uganda – Page 83 – Warren Throckmorton

WAIT Training breaks ties with Martin Ssempa over Anti-Homosexuality Bill

This just in. WAIT Training, the abstinence education group has broken ties with Uganda’s Martin Ssempa.

Here is the statement from their website:

WAIT Training does not affiliate, endorse, associate or partner with anyone seeking to hurt or wound others. Our goals are to impart skills to help ALL individuals have healthy relationships, to LIVE WELL, LOVE WELL and if they choose, to MARRY WELL.

Recent developments in Uganda and around the world associated with Martin Ssempa have caused us to sever all former associations with him.

We have requested he remove all wording on his web site that references our organization. If there are any questions about this, please call Joneen Mackenzie RN, President / Founder of WAIT Training at 720 488 8888 ext 201.

Developing…

I spoke earlier this evening with Joneen Mackenzie, Founder and President of WAIT Training about their connections to Martin Ssempa. Ms. Mackenzie tried to help Dr. Ssempa by helping put him in touch with people who helped with his website and believed he was focused on helping people with HIV. She told me that she was “shocked that he would endorse hurting anyone.” Learning of Ssempa’s support for the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda, she said, ” I don’t want to be associated with that. I have to get any association with him and that bill away from me. Our desire is to dissociate ourselves from him.”

Ms. Mackenize told me that she has asked Ssempa to remove all references to WAIT Training from www.martinssempa.org. Currently, WAIT Training is listed as a group who will book speaking engagements for Ssempa. Ms. Mackenzie said that her group had only booked one such event. Now, they want to sever ties completely as Ssempa’s current advocacy is contrary to their mission and values.

Ssempa has yet to remove the references to WAIT Training from the site.

Disciple Nations Alliance clarifies position on Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill

On December 14, I posted about a possible link to the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill: Disciple Nations Alliance. Stephen Langa is the African affiliate of the DNA and has been for about 10 years. I asked the DNA leadership for their view of the Uganda bill and they posted the following comment on that blog post as well as sent it to me via email. Here is their full comment (also published on their blog).

The Disciple Nations Alliance has appeared in the news recently in relationship to our friend Stephen Langa and his involvement with Uganda’s Anti Homosexuality Bill, 2009. We first heard of this bill when a reporter contacted us to gain our opinion on the bill last Friday (December 11). We have since obtained a copy of the bill and are now examining it.

We have been friends with Stephen for nearly ten years. We have tremendous respect for him, and for what we know of his work to strengthen families in Uganda. Stephen is an elder at Watoto Church in Kampala, which we consider to be a model for other churches in its care for thousands of Ugandan children orphaned by HIV AIDS. Watoto Church ministers to hundreds, if not thousands of people who are dying of AIDS and their surviving family members. It has been actively involved in AIDs education, encouraging young men and women to act in morally responsibly ways in order to avoid the ravages of sexually transmitted diseases. Seeing the profound devastation of families in Uganda, they are actively working to strengthen families.

The Disciple Nations Alliance is a network of individuals and organizations in over 60 countries who share a common vision to see the global Church rise to her full potential as God’s agent for the healing, blessing and transformation of the nations. We share a common set of core beliefs and operating principles (see www.disciplenations.org/about). While we have affiliates around the world, there are no legal or organizational ties between them; including Family Life Ministries and Transforming Nations Alliance that Stephen helps lead. Stephen’s opinions are his own. The governance and decision making of the Ugandan organizations he leads are independent of the Disciple Nations Alliance.

We believe that people who engage in same gender sexual activities are image bearers of God possessing profound, inherent and equal dignity. They have a God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As human beings, they are to be treated with love and respect. Like all people, they are sinners and can be saved by the death of Christ on the cross.

Churches have a responsibility to love and engage with those who have chosen to live a homosexual life in the same way they would reach out and engage with any other person. The church is to call its members to personal and public purity, and to govern their lives in ways that comport with biblical standards of ethical behavior. Such internal self-government creates the framework for free nations. The church is also called to serve as the conscience of the nation by humbly, lovingly and prophetically addressing the wounds and moral failings of their society.

The state has a different, yet compatible role. It exists to defend and protect the life, liberty, and property of its citizens. Its principle role is to suppress external evil such as murder, theft, and rape. It does this largely by creating and administering just laws and maintaining an active military.

With this in mind, we do not believe that engaging in consensual homosexual acts in the privacy of one’s own home, or failure to report such acts, should be criminalized. However we are opposed to efforts to re-define marriage laws which are based on the historic and traditional understanding of marriage as the covenantal relationship of one man and one woman for life. We are likewise opposed to efforts to normalize homosexual activity through the use of books and curricula in public schools. We oppose these and other public advocacy efforts whose intent is to lead to a state sanction for something that is immoral, which will seriously undermine the family, and will eventually lead to the collapse of a society. We endorse and support the recently released Manhattan Declaration, and specifically its statement on marriage.

We believe that sexual crimes such as rape, incest, child prostitution or pedophilia should be appropriately prohibited and punished under the law regardless of whether victim or perpetrator practices same gender sexual activity or is heterosexual.

As the Uganda bill currently exists, we have some concerns: specifically the criminalizing of private, consensual homosexual practice, the severity some of the penalties, and the tone of the language. We recognize that this bill is in process and will reserve further comment until a final version is submitted to the Ugandan parliament.

We recognize that sovereign nations have the right to establish their own laws; at the same time, other nations, international bodies and individual citizens have the right and responsibility to challenge laws that are unjust. We would encourage Christians, as citizens of nations, to seek to engage as free citizens in the market place and Public Square. They should contribute to the challenging of unjust laws and the creating of just laws. Christians, like any citizen are to contribute to the building of their nations.

Scott Allen, Darrow Miller and Bob Moffitt

Clearly, these gentlemen were taken off-guard by Stephen Langa’s involvement in supporting this bill. I believe they are trying to make sense of his support, maintain a connection while at the same time acknowledging the particularly offensive aspects of the bill. Having said that, I am disappointed they do not seem to see the degree to which their work could be compromised by this bill.

Despite the moderate response, I believe their opposition is significant. Ugandan supporters of the bill paint opponents as gay sympathizers and activists. The leadership of the DNA can hardly be placed in this camp. I urge the Ugandan supporters to acknowledge the breadth of opposition to the bill from all quarters of the evangelical world.

Ugandan gay groups issue statement opposing sexual abuse and exploitation of minors

The supporters of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 often say that restrictions are needed on homosexuality because gays seek to recruit children into sex. I asked Val Kalende for a comment on these allegations and she sent this statement in the form of an official policy statement.

Note that this statement makes clear that the homosexual community as represented by this statement oppose coercion and recruitment of children into sexual activities. Also note that existing law punishes those who engage in sexual activities with minors, whether the offense is against a girl or a boy. These persons agree with the need to impose penalties on sexual abuse and exploitation of minors.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FREEDOM AND ROAM UGANDA STATEMENT ON SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION OF MINORS.

Our movement recognizes violence, harassment and sexual abuse of minors as violation of human rights. As a movement of people who stand for social justice, we express profound dismay at any form of sexual abuse whether hetero or homosexual.

We share Hon. David Bahati’s desires as expressed in the preamble of Bill 18:

To strengthen the nation’s capacity to deal with emerging internal and external threats to the family unit. It is nevertheless important to point out that most of these can hardly be realized through the regulatory mechanism of the law.

To protect the cherished culture of the people of Uganda, particularly the positive aspects of it.

To protect Ugandan children and youth who are vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation—whether hetero or homosexual.

However, while we agree that we must seek ways of dealing with issues that threaten our families, we do not agree that consensual adult homosexual relationships is one of those issues. It is therefore our humble opinion that the Bill be unpacked and scrutinized so as to avoid a law that will be used to discriminate people who are not harming anyone. There is need to separate the concept of consensual sex and non-consensual sex. In other words, we implore Hon. Bahati to withdraw his private members Bill in its entirety. As Professor Ogenga Latigo, the Leader of the Opposition said of this ´kill-the-gays´ Bill, “we cannot plunge into a legislative process before looking at what is happening, the facts and what the trends are”.

Homosexuals form a small group of people who, when people feel vulnerable, are blamed for all society’s problems. Gays have been blamed for the spread of HIV, including certain government officials saying ´Gays are not Government? priority in the fight against HIV & AIDS.´ Let it be understood: it’s not homosexuality that spreads AIDS; it is the culture that brutalizes gay men and forces them underground that spreads AIDS. To blame the spread of HIV on a minority group of people is burying our heads in the sand and failing to deal with the real problem facing our country.

Homosexuals are not the rapists and child molesters who pounce on unsuspecting family members. Research shows that over 50% of child sexual abuse reports involve children below the age of 10, and the perpetrators are heterosexual men. (Study cited in Uganda Youth Development Link, Report on Sectoral Study on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Uganda, Commissioned by the International Labour Organisation and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development- January 2004)

The 2006 national study on Domestic Violence by Law Reform Commission confirmed that 66% domestic violence (2006 national study on Domestic Violence of people in all regions of Uganda reported that Domestic Violence occured in their homes and the majority of the perpertratpors were ´male heads of household´. ( See Law Reform Commission, A Study Report on Domestic Violence, April 2006 at p.112)

The millions of Ugandan children orphaned by HIV & AIDS. The Uganda Aids Commission puts the cumulative number of orphans due to AIDS at 2 million. Homosexuals are not largely responsible for these figures since they are not considered as people who procreate.

In addressing what Pastor Martin Ssempa and his group are peddling as ´Public Outcry´, first and foremost it is not true that the Penal Code provision on ´Aggravated Defilement´ does not cover abused boys. Section 129 (3) clearly says: ´Any person who performs a sexual act with another person who is below the age of eighteen years commit a felony called aggravated defilement´. It does not limit the legal protection to girls.

As a movement, we respect and value the rights of all human beings regardless of who they are, who they have sex with and how they have sex. We SHALL be behind any efforts seeking to curb sexual abuse against minors just as we are committed to supporting any efforts seeking to curtail sexual abuse against curative rape against lesbians, and the unrealistic religious fundamentalist agenda that seeks to demonize homosexual abuses over heterosexual abuses.

As Freedom and Roam Uganda we:

Totally oppose the Bill as a whole and therefore calls for its complete withdrawal.

Do not support amendment of the Bill.

Support criminalization of non-consensual sex, for example, rape and paedophilia, whether homosexual or heterosexual.

Oppose the criminalisation of consensual sex between adults of sound mind.

The Penal code should be amended to draw an effective distinction between consensual sex and non-consensual sex.

ISSUED BY:

Freedom and Roam Uganda- FARUG

Freedom and Roam Uganda is a member organisation of Sexual Minorities Uganda, a network of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people’s organisations based in Uganda.

For further details, contact:

Val Kalende

Freedom and Roam Uganda

Email: kalendenator@gmail .com

Frank Mugisha

Sexual Minorities Uganda

Email: [email protected]

It is wrong to conflate private adult homosexual conduct and sexual coercion or recruitment of minors. This statement is very clear that these groups oppose recruitment and oppose anyone of any sexual orientation who targets boys or girls.

The New York Times finally gets around to covering the Ugandan ex-gay conference

The rest of the world has been talking about it for months. Finally, the New York Times decides to report.

Lots of old ground was covered but there is a some new quotes from Exodus board member, Don Schmierer.

“I feel duped,” Mr. Schmierer said, arguing that he had been invited to speak on “parenting skills” for families with gay children. He acknowledged telling audiences how homosexuals could be converted into heterosexuals, but he said he had no idea some Ugandans were contemplating the death penalty for homosexuality.

“That’s horrible, absolutely horrible,” he said. “Some of the nicest people I have ever met are gay people.”

The first clue should have been involvement with International Healing Foundation and Scott Lively but that is water long under the bridge. The other two Americans are cited but with no new interviews.

One activist puts into words what many of us warned about in March.

“What these people have done is set the fire they can’t quench,” said the Rev. Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian who went undercover for six months to chronicle the relationship between the African anti-homosexual movement and American evangelicals.

Mr. Kaoma was at the conference and said that the three Americans “underestimated the homophobia in Uganda” and “what it means to Africans when you speak about a certain group trying to destroy their children and their families.”

“When you speak like that,” he said, “Africans will fight to the death.”

Scott Lively’s protests that he had nothing to do with the harshness of the bill must be evaluated in light of Kaoma’s observations. When you tell an audience that gays caused World War II and assorted other atrocities (e.g., Columbine, Rwanda, etc.), you should not be surprised when the audience becomes hostile. It is like yelling fire in a theatre and wondering why people get trampled in the rush. It is called “inciting a riot.”

When it comes to homosexuality, Uganda already has several riot inciters so the role of the Americans was to add a perception of credibility and urgency. What would really be helpful is for the three to say directly to the Ugandan people: we were wrong in what we told you. Gays didn’t cause the holocaust, they aren’t ill people who will respond to a forced cure and they aren’t the cause of all your problems. Disagree on the moral questions if that is your conviction but for the sake of Christ, do it agreeably.

NOTE: The NYT published a companion article titled “Gay in Uganda and Feeling Hunted.”

Anti-gay sentiments are one thing, and hardly unique to Uganda. But what seems different here is the level of official, government-sponsored anti-gay hate speech.

“I detest gays in my heart,” said Kassiano E. Wadri, a member of Parliament and the chief whip of the opposition. “When I see a gay, I think that person needs psychotherapy. You need to break him.”

It’s no surprise, then, that many homosexual people here insisted on being interviewed anonymously, including one car salesman who goes by Bob. He lost his job working in a hotel a few years ago after the Red Pepper, a Ugandan tabloid, published a list of names of homosexuals, including his.

2009: Top ten stories

In the past, I have done a lengthly review. No time for that this year, so here goes…

1. Uganda‘s Anti-Homosexuality Bill – What else? Click the link to read all of the posts on the top two stories, including several exclusive stories and interviews. This guest post by author Jeff Sharlet is one of the most visited posts ever. This story may be the #1 story in 2010 as well. Check out the Facebook group, now with nearly 14,000 members.

2. Uganda’s ex-gay conference – The March conference did not create the Anti-homosexuality Bill but it seems to have been a strategic move by organizers to create a perception that the bill was needed.

3. APA Task Force report – The American Psychological Association released the long awaited report on therapeutic responses involving sexual orientation. The report recognized the difference between sexual orientation and sexual orientation identity, noted the importance of religious congruence in therapy and cited the sexual identity therapy framework favorably. A nice Wall Street Journal article featuring my work on sexual identity therapy was one result.

4. Kevin Jennings controversy – What goes around comes around. At least in the case of my reporting on Obama’s Department of Education appointee, Kevin Jennings, the old saying seems true. An audio mp3 of Mr. Jennings in 2000 disclosing a meeting with who he said at the time was a 15 year old student was on my website long before he was appointed to the administration. The matter became a major political story which continues to the present and led to a statement from Mr. Jennings that he should have handled the situation with Brewster/Robertson (his student) differently.

5. Golden Rule Pledge – Another issue, another Facebook group. The annual Day of Silence brought another call from far right social conservative groups to boycott schools. Some evangelical students chose to participate in the Golden Rule Pledge or join with same-sex attracted students in pledging a safe school.

6. The Pink Swastika – An offshoot of reporting on the Uganda ex-gay conference was an exploration of the claims of Scott Lively that homosexuality animated the German Nazi party during WWII. Aided by Grove City College historian, J.D. Wynekin, I did multiple posts exposing the factual errors and misleading aspects of the book, The Pink Swastika. In the process, NARTH, Exodus, and Campus Crusade for Christ pulled web references to The Pink Swastika and Mr. Lively’s theories.

7. Change versus congruence – A repeated discussion on the blog relates to useful paradigm’s in sexual identity ministry. Should change of orientation be the focus of a Christian approach or should congruence of behavior with chosen beliefs be the focus? A popular post which triggered much conversation was a reflection on the APA sexual orientation report, “Thoughts on the status of the Reorientation Wars.”

8. The brief love affair of the Christian right with Carrie Prejean – I had a hard time understanding it and said so.

9. Mankind Project goes transparent – As the result of reporting by the Houston Press and here and elsewhere, the Mankind Project decided to reveal more of what takes place during the New Warriors Training Adventure. The info is still buried deeply on their website but there has been some movement toward letting people know what they are getting into before they attend.

10. Research reports- This is a category which acknowledges that when research comes along, I try to get a closer look with occasional interviews which feature prominent researchers (e.g., J. Michael Bailey). Also, important to me is an ongoing focus on reparative drive theory and the problems with it.

There were other popular posts including David Blakeslee’s “What Happened Yesterday” (about the Fort Hood shootings) that don’t rise to the level of these stories for this blog either because I didn’t cover it or because it was an isolated post. I considered the Ohio voter fraud story for the top ten since I broke a lot of that material in 2008 but there was little interest in it when the convictions came down.

So what did I miss? Happy 2010!