Being the Change I Wish to See » Human Rights

Ugandan kill-the-gays bill part 15: Archbishop Orombi still supports draconian bill

Sherri Joubert — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:49:10 +0000

This article is part 15 in a multi-part series about the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill of 2009, better known as the Ugandan kill-the-gays bill. The Rachel Maddow Show named this series Uganda Be Kidding Me, and they won a GLAAD award this year for it. The first 14 articles can be accessed at the following links:

Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi released the following: Press Release from Church of Uganda on Feb. 11, 2010

The following is commentary about the evil and godlessness of being gay in Uganda during the 2009 Christmas Mass. What an unchristian way to celebrate the birth of Christ…

The Anglican Church of Uganda is weighing in on that nation’s proposal to punish — including by execution — gay people. The Most Reverend Henry Luke Orombi, the Ugandan archbishop, issued a press release this week asking Ugandan lawmakers to tweak the bill to “protect the vulnerabilities of the boy child,” provide for proportionality in sentencing,” and ensure that “sexual orientation is excluded as a protected human right.” [Emphasis mine].
The Anglican Church of Uganda refers to gayness as “homosexual disorientation.” Archbishop Orombi writes that he wants the state to “prohibit and penalize homosexual behavior and related practices in Uganda as they constitute a threat to the traditional family.” As Box Turtle Bulletin notes, Orombi leaves unclear whether the Anglican Church of Uganda supports capital punishment for gay people.
American Episcopalians who oppose gay rights have broken away to form the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). Their closest ties are now to the Church of Nigeria and the Church of Uganda. Archbishop Orombi has traveled to the U.S. and preached to their members. (Full disclosure: [Laura Conaway is] an American Episcopalian and in a same-sex marriage.) Box Turtle Bulletin (BTB) writes:
I doubt that these American churches endorse the abolition of the freedom of speech in America and I suspect that if cornered many would refuse to publicly endorse re-criminalization of homosexuality. Yet, to date, neither the ACNA nor a single member church has spoken against the efforts of the Church of Uganda. None has expressed even the slightest discomfort about being publicly aligned with those who endorse human rights abuses.

It disgusts me that Americans who joined the ACNA seem to have no problem with excluding homosexuality as a protected human right. Gays and lesbians are human beings and deserve to be protected from persecution just like any other minority group. Supporting denial of human rights to gays and lesbians around the world is plain wrong no matter what the argument might be.

Being gay is a human variation, just like preferring vegetables to meat. It is not and should not be a crime anywhere, but it is still a crime in many places in the world.

Archbishop Orombi’s rhetoric may still be inflaming his congregation and keeping anti-gay sentiments socially alive, but fortunately, governments tend to make decisions, legislation and treaties that benefit their countries as a whole.

Uganda can’t afford to be without the aid of the U.S. and Europe. It is doubtful that no matter how much some Ugandan clergy dislike gays (as many American clergy dislike gays), they don’t have the leverage to successfully push such horrific and unconscionable legislation through Parliament and get President Museveni to sign it.

Quotes from: MaddowBlog.msnbc.com posted by Laura Conaway on Feb. 11, 2010.

Technorati Tags: American Episcopalian Church, Anglican Church of North America, Anglican Church of Uganda, Archbishop Orombi, Human Rights, kill-the-gays bill, Uganda

Ugandan kill-the-gays bill part 9: condemn the bill to Uganda’s President

Sherri Joubert — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 11:19:10 +0000

This article is part 9 in a multi-part series about the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill of 2009, better known as the Ugandan kill-the-gays bill. The first 8 articles can be accessed at the following links:

In the following video, Senator Russ Feingold demonstrates to those involved with The Family, other right-wing religious organizations, and the “cure the gays” quack industry exactly how one goes about communicating his or her condemnation of the Ugandan kill-the-gays bill (4 min).

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Let’s review:

Don’t just “hope” something changes, make it change by doing what needs to be done
Don’t be involved with organizations or people who support such archaic views, or condemn them early and widely when you find you are in an indefensible position because of that association
Use America’s huge amount of leverage – we provide hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Uganda every year – and raise the issue that the money may stop coming if the Ugandans pass this horrible legislation
Don’t just tell the American press, Rachel Maddow or American audiences; tell Uganda’s President Museveni that you condemn this pending legislation

President Obama, Senators James Inhofe and John Ensign condemn the pending bill while Senator Sam Brownback won’t comment on the bill specifically or whether he agrees or disagrees with punishing homosexuals generally. Come on Senator Brownback. You can answer a basic question about whether you support or condemn the punishment of people for being gay. (4:29 min)

Uganda was saying they won’t be swayed by international interference about this issue, but it is nearly the end of February and the bill is at least stalled in the Ugandan Parliament. When it comes to millions of dollars in aid from multiple countries, and the condemnation of world leaders a lot more powerful than they are, I believe they changed their position.

Maybe Congressmen and Senators will be more careful in the future with whom they associate themselves. Maybe when they make “humanitarian trips” to third world countries they will convey mainstream American policies, values and ideals. If they don’t, our State Department diplomats must visit whoever they visited right away to make sure foreign leaders understand the people they just met with do not represent U.S. policy positions nor do they speak for America as a whole.

Now that this story has stayed in the news for a couple of months, the American leaders who were meddling in Ugandan affairs are being held accountable by Americans, and Ugandan leaders are being held accountable by America and European countries that provide them aid.

We will have to keep a much closer eye on religious organizations and “experts” with an agenda that go overseas to provide humanitarian aid and “education”.

My first thought is this is why we need good investigative journalists and enough of them to keep us properly informed in this complex world. The State Department must also be aware of the messages delivered by these organizations and make sure foreign countries’ leaders understand they do not necessarily represent American policy, then make clear what our policies are.

Unfortunately, third world countries trust just about anyone who comes to them from America with money and aid claiming to be experts, especially if those people are telling them exactly what they want to hear.

Uganda, like many African countries, is severely homophobic. The “cure-the-gays” industry claims gays can be turned straight. In Ugandan leaders’ minds that means gay people can be cured, therefore anyone who is gay remains so by choice, and therefore any actions against gays, no matter how harsh, are acceptable. This is flawed logic since being gay is not a choice, it is not a disease, and it cannot be cured.

Part 10 is available at this link.

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Bart Stupak, Chuck Grassley, Human Rights, James Inhofe, Jeff Sharlet, Joe Pitts, John Ensign, John Kerry, kill-the-gays bill, Mike Stark, Museveni, Rachel Maddow, Rick Warren, Russ Feingold, Sam Brownback, Starkreports.com, The Family, Tom Coburn, Uganda

Ugandan kill-the-gays bill part 8: Rick Warren forced to oppose Ugandan bill

Sherri Joubert — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 09:52:28 +0000

This article is part 8 in a multi-part series about the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill of 2009, better known as the Ugandan kill-the-gays bill. The first 7 articles can be accessed at the following links:

Pastor Rick Warren finally spoke out against the kill-the-gays bill on December 10, 2009 (8 min.):

Senators James Inhofe and Chuck Grassley also spoke out against the bill.

If I recall correctly, not bearing false witness is one of the Ten Commandments in Judeo-Christian faiths. If one bears false witness one has committed a sin. Pastor Warren can try to deny his involvement with this Ugandan bill and his strong support of California’s Proposition 8 in 2008, but there are tons of video tapes and news articles that show he is lying.

Chuck Grassley is lying when he denies involvement with The Family. He is associated with the group and has been since the mid 1980’s, and he has been to Uganda as well.

It is really important to listen closely to what leaders of any stripe say, and to check the truth and consistency of their statements. Whether a leader is a religious figure, a politician, etc. listen well and seek facts and dispassionate opinions from other sources. It’s important to know just how far our leaders are willing to go to lie to us.

With such horrible human rights atrocities being weighed in the balance, American religious and political leaders denying their involvement in the creation of this bill and distancing themselves from it by any means necessary is disgusting and shows just how cowardly they are. They tell Ugandans homosexuality is unnatural and must be removed from their society. Whatever is necessary to do that is therefore not a human rights violation, and then they tell Americans who find out what they are telling the Ugandans that they didn’t intend for such harsh measures to be used.

I’m not buying it. I think they didn’t expect to get caught supporting such extremist views and policies in such a far away place as Uganda.

Part 9 is available here.

Technorati Tags: Chuck Grassley, Human Rights, James Inhofe, kill-the-gays bill, Rachel Maddow, Rick Warren, The Family, Uganda