Being the Change I Wish to See » James Inhofe

Ugandan kill-the gays bill part 11: not to become law

Sherri Joubert — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 04:10:58 +0000

This article is part 11 in a multi-part series about the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill of 2009, better known as the Ugandan kill-the-gays bill. The first 10 articles can be accessed at the following links:

Short update video (3 min.).

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Rachel Maddow reports the following in this video:

Last week, the State Department‘s top diplomat in Africa told reporters he had been in touch with Uganda‘s president to express the U.S. government‘s opposition to the bill.

According to new reporting in “D.C. Agenda”…Uganda‘s president has told the U.S. State Department that he‘s going to veto the bill.

After “D.C. Agenda” first reported this, we confirmed it today [Dec. 22, 2009] with the State Department. State says the Ugandan president has committed to the top U.S. diplomat for Africa, both in person and in a follow-up phone conversation that he, the Ugandan president, will stop the bill.

Meanwhile, according to “D.C. Agenda,” the next U.S. step is to try to get the Ugandan president to make that commitment in public, to get him to speak out against the bill in public, rather than just giving assurances in private.

Take a lesson here about being persistent. By continuing to report on this story for weeks, Rachel Maddow has put this issue front and center in the media. I believe she has played a large role in turning this issue around and preventing this legislation from becoming law in Uganda, though it isn’t over yet.

This is an important issue not because it’s a gay rights issue, it’s important because it’s a human rights tragedy that came about because of interference in Uganda by U.S. evangelicals and the cure-the-gays quacktivist industry.

Sunlight really can be the best disinfectant.

Part 12 is available at this link.

Technorati Tags: Bart Stupak, Chris Smith, Chuck Grassley, Frank Wolf, James Inhofe, Joe Pitts, John Ensign, Joseph Cao, kill-the-gays bill, Museveni, Rachel Maddow, Richard Cohen, Rick Warren, The Family, The Rachel Maddow Show, Trent Franks, Uganda

Ugandan kill-the-gays bill part 10: “The Family” finally condemns the bill

Sherri Joubert — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:00:36 +0000

This article is part 10 in a multi-part series about the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill of 2009, better known as the Ugandan kill-the-gays bill. The first 9 articles can be accessed at the following links:

Jeff Sharlet recently interviewed Family leader Bob Hunter, a primary contact with The Family in Uganda. Here’s what he had to say.

The Fellowship, AKA the Family, opposes the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Bob Hunter has been working quietly behind the scenes speaking out against the bill to his Family counterparts in Uganda. Mr. Hunter has also encouraged influential Family members to speak out against the bill.

Short update video (2 min).

Jeff Sharlet describes Uganda as The Family’s outpost in Africa. David Bahati, who introduced the anti-homosexuality bill in the Ugandan Parliament, is a member of The Family. Ugandan President Museveni is also a member of The Family.

Many U.S. Senators and Representatives who are members of The Family have spoken out condemning the bill, except for Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas. He says he still doesn’t know the details and can’t comment.

Sen. Brownback is perhaps too lazy to educate himself about this pending legislation. He may feel sufficiently distanced from the Ugandan bill to ignore it. He may even agree with the legislation and not really wish to condemn it, although supporting it in the U.S. and within The Family would have negative political consequences for him.

Regardless, Sen. Brownback is still playing dumb about this issue and it isn’t acceptable. He’s a Republican Senator and what has he had to do all year since all the GOP does is block Senate business and sit on their butts? If you’re not going to do any real work for the country, Senator, how about at least learning about the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill and taking a position on it? Sam Brownback has the same access to the State Department as Chuck Grassley, who stepped up and did his homework. Get off your duff, Sen. Brownback.

Part 11 of the series may be accessed at this link.

Technorati Tags: Bart Stupak, Bob Hunter, Chuck Grassley, James Inhofe, Jeff Sharlet, Joe Pitts, John Ensign, kill-the-gays bill, Rachel Maddow, Sam Brownback, The Family, The Rachel Maddow Show, 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 (from the above video):

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