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Loading ...Uganda activists petition against anti-gay bill
03.02.2010 7:00am EST
(Kampala, Uganda) Critics of a proposed Ugandan law that would impose the death penalty for some gays say they’ve gathered 500,000 signatures calling for the bill’s rejection.
A delegation including Anglican priest Canon Gideon Byamugisha delivered the petition to Uganda’s parliament on Monday. Byamugisha says the bill teaches intolerance and hatred and is counter to the constitution’s anti-discrimination laws.Speaker of Parliament Edward Ssekandi Kiwanuk says the bill has been presented and soon will be debated.
The proposed bill has sparked protests in London, New York and Washington.
Uganda’s conservative society frowns on homosexuality. One proponent of the bill even showed gay pornographic videos in church to try to garner support.
What a lot of people don’t seem to understand is that Uganda is not unique when it comes to the persecution of GLBT individuals. all it takes is the wrong people in power and this could happen to us anywhere regardless of any constitution. Buildings fall people die and entire societies have dissapeared. It’s not so unusual we are all blessed simply to be alive in this world. All you need is love is the truth. How do we get people to stop functioning on hate and how do we find another way to motivate people that doesn’t set up one group of people against another. I have been told so many times that gay rights can’t be compared to black civil rights or the native americans civil rights but what people really need to understand is that sexism racism homophobia and anti-semitism which in my opinion relates to the persection af any religion that is different from one’s own not simply “jew hater” of course there is islamaphobia and classism. It all ties in. hate is hate is hate and we don’t need it!!! If it were up to me anybody that’s a hater would be required to take sensitivity courses and would be forced to hang out with the type of individual they hate so they could get a grip on reality and stop hating so much because once people get to know each other that’s when people start to understand that in spite of all of our differences we are all human in the end and we need to take care of each other and take care of our planet.
But DJ, most of the religions (not all) don’t even consider us human. The book governing most you mention says we should not exist..we should be struck down.
So while I agree with your plea to end hate, I don’t agree that religious tolerance needs to be a part of it.
I truly believe that we are having this debate, many thousands of years after homosexuality was totally accepted in our culture, because of modern religion’s rise in power and its need to perform thought control to maintain its power.
So I will join you in fighting hate but I will be intellectually honest in fighting religion that gives rise to this hatred, because we’ll never win if we keep giving the religion pass to people’s immorality.
Just like a pharmacist must be fired if he refuses to sell a contraceptive on religious grounds, we must stop letting people use it as an excuse to be a bad world citizen.
Fight hate, yes, tolerate the hate of religion, no!
Canon Gideon Byamugisha is one example of many within the Christian community who work to promote tolerance and understanding and build bridges. It is unfortunate that the media takes more interest in carrying news about those who use religion to promote hate and anger when there are real heroes– and not just a few– who actively work to break down barriers between LGBT people and people of faith. However, the actions of those embracing bigotry are more sensational– and that includes both homophobic and anti-Christian bigots.