Uganda's Proposed New Laws

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nation_world/story/231756.html

I promise that Purina Chow was not recruiting my children. They did want him to come to their birthday party, but mostly they just love him. They think about how he shaped their growing up lives by being fun, honest, and helpful and loving them back. What a wonderful experience for them. They won't forget it.

Brutal anti-gay laws proposed in Uganda

I really don’t want to write more horrified sad blogs, but it seems that the world just won’t cooperate. This morning, in the middle of a terrific thunderstorm (snow in 10 days?) I read that Uganda is proposing passing laws that could actually impose the death penalty for persons who were homosexual, and that the backing for these laws is coming from Christian Conservatives. Families who support their children can be beaten, evicted, and fired from their jobs. (Of course the gays and lesbians who are “out” automatically are evicted and fired presumably before being put to death.

As it turns out, this isn’t the only country where automatically gays and lesbians are presumed to be “recruiting children”, as if that would actually happen. Africa might seem to be a leader in this propaganda against gays and lesbians, but when you look deeper, you see colonialism alive and well and “Christianity” seems to be at the root. This type of Christianity which justifies murder just seems like a foreign concept. Would Jesus justify murder under any circumstances? I cannot imagine it. And I feel like years and years of working with gay men and lesbians, and trying to help them “come out of the closet” so that they can FEEL normal and not ashamed is swirling ever more quickly down the drain.

As for AIDS prevention and treatment, this attitude towards homosexuality simply squashes prevention efforts as they speak only towards one population. Just trying to include prevention work for men who have sex with men in an environment where this act could confer death, is impossible.

Our world is a scary place, and the agenda of the conservative Christian leaders only makes it scarier.

What would Jesus do?