Rachel Maddow adds commentary to the controversy over David Kato’s murder.
Those close to Kato have told me that Kato did not pay prostitutes and that the scenario developing around him is implausible. If they are correct and Enock Nsuguba killed Kato for other reasons, I suppose a gay panic type defense might be a strategic move in order to avoid the hangman.
Maddow here may overemphasize the direct American influence on this bill. However, she certainly is correct that the rhetoric offered by Scott Lively and Caleb Brundidge (I leave out Don Schmierer because his talk included very little about reorientation and was nothing like Lively’s venom) was supportive to the plan of certain Ugandans to create the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Lively’s nuclear bomb cannot be wished away with confusing and hateful op-eds. The only productive stance by people who misled the Ugandan people is to repent and ask them to follow the example of Jesus when he prevented the mob from killing a women believed to be a sinner.
One of the major reasons Ugandans give for their support for the Anti-Homosexuality Bill is to stop recruitment of children and young men to homosexuality. Despite the lack of evidence demonstrating a systematic recruitment effort, the view of child abuse and homosexuality being about the same persists in the rationale given for the bill.
Scott Lively promotes this idea and he has been a colleague of Stephen Langa since at least 2002. Thus, when Langa wanted people to come to Uganda to whip up public calls for a new law, he asked Lively to return. He also asked Richard Cohen’s assistant Caleb Brundidge to speak. Cohen was there in spirit however in the form of Brundidge and his book Coming Out Straight. During the Rachel Maddow Show last night, Cohen’s book was display by Stephen Langa and Cohen was labeled an authority. No wonder, homosexuality is considered a disorder in this book, albeit a curable one. However, the book also contains dark and sinister descriptions of homosexuals, which no doubt played well into Langa’s designs.
Watch the clip again here and note Langa’s references to the book at about 2:50 in:
In Coming Out Straight, Cohen refers to the efforts of Paul Cameron to claim gays are more responsible for child abuse than straights. Actual data are mixed on the subject but there is no confirming evidence that adults gays are disproportionately responsible for child abuse. The Catholic Church committee researching this point came to the same conclusion recently.
Homosexuals are at least 12 times more likely to molest children than heterosexuals; homosexual teachers are at least 7 times more likely to molest a pupil; homosexual teachers are estimated to have committed at least 25 percent of pupil molestation; forty (40%) percent of molestation assaults were made by those who engage in homosexuality.
This statistic was taken from the following reference:
Paul Cameron, “Homosexuality and Child Molestation,” Psychological Reports, 58 (1986) 327-337, as quoted in M. Maddoux, Answers to the Gay Deception. 62-63.
Stephen Langa told me in March that Lively, Brundidge and Schmierer were recruited because:
they each have unique expertise which we feel will address the needs we have in Uganda and Africa in general on the subject of homosexuality.
Apparently, one need was to mislead the Ugandan people. Thus, it is no wonder that, in the words of Scott Lively, Mr. Langa was “overjoyed” with the results. Here is Lively’s assessment of his efforts in Uganda.
On the positive side, my host and ministry partner in Kampala, Stephen Langa, was overjoyed with the results of our efforts and predicted confidently that the coming weeks would see significant improvement in the moral climate of the nation, and a massive increase in pro-family activism in every social sphere. He said that a respected observer of society in Kampala had told him that our campaign was like a nuclear bomb against the “gay” agenda in Uganda. I pray that this, and the predictions, are true.
Now my attention is turned to equipping the activists in Uganda with helpful materials. I have given them permission to make unlimited use of Defeating “Gay” Arguments With Simple Logic, and Seven Steps to Recruit-Proof Your Child (a much-esteemed book among the Africans). I still want to send them my remaining stock of about 100 or so copies of Seven Steps, but I didn’t raise any money toward this in my last appeal.
Like a nuclear bomb? Guess the “respected observer” was right.
Ah yes, the 2006 CNN episode. That was good enough for weeks worth of material on here. I still show the clips to my classes for a, um, discussion starter. In the clip above, Stephen Langa is the speaker who is quoting Richard Cohen as if he were an expert. The segment where Langa is speaking took place a week after the March ex-gay conference where Scott Lively, Caleb Brundidge and Don Schmierer were recruited to whip up public support for the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
It wasn’t long after the CNN segment that an international group of astronomers announced that Pluto was no longer a planet, becoming the first ex-planet. We had the exclusive insight into how it was done.
The CNN debacle was the first of several disasters on national television. He later regretted his performances, saying so here. He should regret that he allowed Caleb Brundidge to go to Uganda on his behalf and that he has not spoken about this issue until Rachel Maddow asked about his views of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
He is slated to go on her show tonight. Grab a tennis racquet, a pillow and a significant other to cuddle; this is must see TV.
Rachel Maddow here gives a helpful summary. Of necessity hits the high spots and misses a few important nuances but provides new information regarding key politicians in the US. Provides statements of opposition from these key legislators. Check it out. Both Andrew Marin and I were called in relation to the segments the last couple of nights and we were able to provide background for the show. I appreciate the coverage…
We condemn any harsh and extreme punishment of persons who identify as homosexual or who engage in homosexual behavior. Instead, we advocate education and counseling for those with unwanted Same-Sex Attraction.
I contacted Richard Cohen in March about Caleb Brundidge’s activities in Uganda wanting to know if he agreed with what Brundidge was teaching there. No answer.
It is not clear what Cohen believes about criminalization of homosexuality. He opposes the death penaly apparently but what does he favor? Apparently, Cohen favors therapy over jail for those with “unwanted SSA” but what does he favor for those who do not want to change? Perhaps Richard and Scott Lively are on the same page.
Note: Andrew Marin was slated to appear on the show but was cut due to a previous segment going long. It appears he will be on a future show, perhaps on Thursday night.
