Monday, December 14, 2009
Jump on the Uganda Bandwagon!
Posted By Brandon Burt on December 14, 2009, 11:54 PM
If you need to come out with a strong statement -- and who doesn't these days? -- here's something you can do that's principled and decent: condemn the Republic of Uganda's proposed law to imprison and kill homosexuals.
And the best news? You don't even have to oppose Uganda's historical draconian treatment of gays and risk looking like a big ol' homo-loving lefty -- people are coming up with all kinds of reasons for opposing the Kill the Gays Bill that don't have anything to do with killing gays. ---
Now, as everybody has heard by now, Uganda's proposed "Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009" seeks to broaden the country's criminalization of gays, in some cases imposing life prison sentences and even the death penalty for the crime of "aggravated homosexuality".
The legislation was introduced in Parliament last October, inspiring outrage among human-rights activists. But it wasn't until recently that the alarum seems to have reached critical mass in the U.S.
Since then:
- Prominent Democrats, who must be growing increasingly worried about their party's failure to hold any kind of courageous stance on health care, the war or even "don't ask, don't tell," have begun expressing measured disapproval over things that are instruments of oppression or that go against the tide of history. Ballsy!
- Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, clinging desperately to the conviction that an Anglican schism must be avoided at all costs -- and under fire for his demurral over the election of a lesbian bishop in Los Angeles since she might piss off the homophobes -- objected to the Kill the Gays Bill mainly on grounds that Anglicans don't believe in the death penalty. Ecumenical!
- Rick Warren, megapastor of the Saddleback Church in California (remember him? He figured into the 2008 presidential campaign and even ended up praying at BHO's inauguration, annoying advocates of marriage equality and reproductive freedom) finally announced his bold opposition to the open slaughter of homosexuals, stating that "ALL life, no matter how humble or broken ... is precious to God." Lenient!
To be fair, all of these folks do say they oppose the wholesale criminalization of homosexuality -- but why does it take the threat of officially-sanctioned Ugandan executions to get them to say so? Gays in Uganda and many other countries have been subject to criminal prosecution for quite some time, and the death penalty still holds in several nations including Saudi Arabia and Iran.
But it's not often we hear major political players, leaders of world religions, or even celebrity Baptist ministers talk about it.
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