So, who would jesus stone to death? must be gays, California evangelicals are pushing for a law in africa making homosexuality a death penalty crime
Posted by
zeitgeist
Jan 5 '10, 18:48
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The New York Times released a report about the link between three anti-gay American evangelicals -- two of whom live in Northern California -- and a bill in Uganda that would make homosexuality punishable by death.
The Times notes that back in March, Scott Lively, Caleb Lee Brundidge, and Don Schmierer shared their "wisdom" on homosexuality with thousands at a conference in Kampala, Uganda. Specifically, the men told the audience:
... how to make gay people straight, how gay men often sodomized teenage boys and how 'the gay movement is an evil institution' whose goal is 'to defeat the marriage-based society and replace it with a culture of sexual promiscuity.'
A few weeks later, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (PDF) was introduced. While homosexuality is already banned in Uganda, the bill (page 6) states that "aggravated homosexuality shall be liable on conviction to suffer death." Aggravated homosexuality includes homosexual acts with a disabled person and with someone under 18. The "offender" can also be executed if he's HIV positive.
The men are now being blamed for stoking the country's homophobic fire. In 1999, President Yoweri Museveni wanted gays tracked down and jailed. According to reports, gay Ugandans claim they have been harassed and attacked, while Ugandan newspapers have outed suspected homosexuals.
Amid the fury and the publicity, the evangelicals and other Christians have condemned the legislation. Schmierer, of Lockeford, Calif., is a board member of Exodus International, a group that tries to "free" people of homosexuality through Christianity. He and other Exodus members wrote this letter to Museveni.
Brundidge, of Arizona, who shunned his gay ways to become straight, is now a Sexual Reorientation Coach. He criticized "any effort to punish or condemn people who identify as homosexual or engage in private homosexual behavior between adults."
Lively, of Citrus Heights, Calif., is the author of anti-gay books and articles, including "The Pink Swastika," which blames homosexuals for the rise of the Nazis and the Holocaust, "'Gay Days' at Santa Rosa High School," and "Ten Rules for Debating 'Gay' Arguments."
Lively applauded "the courage of the Ugandan people" for resisting the "relentless pressure of the international 'gay' lobby," while denouncing the bill:
Let me be absolutely clear. I do not support the proposed anti-homosexuality law as written. It does not emphasize rehabilitation over punishment and the punishment that it calls for is unacceptably harsh. However, if the offending sections were sufficiently modified, the proposed law would represent an encouraging step in the right direction. As one of the first laws of this century to recognize that the destructiveness of the 'gay' agenda warrants opposition by government, it would deserve support from Christian believers and other advocates of marriage-based culture around the world.
Reuters reports the country will "soften" the bill and exclude the death provision. Ethics and Integrity Minister Nsaba Buturo told Reuters "... we now think a life sentence could be better because it gives room for offenders to be rehabilitated" and that "killing them might not be helpful."
[RELATED LINKS: The New York Times coverage | audio of the conference | Full text of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill | Facebook page protesting the bill | Profile on a gay Ugandan Christian (BBC) | All about Uganda (BBC)]
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/scavenger/detail?blogid=111&entry_id=54619#ixzz0bnS5BUPe
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/scavenger/detail?blogid=111&entry_id=54619#ixzz0bnS5BUPe
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