Box Turtle Bulletin

Chaffetz to fight DC’s marriage law

As expected, Jason Chaffetz will be the pointman assigned to overturn marriage equality in Washington, DC. (SL Tribune)

A Utah Republican renewed his pledge Tuesday to prevent the nation’s capital from allowing gay couples to marry after the Washington, D.C., Council signed off on such a measure.

That Chaffetz is visible in this effort suggests to me that the Republican Party isn’t going to put up much of a fight. Jason isn’t exactly known for either his intellect or his abilities. He was also the lead in trying to block out-of-state marriages from being recognized in the capital. I wish him equal success.

Hunting for ex-gays in Washington, D.C.

The recent votes by the city counsel of Washington, DC, to first recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages and now to offer marriage equality brought out plenty of anti-gay activists. And many loudly proclaimed the healing power of Christ to overcome the homosexual lifestyle.

But among the many there in the chambers to denounce the evils of homosexuality, one demographic seemed to be missing: residents of the city who had been healed. There just didn’t seem to be any living, breathing ex-gays there to remind their elected officials to represent this often-invisible minority.

The reason may be revealed in an article by Amanda Hess in the Washington CityPaper back in September.

Unfortunately for PFOX and reporters on the sexual-orientation beat, ex-gay Washingtonians are hard to come by. Since each of my dozen or so calls to PFOX headquarters went unanswered, I am unable to confirm any of the group\’s purported ex-gay offspring or friends. J. Matt Barber, a member of the PFOX board of directors, tells me that he has “a number of very close friends who are former homosexuals”—none of whom live in D.C. I do track down ex-gay minister Anthony Falzarano, who founded PFOX in Washington in 1995. Falzarano was happy to detail the hundreds of male sex partners he had in his former life, but his flamboyant ex-gayness is no use to PFOX now—Falzarano has since left D.C. for West Palm Beach, Fla. Quinlan, PFOX\’s current go-to ex-gay, once called D.C. home, but he has since settled into his heterosexual lifestyle in Dayton, Ohio.

Anti-gay activists are quick to tell you that the world is just teeming with “former homosexuals”. I guess just not in DC.

New Yorkers disappointed by marriage vote

The Siena Research Institute has released a survey that shows that a plurality of New Yorkers were displeased that the NY Senate voted for anti-gay discrimination.

* Forty-seven percent of voters were disappointed that the Senate rejected the bill to legalize same sex marriages in New York, compared to 41 percent who were pleased by the Senate\’s vote. In August, 50 percent of voters told Siena that they supported the Senate passing the same sex marriage bill, with 44 percent then opposing Senate passage.

* Liberals, young voters, Democrats and Jewish voters were most disappointed. Conservatives, Republicans, older, and African American voters were most pleased with the Senate vote.

I find this a bit surprising. I figured for the most part the general public doesn’t really experience either much disappointment or much pleasure with legislation that primarily impacts our lives.

“Overall, 40 percent of voters – 42 percent of those who were disappointed in the Senate action and 47 percent of those who were pleased – said that their Senator\’s vote on the issue would be a deciding factor in their vote for State Senator next years.”

While that may be of some advantage to Republicans in conservative districts, it cannot be good news to the eight Democratic “no” votes that at least some of their constituents will be looking for an alternative in the primary.

D.C. legalizes marriage

Following up on their vote of two weeks ago, the City Council for Washington, DC, has taken the second and final step in enacting marriage equality in the nation’s capital. (AP)

The Washington, D.C., City Council voted Tuesday to legalize gay marriage in the nation’s capital, handing supporters a victory after a string of recent defeats in Maine, New York and New Jersey.

Mayor Adrian Fenty has promised to sign the bill, which passed 11-2, and gay couples could begin marrying as early as March. Congress, which has final say over Washington’s laws, could reject it, but Democratic leaders have suggested they are reluctant to do so.

Congress will have 30 days after Mayor Fenty signs the bill to reject it. Otherwise the District of Colombia will join Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Connecticut in allowing same-sex marriages at some point early in 2010.

Rwanda To Vote on Criminalizing Homosexuality Wednesday

BTB has just learned that the Rwandan Parliament is scheduled to take up consideration of a change to Rwanda’s penal code which would criminalize homosexuality with a punishment of five to ten years. It would also ban counselling and advocacy that could be interpreted as “encouraging or sensitizing” people to enter into same-sex relationships.

The problematic section in the penal code is article 217 which states that:

Any person who practices, encourages or sensitizes people of the same sex, to sexual relation or any sexual practice, shall be liable for a term of imprisonment ranging from five (5) to ten (10) years and fine ranging from Two Hundred thousand Rwanda Francs (200.000 RwF) to one million (1,000,000)Rwanda francs.”

The fines range from US$350 to US$1750. The average annual income is just US$370.

One key phrase of the proposed penal code, “encourages or sensitizes,” would have the effect of criminalizing advocacy on behalf of LGBT people. It would also severely impact the ability to deliver health services to LGBT people.

The Horizon Community Association of Rwanda (HOCA) and the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) have denounced the bill (PDF: 56KB/3 pages), saying that Rwandan citizens still experience gross violations of human rights. “Our country and our people refuse to recognize the fact that we exist,” said Naomi Ruzindana, President of HOCA. “As far as they are concerned, there are no lesbians or gays in Rwanda. Well, we are here, we exist. We are ordinary people like everyone and all we want is for our people and our government to recognize our existence and the fact that it is our basic human right to live our lives the way that we want and choose.”

The Rwandan Parliament will also consider another section of the Penal code that would criminalize sex workers in the country.

Rick Warren and Rwandan President Paul Kagame

Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren designated Rwanda “a purpose-driven nation” in 2005. In in 2007 the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, supported a law criminalizing homosexuality. Last week, Warren condemmed Uganda’s proposal to further criminalize homosexuality, saying, “I oppose the criminalization of homosexuality. The freedom to make moral choices is endowed by God. Since God gives us that freedom, we must protect it for all, even when we disagree with their choices.” While he addressed his video encyclical to Ugandan pastors, he also said of Rwanda:

While we have just begun to train pastors in Uganda, we are very involved in Rwanda, creating a nationwide PEACE Plan at the invitation of the churches there. Over 1,000 Saddleback members have served on humanitarian projects in Rwanda.

If Warren is serious about opposing the criminalization of homoseuxality, he should engage his nationwide Rwandan PEACE Plan to put a stop to this bill. And send a personal copy of his video encyclical to his friend, President Kagame.

Hillary Clinton Denounces Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has become perhaps the administration’s most outspoken and consistent critic of attempts to criminalize homosexuality. Yesterday in a speech at Georgetown University, Secretary Clinton singled out Uganda for its latest efforts to legislate LGBT people out of existence.

Calling for accountability doesn\’t start or stop at naming offenders. Our goal is to encourage—even demand—that governments must also take responsibility by putting human rights into law and embedding them in government institutions; by building strong, independent courts and competent and disciplined police and law enforcement. And once rights are established, governments should be expected to resist the temptation to restrict freedom of expression when criticism arises, and be vigilant in preventing law from becoming an instrument of oppression, as bills like the one under consideration in Uganda to criminalize homosexuality would do.

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

David Bahati Is A Boy Scout — And Other Examples of Ugandans Talking About Gay People

A BTB reader from Uganda sent some fascinating clips from the independent Daily Monitor, saying “people are actually talking and thinking, so… that’s another positive development.” I hope he’s right. The items he sent give us some indication of the kind of talking and thinking that is taking place as a result of the controversy surrounding the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Act.

Interview with former Health Minister Mike Mukula in the Dec 14 Daily Monitor (Click to enlarge)

The first item shows the negativity surrounding the discussion, with an article in yesterday’s Daily Monitor being a great example of how gay people in Uganda are blamed for just about everything including the political misfortunes of some top leaders. The Monitor runs a special feature called “Funny You Should Ask…” and yesterday Edwin Nuwagaba interviewed Mike Mukula, a former state Minister for Health. So who’s to blame for Mukula being identified as one of the most corrupt people in Uganda? Not political opponents, and of course not himself because he’s obviously a very innocent and virtuous politician. It’s gay people:

Don’t you feel ashamed after being named in the book of Shame and Fame as one of the most corrupt people in Uganda?
I don’t, because first of all that report is backed by Action Aid and it has support of the gay community. It should have been scientific that the people who have been convicted should have been the ones to be named and shamed. What happens if one is cleared by the Supreme Court? Do they go to Google and clear his image? I am a strong anti corruption crusader and tI think corruption should be fought.

So do you want to say that the gay people are against you?
Uganda is now under attack by the gay community globally, so people need to understand that prominent people in government will be taken on. This is a storm in a tea cup. It has got political origins. Corruption is a national and global matter it should never be used to demonize individuals.

But for balance, The Sunday Monitor also carried a column by Robert Kalumba, asking “Is the Church hypocritical when it comes to homosexuality?” That article recounts the various sex scandals in the Catholic Church, as well as Ted Haggard’s fall from grace along with a long line of American and Ugandan pastors that have been accused of sexual misconduct or have been forced to resign from their churches due to sex scandals. Kalumba has detected a glaring double standard:

So, according to the Bible, like homosexuality, divorce among other “vices” is forbidden. So why has the famous televangelist Pastor Juanita Bynum divorced her husband Bishop Weeks, who actually is planning to get married for the third time? Why isn\’t the church throwing Mark\’s verse to all church divorcees that fill their pews on Sundays? Why don\’t they encourage women whose dead husbands have left no male heirs to engage in sex orgies with their brothers-in-law?

Some will argue that those biblical texts are taken out of context but the same can be said about verses that seem to denounce homosexuality.

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

Our reader says that the print version of this column had a cartoon of two men kissing, a rarity for Ugandan media.

In other news, Ugandan member of Parliament David Bahati, in addition to being the author of a bill imposing the penalty of death by hanging on LGBT people and criminalizing anyone who knows or associates with them, is also the chairman of the Uganda Scouts Board. There’s photo in yesterday’s Daily Monitor of Bahati receiving a scouting kerchief during a East African Scouting conference held in Kampala last Friday. We know that the Boy Scouts of America bans gays from the organization, and will drum out anyone who comes out. Given Bahati’s proposal for LGBT people, I wonder if Uganda’s scouts can earn a merit badge in tying nooses.

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

Sen. DeMint Fears A Gay President

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), tea-bagger and right-wing GOP insurgent, has ripped Ronald Reagan’s “big tent” to shreds. He’s an ideological purist who will only tolerate fellow ideological purists, and thinks the Republican Party should purge those who aren’t as pure as he. He’s a huge supporter of states’ rights with one exception: same-sex marriage. On that issue, he things the Federal government should usurp states’ traditional role of regulating marriage in favor of a ban on same-sex marriage:

“Governments should not be in the business of promoting a behavior that\’s proven to be destructive to our society.”

He cringes at the notion of a gay or lesbian president: “It would be bothersome to me just personally because I consider it immoral.”

Not every kid can dream of growing up to be president.

If they really cared about Ocean Grove…

Anti-gay activists may be on the verge of losing another argument… by winning it.

Anti-marriage activism has no legitimate intellectual principle from which to argue. Appeals to tradition, religion, and “the children, the children” may sound compelling in an emotional TV ad, but they are simply cover for the fact that there is no logical reason that equality under the law should be denied to gay people other than animus.

So anti-gay activists tell stories, tales, and myths to portray gay people as aggressors and good God-fearing church folk as their helpless victims. Of course, they make strategic adjustments to their stories – what an objective observer might call “lying through their teeth” – but they try to keep at least a kernel of truth so that they can’t be accused of just making poop up.

One of the favorite stories that anti-gays like to tell is that of a church in New Jersey that lost its tax exempt status because it wouldn’t conduct gay marriages.

Here’s the tale from the Manhattan Declaration:

In New Jersey, after the establishment of a quasi­marital “civil unions” scheme, a Methodist institution was stripped of its tax exempt status when it declined, as a matter of religious conscience, to permit a facility it owned and operated to be used for ceremonies blessing homosexual unions.

And from the National Organization for Marriage’s infamous “gathering storm” ad:

“I am part of a New Jersey church group punished by the government because we cannot support same-sex marriage.”

In fact, you’ll hardly find a litany of imagined aggrievances that anti-gays chant that does not have some version of this tale. Of course, none of them tell the truth.

The facts are that the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association owns a small beachside town in New Jersey. Although Ocean Grove has many areas that are restricted for religious use, for decades the beach, the boardwalk, and a pavilion have been open to the public.

As part of the state’s Green Acres program, those who make their land open to all residents get special property tax benefits denied to other property owners. And so those areas that were public use (but not the private religious property) had received exemptions.

However, when the Association decided that the pavilion was a religious building that could only be used for heterosexual ceremonies, and not gay ceremonies, they no longer qualified for the exemption and the pavilion lost its special status. While the beach and the boardwalk remained privileged and received preferential treatment, the pavilion was treated like the rest of the Association’s property.

But all of that could change.

An added provision to the proposed New Jersey marriage equality bill would exempt churches, and church-affiliated organizations like the Camp Meeting Association, from having to provide services to same-sex couples. And further, it bars the state from punishing those religious organizations that so discriminate.

Which means that the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association could return to making their pavilion open to wedding ceremonies for everyone – Hindus, Muslims, Wiccans, Atheists, and Methodists – everyone except gay folk.

And you know what? I’m OK with that.

So here’s an offer to all of those anti-gay activists who have been telling the world that they are all so so so so very concerned about the Methodists in New Jersey: Support the marriage bill and you can get your ‘special rights’ back for the Ocean Grove pavilion. And we won’t even complain about it.

Fair enough?

What do you say?

UPDATE: The language of the section is as follows. The amendment starts at 1b.:

5. (New section) 1a.1 No member of the clergy of any religion authorized to solemnize marriage and no religious society, institution or organization in this State shall be required to solemnize any marriage in violation of the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or by Article I, paragraph 4 of the New Jersey Constitution.

d. Nothing in this act shall be construed to limit the effect of section 2 of P.L.1979, c.428 (C.18A:35-4.7).

Sentence for hate crime: one year

On Aug. 9, 2008, Carlos Lopez was enjoying an outing at Ensign Park in Utah when Fa MoiMoi approached him and asked Lopez to take his picture. MoiMoi then asked Lopez, 18, if he was gay. When he didn’t respond, MoiMoi began punching him.

MoiMoi, along with several of his friends, beat Lopez, his sister, and his aunt. Carlos Lopez suffered severe head trauma, including an broken orbital bone, and required major reconstructive surgery.

Fortunately, the picture provided evidence and police were able to identify the primary attacker. But by then MoiMoi had fled to Hawaii. In February he was arrested and brought back to Utah where he faced two charges of aggravated assault, one of which was enhanced to a first-degree felony because it was a hate crime.

On Friday he received his sentence (SL Tribune)

[MoiMoi] was charged with one count of first-degree felony aggravated assault and two counts of class A misdemeanor assault. On Friday, he pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree felony aggravated assault and the other charges were dismissed.

In addition to jail time, MoiMoi must complete 200 hours of community service, write a letter of apology to the victims, obtain his high school diploma and pay medical restitution of more than $36,500.

I don’t wish to overreact.

I know that a plea deal is quite useful when a district attorney is uncertain that evidence can conclusively place a perpetrator at the scene or when there are no witnesses. But this hardly seems to be a difficult case to prosecute.

I can sympathize when a situation gets out of hand and a punch gets thrown. But this was a gang of men attacking two women and a boy resulting in reconstructive surgery on his face.

One count.

Third degree.

One year.

I just can’t help but wonder if Lopez had been sent to the hospital in Utah with his facial bones broken because he was Mormon whether perhaps, just perhaps, the crime might have been taken more seriously.

Best Little Whorehouse in Nevada

The Shady Lady Ranch has made Nevada history. For years now, men have been excluded from marketing their wares in houses with brocade walls and velvet chairs due to public health restrictions. But that has all changed now.

Men were previously barred in Nevada from the oldest profession because codes specified that prostitutes must undergo “cervical” testing for sexually transmitted diseases, which ruled out men.

Bobbi Davis, owner of the Shady Lady Ranch, a small brothel near Beatty, wanted to add male prostitutes to her stable of sex workers.

And while there have been plans for brothels to hire men in the past, Davis made the first-ever request to have the Nevada State Board of Health add urethral exams to the guidelines. That allows male sex workers to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

Beatty is a lovely little stretch of desolate desert outside of Death Valley National Park. It is small, it is dry, it is Republican, and it is home to at least two legal brothels. I am quite sure they are the fanciest, and probably the most profitable, establishments in town.

As for customers, the Shady Lady is egalatarian and all about individual determination.

Davis has said the men could start working at her five-bed brothel starting in the New Year. The male prostitutes will decide for themselves whether to accept male or female clients, she said, just as the female prostitutes do now.

If you would like to be a Shady Lady guy, here’s who they are looking for:

Between 21 and 40.
Have a Good Work Ethic.
Must be Service Oriented.
Have a Willingness to Please.
Have a Positive Attitude.

And, of course, be willing to undergo a weekly urethral exam.

I am not familiar with the Shady Lady, and I certainly don’t wish to suggest anything negative about the lovely gals working there, but I think the fellas might be a welcome addition.

American Evangelical Connections: The Disciple Nations Alliance and Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill

Grove City College professor Warren Throckmorton and Gay City Newshave separately named the Disciple Nations Alliance as a possible connection to Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill through Stephen Langa, whose Family Life Network organized the March 5-7 anti-gay conference that kick started the latest anti-gay pogrom in Uganda. Langa followed that meeting with further meetings, including some with members of Parliament, to promote “strengthening” Uganda’s already draconian anti-homosexuality law, which currently provides for lifetime imprisonment for those convicted of homosexuality. That has ultimately led to the introduction of the Anti-Homosexuality Act before Uganda’s Parliament, which includes the death penalty and other measures seeking to legislate LGBT people out of existence.

Langa, it turns out, is a member of Phoenix-based Disciple Nations Alliance. According to the DNA’s web site, he heads the Uganda affiliate called Transformation Nations Alliance (TNA). The first DNA Vision conference in Uganda was held in 2000 at Stephen Langa’s Watoto Church (then known as Kampala Pentecostal Church). The second conference in 2001 was held at the same church. The DNA’s report continues:

Stephen Langa is a member of the Africa Working Group of Samaritan Strategy Africa, the network whose objective is to spread DNA training across the continent of Africa. In addition to serving as an Elder at Watoto Church, he also provides leadership to the Family Life Network, a pro-family advocacy organization. He also serves as Director of the Uganda Youth Forum, a youth ministry organization founded by the First Lady of Uganda in 2001.

The mission of Transformation Nations Alliance is to engage and disciple all sectors of society, through a biblical worldview centred, holistic approach to ministry, leading to the restoration of God\’s original plan for creation. Towards this end, TNA has trained and mentored a team of certified Ugandan trainers who regularly facilitate Vision Conferences throughout the nation. Hundreds of Ugandan church leaders have been impacted. In addition, these trainers have been called upon to train the local staff of several large mission and development organizations, including World Vision and Compassion International.

The history of Disciple Nations Alliance is provided on their web site:

The Disciple Nations Alliance began in 1997 as a joint initiative of Food for the Hungry International www.FH.org and the Harvest Foundation www.harvestfoundation.org to envision and equip local churches worldwide to fulfill their strategic role in the transformation of communities and nations. The Disciple Nations Alliance began by promoting a “school of thought” centered on the power of Biblical Truth for cultural transformation, the strategic role of the church in society, and the importance of wholistic, incarnational ministry.

This school of thought was initially spread through five-day “Vision Conferences”which featured the teaching of DNA co-founders and master trainers, Darrow Miller and Bob Moffitt. The first Vision Conference was held in Lima, Peru in 1997. Since then, hundreds of Vision Conferences have occurred in more than 50 nations and thousands of church leaders have been impacted.

DNA and Langa have worked together in the past to influence Ugandan law to the detriment of Uganda’s gay community. In 2006 DNA co-founder Darrow Miller worked with Langa to ensure that the Equal Opportunities Bill, which was then being debated in Uganda’s Parliament, would not include equal opportunities for LGBT people. The question now is what role has DNA played in Langa’s efforts to impose the death penalty for that nation’s gay community?

[Hat tip: Warren Throckmorton and Gay City News]

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

9th Circuit to Olson/Boies: No access to Prop 8 internal docs

On the 4th, we reported that a three judge panel had blocked the turn-over of insider communication of the Proposition 8 supporters to Ted Olson and David Boies. Olson/Boies are suing to have Prop 8 declared in violation of the Federal Constitution and are using as part of their argument the fact that Prop 8 is primarily based in anti-gay animus.

But they will have to do so without access to documents that could prove that the campaign’s strategy consisted of inflaming anti-gay bigotry. (SFGate)

In a unanimous ruling Friday, the Ninth U.S. Circuit of Appeals tossed out the order that Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker issued in October against backers of Prop. 8, which state voters approved in November 2008.

Walker had said lawyers for two same-sex couples and a gay-rights group were entitled to see internal memos and e-mails between Yes on 8 strategists to look for evidence that the campaign had exploited prejudice against gays and lesbians.

The trial starts January 11th.

UN Official: Uganda May Lose AIDS Research Center If “Kill Gays” Bill Passes

From Pink News:

Uganda may lose the chance to host a major AIDS research institution if its parliament passes a bill against homosexuality, a United Nations official has said. Catherine Hankins, the chief scientific advisor for UNAIDS, suggested that her organisation and the World Health Organisation (WHO) could take a decision on the location of the institution depending on whether the bill passes.

The African AIDS Vaccine Programme (AAVP) is slated to be relocated from Geneva, Switzerland, to Entebbe. But if the bill passes, UNAIDS and WHO will revisit that decision.

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

Wicked Ways

Here’s a man who thinks Uganda is on the right track.

His ending the video with a cheerful “have a nice day” looks like something out of a Mel Brooks movie. By the way, this guy thinks Milton Berle (a filthy, wicked man) and Lucille Ball (a very wicked woman) are in hell right now.

And speaking of hell, this comment landed into BTB just a few moments ago:

With the comments you have put on this site you are dealing with a Spirit that you cant come up agianst and you are in danger of hell fire itself if you dont repent of your wicked ways. God will show his judgement on you.

As alarmed as we are about what’s happening in Uganda, it’s easy to forget that there are people who would like to see similar measures right here in the U.S.

[Hat tip: Alvin McEwen]