Ex-Gay Watch

Uganda’s Minister of State for Ethics and Integrity James Nsaba Buturo calls for support of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009. He made this speech on May 2 at TheCall, a recent religious rally in Kampala by U.S. based evangelist Lou Engle, the latter having issued what now seems was a deceptive press release just before leaving for Uganda.

Half the audio is the interpreter repeating Buturo’s remarks in a local language. Still, one can sense the hatred, something those who took Engle at his word should remember when he comes home. A transcription is available here.

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Hat Tip: Warren Throckmorton

Building on David Robert’s post on the Richard Cohen portion of The Rachel Maddow Show, Randy Thomas, Vice President of Exodus International, had some things to say about the exchange.

Randy Thomas: I am going to share a review of the actual interview and then move into how I believe she, and some other militant gay activists, are missing the point with regard to Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill.

Transcript, edited for brevity, emphases mine:

MADDOW: But you have told them, particularly in your book, “Coming Out Straight,” which I understand you donated multiple copies of to this organization that‘s promoting this bill. You‘re telling them exactly what they need to hear in order to justify the kill-the-gays bill. I mean, your book portrays gay people as predators who must be stopped to protect the innocent.

COHEN: Oh, no, no, no.

MADDOW: Let me ask – I‘ll just read from your book, OK? Page 49, “Homosexuals are at least 12 times more likely to molest children than heterosexuals. Homosexual teachers are at least seven times more likely to molest a pupil. Homosexual teachers are estimated to have committed at least 25 percent of pupil molestation; 40 percent of molestation assaults were made by those who engage in homosexuality.”

This is the claim that you make in your book that exactly feeds these folks who want to execute people for being gay, what they need in order to justify that. Do you stand by what you said in your book?

COHEN: Actually, you know, that one particular quote, when I do republish it, reprint it, we will extract that from it, because we don‘t want such things to be used against homosexual persons.

MADDOW: That quote is cited – you cite somebody named Paul Cameron as the source of that book.

COHEN: I see that they‘re using it, but you took that one little quote out of a 300-page book.

“you took that one little quote out of a 300-page book”

That “one little quote” may be edited out of Cohen’s next revision, but it’s a paltry excision in light of the other “little” quotes in his book.
Read more…

Randy Thomas, Vice President of Exodus International:

Freedom of speech which expresses a difference of opinion on morality and spirituality is not a crime.

The following is a case of one of the hackneyed headless monsters that the anti-gay industry loves to trot out, especially in regard to hate crime legislation that includes protections for minorities on the basis of sexual-orientation and gender identity.

In an article on the EI blog called “Canadian Decision Protects Freedom of Speech For Religious Views,” Mr. Thomas links to another article titling “Alberta judge rules anti-gay letter not hate speech, overturns ruling”:

A Court of Queen’s Bench judge has ruled an anti-gay letter written by a former Alberta pastor in 2002 was not a hate crime and is allowed under freedom of speech.

Justice E.C. Wilson overturned a 2008 ruling by the Alberta [Canada] Human Rights Commission that the letter by Stephen Boissoin that was published in the Red Deer Advocate broke provincial law.

Mr. Thomas then had this to say:

The step backwards came when freedom of speech was taken away by the oppressive will of the government through the Alberta Human Rights Commission.

Alberta Human Rights Commission:

Discrimination re: publications, notices
3 (1) No person shall publish, issue or display or cause to be published, issued or displayed before the public any statement, publication, notice, sign, symbol, emblem or other representation that:

(a) indicates discrimination or an intention to discriminate against a person or a class of persons, or

(b) is likely to expose a person or a class of persons to hatred or contempt…

The reasoning goes; since it happened in Canada, it will can happen here. Except for the fact that Canada does not have the First Amendment which protects religious hate-speech from interference by the U.S. government. (Westboro Baptist Church, anyone?)

Despite the absence of this protection in Canada, their judicial system sided in favor of Mr. Boissoin. Ergo, even their system worked in favor of free-speech.

One of the things Mr. Thomas, et al, neglects to mention, is that Egale Canada (Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere) refused to take up the case against Reverend Boissoin:

We believe that sunshine is the best disinfectant.

I concur. The suppression of hate-speech does not solve the root of the problem—the climate that allows for hate-speech to flourish.

But let’s take a look at the example Mr. Thomas chooses to defend free-speech with on a moral level.

Here is the full text of Stephen Boissoin’s letter to the Red Deer Advocate that Mr. Thomas describes as  ”provocative”:
Read more…

Centuries ago, the Baptist church was founded on the principle of freedom of conscience. According to Baptist belief, individual Christians are fully competent to study the Bible for themselves and to seek guidance from God (the “priesthood of the believer“); consequently, Baptists of all stripes strongly opposed the adoption of any formal creeds, save perhaps “Ain’t nobody but Jesus going to tell me what to believe.” To this day, many Baptist churches maintain this commitment to the autonomy of the local church and the individual believer.

Since 2000, however, the Southern Baptist Church has departed sharply from its roots. Although the SBC’s updated Baptist Faith & Message (BF&M) statement is not formally labeled a creed, all references to individual conscience have either been eliminated or redefined to effectively outlaw dissent on any matter outlined in the BF&M. Southern Baptist congregations must now strictly interpret the Bible according to the positions detailed in the BF&M, and the Bible itself has been elevated to a position once reserved for Christ alone. Churches that even appear to be deviating from the party line may be subject to disciplinary hearings.

In light of this major shift, it comes as little surprise when Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the driving forces behind the changes made to the BF&M, claims to speak infallibly on behalf of all true Christians, as he does in his most recent essay on the issue of homosexuality. Read more…

The Observer, a newspaper in Uganda, has written a compendium of suggestions and comments by people there on how to spot a gay Ugandan.  No doubt brought about by the heightened negative attitudes towards gays there brought on by a recent conference, the comments reflect a wide range of bad information and obvious prejudice.  However, one common theme seems to be the idea that gays wear make-up and act like women.  That, and nearly every one calls for stricter laws to deal with the “problem” of homosexuality (meaning that it exists, that gay people live in Uganda).

John Mayanja, 26, Businessman
If I see a man acting like a woman and a woman taking up an appearance of a man, I would imagine they are gay. If a man applies make-up and is so serious about the way they look, then they must be up to something unusual. In most cases you will find that such a man hates women and is never interested in talking about them. Even gay women rarely have time for men. Children should be educated against this act from home and society should emphasize our culture because it does not allow homosexuality.

Amer Jingo, 21, Sales and Marketing
The best way to identify a homosexual is if they do not have interest in women whatsoever. Instead of seeing him date a woman, he is mostly with men for all the time you know him. Gays are so fussy about fashion and always want to be on top as far as good looks are concerned. In the case of lesbians, you will find women who are overly jealous about fellow women and they even restrain them from interacting with fellow women. This subject of homosexuality and lesbianism is taking root and can only be controlled if a strong law is passed by government.

Sarah Nakiwolo, 22, Student
What I know is that men who are gay tend to like all the fancy things that are normally appreciated by women. For example they will want to always treat their hair, apply make-up and act like women by pulling at their blouses (shirts) and jeans, which are normally tight. They also tend to gesture around like women by folding their hands, you know. Then for women, they will behave like men. They wear men’s clothes a lot and would rather cut their hair to appear like men and do not fuss about make up. God made sex for man and woman, period. It will be hard to stop gay acts unless government comes out with a strict law.

Grace Sebuliba, 20, Musician
A gay’s behaviour will always change from his usual self in order to make a different impression of themselves to others. You will find a homosexual applying powder on their face like a woman; they walk like women and enjoy wearing lots of make-up. A homosexual will be so jealous about his fellow man and so will a lesbian be about another woman. So do not wonder why. In order to stop the spread of gay acts, a strict law from Parliament must be passed, counselling of gay activists should be encouraged and single-sex schools stopped.

Stephen Langa, head of Family Life Network (FLN), a ministry in Kampala, Uganda, has recently been telling the people there that “the gays are coming after your children.” In hideous fashion, he is inciting both hatred and fear, combined with a sense of urgency — a recipe for violence, even more so in that troubled area. Going beyond his own conferences, we have been told that he frequently appears on FM radio stations to further amplify these beliefs. We may be seeing the results of some of his work in the comments above.

See the complete article with more such comments at The Observer.

Source: ugpluse.com

Gay rights activists in Uganda held a press conference today in response to a recent anti-gay push coordinated by Family Life Network (FLN) leader Stephen Langa.  Ex-Gay Watch has posted exclusive video (here and here) of Langa addressing a group of people in Kampala with all manor of misinformation concerning homosexuality.  Apparently, gay leaders there thought it was time to respond publicly.

Victor Mukasa, the coordinator of the Uganda Minority Sexual Rights group says the campaign against homosexuals in the country is based on wrong information that homosexuality is an acquired behavior which can be taught to people.

Mukasa says homosexuals are naturally born attracted to people of the same sex and do not “change like weather”. Mukasa says it is wrong for Langa and his group to accuse homosexuals of being in a campaign to recruit and change school children into homosexuality. He says these allegations are aimed at making Ugandans to hate homosexuals and force the government to become punish homosexuals.

Langa has resorted to the demonization of gays with claims that they are “after the children,” reportedly bringing his pleas to FM radio stations around the city.  Some have come forward to say they had done exactly that. Mukasa comments further:

But the Family Life Network recently presented a group of former homosexuals who claimed they used to recruit students through offering them money and friendship.

Mukasa says the people claiming to have been working to promote homosexuality in schools have been paid to talk bad about homosexuals in order to make Ugandans hate homosexuals, instead of appreciating their differences.

This agrees with information we have received that those coming forward are doing so at the behest of Langa and FLN, and only after receiving money to do so. Earlier we speculated that perhaps they had been given such assignments as an alternative to jail (after having been arrested), but the apparently money is a more potent motivator.

Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) has emailed an “action alert” from Mission America to their subscriber list.  Recipients are asked to “help keep the activists accountable” by reporting the web site “Prop 8 Maps” to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a hate group.

Subject: Protect Heterosexuals

Help Keep the Activists Accountable: One simple thing you can do

Please do one simple thing to keep rabid homosexual activism accountable.

Go to this page of the Southern Poverty Law Center web site:

http://www.splcenter.org/center/contact.jsp

Send them a complaint about a hate group. In the selection box, click on “Report hate activity in your community.” This should work even if you are not in California. Then just compose a quick message about the following group:

The group is this web site,

http://www.eightmaps.com/

This site identifies the physical addresses of the Prop 8 donors–those who contributed to the successful California measure affirming traditional marriage.

Here’s a suggested text for your message:

Please list among your hate groups the organization responsible for the web site, http://www.eightmaps.com/ . This site has made it easy for anyone who wants to physically target a person who contributed funds to support the Proposition 8 marriage initiative. This is a direct incitement to possible violence, and the site needs to be taken down. In addition, please list under your “hate incidents” all the pro-homosexual, anti-marriage violence that occurred following the passage of Prop 8. Right now, there seems to be nothing listed on your site. Please be objective and list ALL types of “hate” incidents.

Thank you.
———
Please pass this along message to as many people as possible.
If the SPLC really monitors hate and incitement to violence, they need to identify these folks as a hate group and also, list the virulent actions of the anti-marriage activists.

Mission America

Mission America is one of the more extreme anti-gay “ministries” in the US, founded and led by an equally extreme and anti-gay Linda Harvey. Most recently they have backed the Walk Out on the Day of Silence, but XGW has a record of years worth of behavior that leaves little doubt about their stance on GLBT issues, or the rights of just about anyone who does not share their own particular sect of Christianity.  Their home page is titled:

Mission:America – Learn the Truth about Homosexuality, Witchcraft, Changing Christian Church, Radical Feminism, and the Youth Culture

Prop 8 Maps (EightMaps.com) has taken publicly available campaign donation records, in this case concerning those who donated one-hundred dollars or more in support of Proposition 8 in California, and made the information easily searchable on a Google Maps mashup.

As we understand it, posting this information is legal and complies with transparency laws in that state. Mission America and some other pro-Proposition 8 groups believe instead that this is an attempt at intimidation. An attempt to persuade a judge of the latter was unsuccessful.

There is much to criticize about the freakish conference taking place in Kampala, Uganda the past few days.  Several blogs, including this one, have done their best to sift through the mess.  Chief among those who are providing information on the scene is Victor Mukasa, blogging for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC).

Despite the odious rhetoric and violent imagery brought to the table by Scott Lively, the fallacy of “preventing homosexuality” and blaming a parent contributed by Exodus’ Don Schmierer, and the predictable babble coming from International Healing Foundation’s Caleb Brundidge, the following stood out to us as perhaps the most disheartening bit of all.

A film was shown during the session before lunch featuring “ex-gay” Americans testifying about how they were “cured” of homosexuality. All described abuse and violence in their families during childhood and poor relationships with one of their parents. All were “born again Christians” who had “healed” from homosexuality.

Participants were shocked to hear such testimonies for the first time. They asked questions like, “How long does it take for one to heal from homosexuality?” and “Does it hurt?” One of the “ex-homosexuals” on the film testified that he had a poor relationship with his father. This led him to wanting to be with men looking for a father’s love. After the film one participant asked, “If he was looking for a father’s love from men, how did those relationships turn sexual? Would he have become sexual with his own father had they had a good relationship?”

One is hard pressed to read those responses to the movie without a degree of empathy and sorrow (does it hurt?) — they really believe it, that there is a “cure” for being gay. What is more, they trust that this group can deliver it.  What happens when they realize what “change” really means?

It is hard to imagine that this population, dealing so desperately as they are each day to sustain their lives, is prepared to do the mental gymnastics required to put themselves in an Exodus style, ex-gay frame of mind. Nor is it likely they will be satisfied with a “simulated heterosexuality” filled with the familiar but subtle newspeak, “not gay-identified,” “ex-gay,” etc.  It’s almost certain, however, that they become well acquainted with the “struggle” part.

So what will the lives of these unfortunate Ugandans be like after they come to the realization that they have misplaced their trust?  And what of those who have willingly come forward and identified themselves as gay in order to be “healed?” The public and personal turmoil this will cause in that small country, which already jails homosexuals for life, should itself be considered criminal.

Now what we are discussing here is obviously the kernel of what is detrimental about ex-gay organizations in the US or anywhere else.  Watching it unfold in Uganda,  however, has provided focus for this writer — a microcosm of the entire issue, and a realization that makes one want to yell “stop!”

Exodus President Alan Chambers was notified of the reputation and history of the major speakers at the conference at least eight days ago in a letter exchange started by BTB‘s Timothy Kincaid, and through a number of personal emails from this writer as well.  His response, when he gave one, was vague and off the record.

Chambers has received copies of our current information about the conference and phone service is certainly available between Orlando and Kampala.  We strongly advised him to tell his board member, Schmierer, not to participate, and to make a swift, bold, unambiguous denouncement of all that is going on there, including a call for the decriminalization of homosexuality in all countries.

So far we have heard nothing from Chambers, but plenty from Schmierer. We would submit that Exodus’ window of opportunity to turn this around in any meaningful way has closed.  If our experience is any indication, they are taking this time to craft a statement of some sort that will keep them in good stead with their hard-line donors, avoid action against Schmierer and at the same time make some sort of generic statement on rights.  Saying one thing while meaning another is always more difficult and therefore takes more time.

How sad.

Source: UPI

According to United Press International, two members of the notoriously anti-gay Phelps clan/church have been denied entry to Great Britain.

Fred Phelps and his daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper, who belong to the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, were planning to come to Britain to protest outside a performance of “The Laramie Project,” the Times of London reported Friday.

Phelps is well known in the United States for his vicious hatred of gays. He and his family form the bulk of Wesboro Baptist Church and frequently picket the funerals of soldiers, GLBTs and AIDS victims.  They were apparently hoping to do something similar at the performance of The Laramie Project when they were blocked from entering the country.

“The Home Secretary has excluded both Fred Phelps and his daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper from the U.K.,” a Border Agency spokesman said. “Both these individuals have engaged in unacceptable behavior by inciting hatred against a number of communities.”

Peter Tatchell of the gay rights group OutRage! did not agree with the Home Secretary, believing that even people as bigoted as the Phelps’ deserve to be heard.

The Phelpses are odious, homophobic bigots. They give Christianity a bad name,” Tatchell said. “Objectionable though they are, I don’t agree with them being banned.”

Restrictive actions taken by countries where free speech is (and has always been) far less potent than in the United States are often used by anti-gay groups here to paint a frightening picture of the future. In that scenario, equality for GLBTs is connected with repression of the right to present dissenting views.

No doubt this incident will provide more fuel for some to make that argument, even though we are certain Phelps and his daughter will be able to re-enter the US without incident where they can continue to say whatever they want.

In a recent article from the AFA‘s pseudo-news outlet One News Now, attorney Mat Staver of the anti-gay Liberty Counsel claims that students today, during the Day of Silence (DoS), will refuse to answer questions from teachers in class and otherwise disrupt the operation of the school day.

‘Number one, if students will not speak up in these classes when they’re called upon, that’s disruptive — and they [the schools] don’t have to tolerate students who will not speak because of the Day of Silence,’ he suggests.

One News Now writer Jeff Johnson also chimes in:

The Day of Silence is an allegedly student-led event designed to highlight purported suffering of homosexual students. Throughout the day, students who participate in the protest refuse to talk, even when teachers or administrators ask them to respond to questions.

First of all, there is nothing “purported” about the suffering and death of Lawrence King. And denying that goes way beyond an ideological disagreement. Secondly, the ACLU has made clear that students are required to speak in class when called on by a teacher, etc. There is no ambiguity here so one has to ask why Staver and Johnson are pretending this is so. Read more…