 is no longer offered by Exodus International.” Why not? Is it because they suddenly found Lively’s article objectionably after having provided that link since at least 2005? Or is it just because the “research” is out of date or that it’s no longer hosted on LeadershipU’s web site? Nobody knows and Exodus appears satisfied with that ambiguity. As of tonight, it’s still there. International Healing Foundation’s Richard Cohen hasn’t denounced Lively either for that matter.

Since they have not unambiguously disentangled themselves from Lively himself, their reputations remain entangled in his ongoing meddling in Uganda’s legislative process. And with that entanglement, they need to answer these questions: Do they agree than any part of this bill is a step in the right direction? If so, which parts?

Now more than ever, it is incumbent on Exodus president Alan Chambers, Cohen, Brundidge and Schmierer to fully and resolutely condemn Scott Lively and the other provisions of this bill, and issue a full apology to the LGBT citizens of Uganda who are suffering from the public vigilante campaigns which their conference sparked. They need to do this now before the idea of a “revised” bill being acceptable gains any further ground. It is long past time for them to call out evil by name.

But as I said, I doubt they will. To date, none of them have shown the integrity, the guts, nor the authentic witness of the Christian faith that they claim to hold so dear. Unless they separate themselves completely, forcefully, and without reservation from this unconscionable mess, Uganda will forever be their legacy and their cowardly silence will become the indelible image of Christ seen by LGBT people the world over. And thousands of Ugandans — and many more thousands of Americans — will never forget it.

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

Uganda’s Public Vigilante Campaign Continues To Claim Victims

Uganda’s latest anti-gay public vigilante campaign, which was re-ignited following an anti-gay conference put on by three American anti-gay extremists, continues to claim victims. The notorious tabloid Red Pepper has one story in this morning’s edition of one lesbian couple who barely escaped a lynch mob. According to the tabloid though, they are still in hiding from the police:

The naughty girls, hitherto residents of Kawaala in Rubaga Division, a Kampala suburb, sneaked out of cops\’ hands after being rescued from the angry residents who nearly forced them into an instant meeting with their creator.

This, according to police sources, followed Mikki\’s courageous manner when she called-in on one of the several city radio stations and demanded for her ‘rights\’ as a gay, hence attracting the residents concern who reasoned she had tarnished their village\’s reputation.Police then intervened and rescued the girls from the looming mob.

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

Earlier this morning, BTB’s Timothy Kincaid noted an article in the New Zealand Herald of an HIV/AIDS physician who was named by the Red Pepper as being a “gay tycoon” with a Rwandan lover. The Herald lays blame for the latest public vigilantism squarely on the March 3-5 conference that we first reported on last February:

The anti-gay push in Uganda followed a three-day visit by a trio of controversial Americans whose teachings on homosexuals have been widely discredited in the US. The evangelical Christians are: Caleb Lee Brundidge, who describes himself as a former gay man and offers “healing” sessions; Scott Lively, a missionary who writes on protecting children from gay recruiters; and Don Schmierer, who works with Exodus International, an anti-gay church group.

Participants at the Kampala talks describe hearing about the “hidden gay agenda” in which homosexual men convert boys by sodomising them and how gays can be made straight. The appearance of the anti-homosexuality bill so soon after has been blamed on the evangelicals, especially as the bill’s sponsor, David Bahati, claims to have friends in America’s religious right.

Videos obtained jointly by BTB and Ex-Gay Watch fully confirm those descriptions of the infamous March 5-7 conference.

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