This article is part 6 in a multi-part series about the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill of 2009, better known as the Ugandan kill-the-gays bill. It is longer than the others to date, so I recommend grabbing a drink before you sit down to read and watch the embedded videos. The first 5 articles can be accessed at the following links:
- Part 1: Born in the USA
- Part 2: Horrific Details
- Part 3: American Silence is Deafening
- Part 4: HIV-AIDS Statistics in Uganda
- Part 5: State Dept Must Make US Policy Clear
This report is where The Family and other Evangelicals such as mega-church pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church (an anti-gay ministry) and Scott Lively of Defend the Family International (an anti-gay ministry); and cure-the-gays industry members Richard Cohen and Caleb Brundidge of the International Healing Foundation (a pseudo-psychotherapy cure-the-gays organization) and Don Schmierer of Exodus International (a cure-the-gays through Jesus ministry) diverge in their influence of the Ugandan government to construct an anti-homosexuality bill. This proposed legislation came directly out of the “pray-the-gay-away” March 2009 conference in Uganda where Caleb Brundidge, Don Schmierer, and Ugandan Steven Langa spoke extensively about the ability of gays to be cured. Scott Lively was present to speak on the evils of the homosexual agenda being imposed by outsiders such as the U.S. and Europe, which provide a huge amount of aid to Uganda.
Richard Cohen, author of Coming Out Straight, provided multiple copies of his book to the March 2009 gathering in Uganda. Cohen presented himself and his foundation, along with Caleb Brundidge and Don Schmierer as legitimate experts in the field of curing gay people.
These Americans are not members of The Family and do not represent it. The Family in America is not directly involved in promoting this bill. It is hoped they have enough influence in Uganda and the will to stop the bill.
For the record, no credible medical, psychological or psychiatric professionals believe being gay is a disease, nor that it can or needs to be cured. Being gay is a normal variation in the human species, those who are gay are born that way and one’s sexual orientation is an innate part of one’s being.
Introducing Richard Cohen (video, 5 min.):
Mark Benjamin of Salon.com investigated the “cure the gays” industry and even went undercover, posing as a gay man, to see first-hand what “cures” are being offered by these snake-oil salesmen.
Here is Rachel’s interview with Mark Benjamin (9 min.):
The only people who claim the “cure” works are those with a financial interest in the industry; selling books, doing counseling for money, selling CD and DVD courses and lecturing about it. The industry wouldn’t produce “healed” patients because of confidentiality. Mr. Benjamin could not locate any patients independent of the industry who claimed to be cured.
Mr. Benjamin found a lot of people who are desperate to be cured of being gay, and spent years and thousands of dollars only to remain just as gay as they were before they started. Mr. Benjamin reports many people like this either attempted suicide or told him of others who committed suicide because they couldn’t reconcile their sexual orientation with their religion.
Please take some time to read Mark Benjamin’s series of articles in Salon.com. They are eye-opening to say the least. The links are listed here:
Mark Benjamin – Salon.com 2005 series part 1: Turning Off Gays
Part 2: My Gay Therapy Session
Part 3: Getting Straight With God
Rachel’s interview with Richard Cohen (18 min.):
Richard Cohen claims as his professional credentials that he cured himself of being gay and his proof of cure is his 27 year marriage (to a woman) which produced 3 children. He claims to have a Master’s degree in some form of psychology or social work, though he is not a licensed therapist. He teaches that gays are gay because of a number of intertwining factors that occurred during preadolescence and can be cured with different types of therapy. The cure is for those who have unwanted same-sex attractions. Those who remain gay choose to remain gay. He says he insists all people regardless of sexual orientation choice should be treated with love, compassion and respect, but that part of his message was lost on the Ugandans who are using his book to justify the new law.
The flammable mix that seems to have resulted in this bill is the combination of Ugandan homophobia, anti-gay Evangelicals such as Rick Warren and Scott Lively, and the IHF and Exodus International claiming gays are curable. The homophobic conclusion Ugandans drew is that gays can be changed into heterosexuals, and therefore gays are gay by choice. Since gays can be cured, they can avoid the consequences of the draconian law by getting “therapy” and becoming heterosexual. The only people who would be subject to the new law are those who refuse to be cured.
Again, curing gays was debunked by the American Psychiatric Association in 1973, and homosexuality no longer appears in the DSM-IV as a mental disorder. Many other medical and psychological professionals and their organizations have done extensive research which debunks that being gay is a mental disorder of any kind.
Uganda, like many other African and Muslim countries, is extremely homophobic and already has laws against homosexuality, though they are not as far-reaching and punishments are not as extreme as the proposed bill. Other homophobic countries with such laws do use capital punishment against gays.
The difference is the basis for their laws did not come out of the United States in the 21st century from conservative, fundamentalist Christians. The beliefs these conservatives espouse sound nothing like the mainstream Christianity most Americans follow. It is fundamentally un-American and un-Christian for such lies and intolerance to be exported to uninformed societies willing to use any excuse to do whatever they want to rid themselves of a part of their population they don’t believe should exist.
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