We Are All Gay Ugandans Now

I can't sleep tonight because my heart is crying for the LGBT people in Uganda...and the other countries in Africa where homosexuality is illegal.

But tonight mostly for the people in Uganda, and their families, and the people and organizations who support them -- where the law says they are all criminals and can be put in jail or worse.

I am a white straight woman in the U.S. and I want the world to know that I care.

I care because the world watched when my family was rounded up and marched to the camps because people thought they were less than, inferior, not worthy of human rights.

I care because I am the mother of a gay man who I love with all my heart.

I care because I love so many lesbians, gay men, bisexual, transgender and queer people who enliven my life and heart.

I care because as a sexologist I know that sexual orientation is a core part of our humanity, and that who we fall in love with is not wrong.

I care because I know that the distance from the state of Arizona which is about to say that private store owners can choose not to serve gay people is not as far as we'd like to think from the legislators in Uganda...and the hate in the street in Nigeria also happens in Peoria and New York City.

I care because as a minister I know that God loves all of God's children and all of us have dignity and worth -- and that sexual diversity is a blessing from God. 

And I hurt because my little organization doesn't have the resources to do much about this...except to pray and to raise our voice.

But the White House does...and the State Department does, and they need to do more than condemn.  They need to embargo and halt funding and do whatever it is they do when a government starts to destroy its people based on who they are.  And the U.N. surely can stand up to this heinous legislation, and say, NO! Not on our watch.  And the big gay rights organizations and civil rights organizations, organize us.  Figure out where we need to march and where we need to stand and ask us to take action.

I can pray and I can write and I can tweet and Facebook.  But others of you have the resources to do more, and I implore you to stand up NOW.

Because we can't stand by and watch.  We are all gay Ugandans now.

Human Rights Day 2009: Uganda's Anti-Gay Proposal

December 10th is Human Rights Day.

There are many things I could write about today. Sexual rights are human rights, and in too many places in the world (and in the United States) they are denied. The right to bodily integrity, the right to live one's sexual orientation and gender identity without fear of discrimination or violence, the right to marry, the right to reproductive health care, the right for adults to make consensual sexual decisions without governmental interference, the right to information...the list is long.

But, the most horrific example for today is the anti-gay bill that is proposed in Uganda. Read it here. It criminalizes same sex sexual behavior, which is punishable by seven years in jail for a first time, unless the person has HIV and then it is punishable by life imprisonment or death. Allies who who "aids, abets, counsels or procures another to engage in acts of homosexuality commits an offense and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for seven years. Same sex couples who marry are to be imprisoned for life. A Ugandan citizen living an another country who commits "such offenses" can be extradited for trial.

This proposed law is an unspeakable outrage against humanity, and religious leaders are speaking out. According to GLAAD,

• The United Church of Christ Global Ministries department spoke out;
• The Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori issued a statement;
• Canon Gideon Byamugisha, a prominent member of Uganda's Anglican Church, took a stand and described the bill as "state-legislated genocide;”
• Swedish, British and Canadian government officials have urged Uganda's President Museveni to drop the law.

I joined a letter this week of Christian conservative and progressive leaders who sent a letter to Uganda decrying the law's inhumanity. It was signed by a wide ranging coalition of faith leaders, from Catholics to ultraconservative evangelicals to denomination leaders to progressives who regularly speak out for LGBT rights. You can read it and the list of endorsers here.

What can YOU do?

Become educated about what's being proposed. Tell your friends and colleagues. Here are some suggestions from GLAAD's faith program:

• If you oversee many congregations, email a pastoral letter for human rights day
• Issue a press release and hold a press conference on Human Rights day
• Preach a sermon about all of us being created in God’s image;
• Contact faith leaders in your tradition and other traditions and urge them to write letters and take a public stand.

Join the letter writing campaign to the Ugandan Minister of Ethics and Integrity. Tell him that your faith teaches you that all humans have dignity and worth and that sexual diversity is part of God's blessing. Tell him that it is immoral to violate human rights because of a person's sexual orientation. Tell him that the world is watching.

Here's the address:

Hon. Dr. James Nsaba Buturo

Minister of Ethics and Integrity

Office of the President, Parliamentary Building

P. O. Box 7168

Kampala, Uganda

Let Your Voice Be Heard.