Monday 4 January 2010

“Some of the nicest people I have ever met are gay people.”

That statement comes from Don Schmierer, an evangelist anti-gay militant who now claims that he and his fellow US fundamentalist crusaders were "duped" by Ugandan officials who invited them to express their views last year. Their teachings about “curing” homosexuality - which have been widely discredited in the US, were presented in Kampala over three days to audiences of thousands of Ugandans, including police officers, teachers, politicians and legislators.

The visitors discussed how to make gay people straight, [...] and how “the gay movement is an evil institution” whose goal is “to defeat the marriage-based society and replace it with a culture of sexual promiscuity.”

Now the three Americans are finding themselves on the defensive, saying they had no intention of helping stoke the kind of anger that could lead to what came next: a bill to impose a death sentence for homosexual behavior. One month after the conference, a previously unknown Ugandan politician, who boasts of having evangelical friends in the American government, introduced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009, which threatens to hang homosexuals, and, as a result, has put Uganda on a collision course with Western nations.

Donor countries, including the United States, are demanding that Uganda’s government drop the proposed law, saying it violates human rights, though Uganda’s minister of ethics and integrity (who previously tried to ban miniskirts) recently said, “Homosexuals can forget about human rights.”

The Ugandan government, facing the prospect of losing millions in foreign aid, is now indicating that it will back down, slightly, and change the death penalty provision to life in prison for some homosexuals. [...]

The three Americans who spoke at the conference [...] are now trying to distance themselves from the bill. “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.” Mr. Lively and Mr. Brundidge have made similar remarks in interviews or statements issued by their organizations. But the Ugandan organizers of the conference admit helping draft the bill, and Mr. Lively has acknowledged meeting with Ugandan lawmakers to discuss it. He even wrote on his blog in March that someone had likened their campaign to “a nuclear bomb against the gay agenda in Uganda.” Later, when confronted with criticism, Mr. Lively said he was very disappointed that the legislation was so harsh.

From here. Scott Lively "was very disappointed that the legislation was so harsh" - what the hell did he expect his hateful, biased, screed would produce? A "nuclear bomb" is not an instrument of peace - some might call it religious terrorism.

The discourse these three homophobic hatemongers gave was an incitement to violence against gay men, lesbians and transgendered people. And now they claim no responsibility for the response their privileged audience members had, and the actions they took.

Remember, these theocrats have an agenda, and in spite of their lying protestations to the contrary, they are positioning themselves to influence legislation and elected officials in Canada also.

2 comments:

deBeauxOs said...

The comments posted in response to the NYTimes article are mostly cogent and thoughtful - few are written by deranged religious fanatics or rightwing lunatics. They are worth reading, too.

Ferdzy said...

Shorter Don Schmierer: "Nononono!Demonizing homosexuals isn't about *killing* them - it's about sucking up as much of their money as possible!"

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