Musings of a Southern Lunatic: The Bahati Bill

I've been inspired recently by the courage of a fellow blogger, GayUganda (GUG), who has made quite a name for himself (anonymously), showing the world with his words what it means to be gay in Uganda, a country whose government, most recently, proposed a bill which threatened to give the government the right to execute, jail, and deny HIV/AIDS treatment to homosexuals. This bill and its support didn't appear overnight; the homophobia which has resulted in this hysteria has been brewing since colonial times. Ironically, though many of the sodomy laws have been on the books since those times, the “Homosexual Agenda” has been sold to the Ugandan people as a Western import. Homosexuality is seen as unAfrican, unnatural, and the worst of abominations, punishable by death. The Ugandan Minister of Ethics summed it all up when he said “Homosexuals can forget about human rights.”

Thankfully, pressure from leaders around the world has somewhat calmed the fires and forced the Ugandan president (Yoweri Museveni) to urge the Parliament to temporarily halt the bill, for fear that it would yield foreign affairs problems. But that is temporary, and it is imperative that our Secretary of State and her peers continue their work in making sure that such a human rights disaster does not happen. As Martin Luther King penned, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

This bill has deep religious undertones. Most Ugandans are Christian, about 85%. Unfortunately, these sentiments have been traced to a group of American preachers, of them the notable Rick Warren, author of "The Purpose-Driven Life" and pastor of the Saddleback Church. Americans remember him for the controversy around his selection for the invocation at President Obama's inauguration, most of which had to do with his views on homosexuality. Through the years, he has flip-flopped many times on gay issues, tailoring his message for his audience. In one breath, he says (to Beliefnet) that allowing gay marriage is the equivalent to allowing “a brother and a sister to marry and calling that marriage.” In another, he says to Larry King, “I am not an anti-gay or anti-gay marriage activist.” Back in November, concerning the Bahati Bill (named for the Ugandan MP that suggested it; I will devote a post to him later), Warren claimed indifference on "Meet the Press", saying “I don't choose sides.” (Warren had the same stance on Prop-8, but of course later released a video showing his support for the proposition.) Weeks later, amidst suspicion that he and other American ministers and missionaries had a role in inspiring this bill, Warren released a video to the ministers of Uganda (pointing out that it is his responsibility to respond because his name has been associated with this bill), urging them to reconsider their views about this bill and calling their behavior toward Ugandan homosexuals “un-Christian”.

Back in March, Rev. Warren took a trip to Uganda to launch his “Purpose Driven Nation” campaign there. An African priest who'd just visited Uganda, said of Warren's book, “it is like a second Bible” noting that there was one to be found at every church and office. Warren's influence on this bill is undeniable, considering his partnership with Uganda's leading evangelical, and biggest proponent of the bill, Martin Ssempa. An article appeared in the New York Times recently blasting three other US missionaries of lesser note (Scott Lively, Caleb Lee Brundidge, and Don Schmeirer of Exodus International; all of whom, like Warren, are trying to distance themselves from the bill) who went to Uganda in March to give a series of talks about “The Gay Agenda” and as Americans, were presented as experts on the subject. Citizens and politicians alike listened with open ears, taking those words to heart...the bill was proposed a month later.

This story speaks volumes about the homophobia being taught in America's churches (I do not mean to make a blanket statement about all Christians; I, myself, am a Christian.). The anti-gay message in Africa is no different from the anti-gay message being taught in America. The ministers preach to deaf ears in America; in Uganda, the ears listened, and the sentiments were internalized. In that moment, no one thought about GUG, who now lives one kiss away from the rope. Because gays are demonized nearly beyond redemption (only nearly, since people unfortunately still believe that sexual orientation is a choice), they are not considered human beings, and therefore can be discriminated against, incarcerated, and killed, without the slightest bit of guilt from the aggressor. It saddens me that such hate is taught in the name of Christ, in Uganda, and especially in the US, where we pride ourselves on principles of freedom, and where we have in our heritage a trajectory of equality. We have, in our history, martyrs who've died for the causes of freedom and equality, and yet we continue to sit in apathy as our queer brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, mothers, and fathers are denied those rights. I will cut things off here with a quote from the late Bayard Rustin (1912-1987), the black, gay civil rights activist, gay rights activist, student of Gandhi, and adviser to Martin Luther King, Jr.:

“Today, Blacks are no longer the litmus paper or the barometer of social change...The new 'niggers' are gays. No person who hopes to get politically elected, even in the deep South would dare...openly and publicly argue that blacks should not have the right to public accommodations...It is in this sense that gay people are the new barometer for social change...The barometer for social change is measured by selecting the group that is most mistreated...The question of social change should be framed with the most vulnerable group in mind: gay people.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/world/africa/04uganda.html?sudsredirect=true