Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyJanuary 28th, 2010
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
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:
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.
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Lynn David
January 28th, 2010
Among those, Buturo raises my ire most of all.
Bob Hunter
January 28th, 2010
I have checked and no one on your list is coming to the National Prayer Breakfast.
Ray
January 28th, 2010
Mr. Hunter, please let your Christian brethren and the Ugandans know that the outrage will be HARSH and FORMIDABLE if ANY Ugandan other than a gay person or HIV-positive person attends the National Prayer Breakfast. Any Ugandan who would so much as consider that HATEFUL bill is not welcome!
Paul
January 28th, 2010
So Bob, who IS on the list?
kanbte
January 29th, 2010
Hey Ray, never say never, but you should know that God will be present.
God Loves u.
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