Loading...
Loading...
On-Air Promo Creative 115x175
|| News ||

POST COMMENT(23)   Bookmark and Share EMAIL  PRINT  RECOMMEND

8 readers have recommended this story.

Page 1 of 1

Fundamentalists Tied to Uganda's Antigay Law


JOHN ENSIGN MUSEVENI X390 (GETTY) | ADVOCATE.COM

An antigay conservative group with high-powered U.S. political allies has used its influence to support a proposed Ugandan law that would impose the death penalty on "repeat offenders" engaging in gay sex.

David Bahati, a Ugandan lawmaker and member of the fundamentalist group The Family, sponsored the antigay legislation and has received millions of dollars in funding through the organization’s African outreach programs. The Family has also cultivated a "deep relationship" with Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni (pictured, right), Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, said in a Tuesday interview on Fresh Air with Terry Gross on National Public Radio.

Sharlet detailed The Family's connections with Capitol Hill powers-that-be, including Nevada senator John Ensign (pictured, left) and Kansas senator Sam Brownback. “Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma boasts of traveling around the world, doing The Family's political business, he said. "[Oklahoma] Senator Tom Coburn has done the same thing. [Iowa] Senator Chuck Grassley has been very involved in African affairs on behalf of The Family. Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming is a part of it.”

Though gay sex is already criminalized in Uganda, the proposed legislation currently before parliament would add a specific clause called “aggravated homosexuality,” which would impose the death penalty on so-called repeat offenders as well as those who have HIV and engage in sex. Even failure to report a gay person to authorities could result in a lengthy prison sentence.

The transcript of the interview is available here.

Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Facebook. Page 1 of 1

POST COMMENT(23)   Bookmark and Share EMAIL  PRINT  RECOMMEND

8 readers have recommended this story.

Reader Comments
  • Name: Sue Burnside
    Date posted: 12/3/2009 4:59:03 PM
    Hometown: Vallejo,CA

    Comment:

    12.03.09 Dear "The Family" & others like-spirited: How dare you claim JESUS, holding onto His robe-tails, & then going off & financing the Execution, Extermination, Murder of anyone who'se gay or accused of being gay or anyone "hiding" anyone gay. You are not only Anti-American, but also Anti-Jesus. I've no doubt that you will do the same (or ARE doing) here in America, if given the chance. TO ALL AMERICANS: This is what a Theocracy-ruled government does to human beings: persecute even unto the death. This is NOT Jesus' Way. Hypocracy comes in "Look-Good" clothes as well as in hand-me-downs. Either way, hypocracy turns people into filthy rags.

  • Name: Carol
    Date posted: 11/29/2009 3:09:26 PM
    Hometown: MO

    Comment:

    Until all media puts this out like MSNBC does, or at least Rachel Maddow, about the background work of "The Family" the general population won't know about it. This needs to be published in every paper, and put in every news media on the net.

  • Name: Mark
    Date posted: 11/29/2009 2:45:28 AM
    Hometown: Elizabeth, Colorado

    Comment:

    Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fellowship_(Christian_organization) says it all. Worlds worst homophobic politicians all are listed.

  • Name: lvnvrcd
    Date posted: 11/28/2009 7:30:25 PM
    Hometown: Las Vegas

    Comment:

    John Ensign is a two-faced, double talking, self-righteous piece of sh*t. How does a man who commits adultery feel like he should have anything to say about anything and have people take him seriously. Liar! Liar! Pants on fire!

  • Name: Jock Murray
    Date posted: 11/28/2009 4:46:49 PM
    Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa

    Comment:

    When will people in the west realise that our esteemed brothers whole control this continent REALLY DO NOT LIKE GAY PEOPLE. We here in South Africa probably have the most advanced Constitutioal rights with regards to Homosexual safeguards, but when our current president gets hauled up by the relevent courts for outright bigotry then dont be surprised at what you are seeing in Uganda. And they will not be the last ones. Please remove the rose tinted specs when it come to how this continent works. EG four months ago, a number of gents were sentenced for the murder and rape of one of the team members of our ladies national football team,she was lesbian, and the general concensus of the indigenous population was that this was the cure for the disease. Oh and i might add that the belief that raping babies as a cure for HIV/Aids is not an old wives tale, but propounded by certain factions of the Sangoma(Witch Doctor) fraternity who are recognised as practioners in law.

  • Name: Steve
    Date posted: 11/27/2009 6:49:30 PM
    Hometown: Idyllwild

    Comment:

    I remember hearing this on NPR and wondered (without a whole lot of wonder) why mainstream straight media had not and still has not picked up on this. Hopefully with all the 'share' postings of this article will bring it to the limelight! Thank you Advocate for bringing this to light via gay mainstream media.

  • Name: Gregg
    Date posted: 11/27/2009 3:38:18 PM
    Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

    Comment:

    I wouldn’t be surprised of some of the anti-gay groups in the US have seen the tide turning against them, like it did for their racist brethren in the ‘50s and ‘60s, and are trying a new tactic to try to prevent total irrelevancy, by turning their efforts overseas. Sure, they become pretty much irrelevant here, but their efforts on places like Uganda keep them in the news. This does have the potential of backfiring, since it’s possible that members of this group here in the US could face legal sanctions (such as practicing foreign diplomacy without the proper credential, interfering in a foreign government, and if the law passes and is enforced, potential homicide and genocide charges.

  • Name: Ran
    Date posted: 11/27/2009 2:28:40 AM
    Hometown: West Hollywood

    Comment:

    We should be asking the Senator's to explain their connection with The Family, and why they would be promoting human rights violations around the world when they're known, and employed, as US representatives. Is that legal? Where's the Ethics Committee?

  • Name: Stephen
    Date posted: 11/26/2009 7:27:34 PM
    Hometown: Dayton

    Comment:

    These people are disgusting! this is outrageous. American taliban in suits is the only difference. We need to educate and this needs to be widely publisized and exposed in broader media.

  • Name: Davya
    Date posted: 11/26/2009 4:02:47 PM
    Hometown: Wynnewood, PA

    Comment:

    Bomb the wretched place and persecute the senators the way they did those connected with anti-war organizations after 9/11.

 PREVIOUS 1 2 3 NEXT  


More Online Only
  • Art Slideshow Flag Artist Spotlight: Que Duong

    A fortune-teller told Que Duong's mother he would amount to nothing — which is why he gives everything he has to each photo he takes.

  • Music Thicke and Juicy

    Sexy soul singer Robin Thicke opens up about his Precious wife, homophobia in the music industry, and the gay men who’ve shaped his life and love since childhood. 

  • Internet Herman on Why He Wants to Stop H8

    Fitness trainer, Real World alum, and marriage equality advocate Scott Herman took some time between crunches to tell The Advocate that his concern for gay rights isn't manufactured, and he doesn't mind men checking him out.

  • News Celebration of Courage Not So Courageous

    Advocate contributor Michael Lucas says the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission needs to be doing more to stop violence against gays and lesbians in countries "oppressed by Islam."

  • Commentary The Truth Behind Her Name Was Steven

    Advocate contributor Eden Lane says CNN's Her Name Was Steven will help raise the visibility of trans people on TV, but the most compelling part of Susan Stanton's journey was left to a title card at the end of the film.

  • Television Laverne, Surely

    I Want to Work for Diddy alum Laverne Cox leads a trio of transgender ladies in VH1’s Transform Me, a new makeover show that flatters her hooker-heavy résumé.

  • Music Cherie’s Jubilee

    With The Runaways, the new film about her life with Joan Jett, pioneering rock star Cherie Currie is enjoying a renaissance ... with a little help from Dakota Fanning.

  • Activism Sex-Ed Student Turns Teen Activist

    When sex education classes at Danny Sparks's high school failed to address the issues important to him, he took matters into his own hands ... and became an activist in the process.

  • Photography Slideshow Flag Artist Spotlight: Ryan Colford

    From his "candy shoppe" line — sweet treats made oh-so sexy — to his black and white studies of the male form, photographer Ryan Colford exposes the beauty of the male body.

  • Commentary What Massa Could Learn From Ashburn

    COMMENTARY: Matthew S. Bajko says Republican California state senator Roy Ashburn deserves praise for coming out of the closet despite his antigay voting record. Now, if only former congressman Eric Massa would follow his lead.

  • Music The Truth About Tracy and Kim

    Don’t be tardy for this party! DJ Tracy Young comes clean — mostly — about her rumored lesbian relationship with Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kim Zolciak.

  • News Video Content Flag Kids Say the Darndest Things

    Micah Schraft and his boyfriend, John, were filming Micah's family at Thanksgiving when the 5-year-old son of a family friend wanted to know if the two were husbands. The result is a video you have to see. 

  • Commentary The Importance of Being Counted

    With benefits from boosting hate-crimes and marriage equality laws to simply letting legislators know gay Americans indeed exist, the 2010 Census is a chance to stand up and be counted.