In the Life: Ep. 2008, "Coalitions and Allies"

in the life is funded in part by the H van Emory and foundation Patricia kind in honor of her brother Henry van a meringue him arcus foundation the estate of richard w island and by the annual support of in the life members like you coalitions and allies provide vital support on any issue when we first investigated the 2009 anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda we witnessed how pressure from an international community had contributed to this bill is stalling embassies in Uganda began speaking up publicly against the bill the US ambassador started speaking publicly on the record tonight on in the life renewed efforts to educate and raise awareness on the status of the Ugandan bill and later the work of Reverend dr. Welton Gaddy an ally for LGBT faith inclusion we sort of see Jerry Falwell but then he starts to talk and it's a whole new world on februar 14 2010 the Ugandan Unitarian Universalist Church took a stand in Kampala against legislation proposed by the Ugandan Parliament that would impose the death penalty on serial offenders of homosexual acts three days later pastor marching sempe held a demonstration supporting the 2009 anti-homosexuality Act behati for three minutes Bobby Bigelow coffee and then after that we are going to take on another three minutes just to weave together for the children the people African bachelor to coming up we redeem us from this evil you cannot separate Christianity like in Uganda with politics because they are almost the same there's no separation between two instead the important thing you remember about what's going on uganda is all these right-wing fundamentalist in America that have been trying so hard to pass their agenda and persecute us here they haven't been able to so they're exporting this agenda overseas on the morning of februari second 2010 a Ugandan man seeking asylum in the US spoke at a press conference for the American prayer our an LGBT inclusive alternative to the National Prayer Breakfast I feel so uncomfortable when I stand here before such good people great people and hide myself hide my face hide my identity it hurts Moses oh my garden I'm gay and so I have I actually a lot of fear fear of course for for my life and fear of exposure two days later government officials from around the world attended the National Prayer Breakfast organized by the fellowship foundation each here at the National Prayer Breakfast all these politicians the president senators members of Congress world leaders business leaders I go the National Prayer Breakfast I think it's some benign event they have no idea that the group behind us is this radical dangerous organization family for too long the American people have been in the dark about the fellowship foundation more commonly known in Washington as the family the family is the oldest and arguably most influential Christian conservative organization in Washington and one of the very few that's really international I lived with the group for about a month and then after that spent literally researching in archives and interviewing people and and trying to put together the whole history and chronology of this of this organization the family is not typical of American evangelism it's a very elite group it's a network its primary focus appears to be foreign policy Jeff Charlotte's research reveals the family's influence on Uganda the dictator of autonomous ebony has been the family's key man for Africa since 1986 and he's their guy they began in the early 90s building a broader base and I think they were sort of the vanguard of the great sort of American evangelical intervention in Uganda they helped set up a Ugandan National Prayer Breakfast they run a parliamentary prayer group and the men who run that all family members and these are the guys who are responsible for the 2009 anti-homosexuality Act homosexuality is illegal in Uganda it has been legal since the coroner times before this bill came out homosexuality was illegal and it was punishable by 14 years EG if this bill were actually become law in Uganda consensual conduct would be subjected to life imprisonment with the possibility of the death penalty for certain homosexual acts or repeat offending acts all Ugandan would be required to report any suspected homosexual to the police within 24 hours it would criminalize any discussion expression any outreach to LGBT communities including health-related outreach I grew up fighting all these feelings in me because any slight mistake you find yourself in jail and it's right mistake your family rejects you excommunicate Co I remember when I was rapped by this policeman there was no way I could go to a doctor I remember spending a whole week without eating it bed terrified I knew if I did told the health workers they would of course not give me help it was so traumatic another Ugandan man is publicly speaking out against the sanctioning of homophobia in you and oh when I was first told that you're going to be the leader of smug sexual minorities Uganda so it did not does not mean the leader of swag alone this means the leader of the Ugandan LGBT community that means I'm going to be in the media every day that means i'm going to to be discriminated even more that means every person in my family is going to know about me already got a USA and the other time is an image after airport Brian Boston Massachusetts you being an African and gay at the same time it really are contradicts with a word actually many Africans believe as being the known the issue of homosexuality was in Africa because looking in the past when the British colonies kept Africa and our introducing laws they had include a lot on homosexuality meaning they were condemning that something something that was already existing so being African and being a homosexual is like being anywhere and being a homosexual and what is the culture of Africa the best principles of the Bible Leviticus says do not lie with nmn the Bible embraces one thing and that is love if someone has that securian tation it is his rating may be doing him and he is good homosexuality is just like any other scene we accept that we have seen and we ask God to forgive us now the only problem is when somebody doesn't accept that what I'm doing is wrong last nah I was born this way I do not need to apologize I'm not a sinner and I not be to be I do not need to be corrected the notion that the current criminal law that's in place the criminalizes consensual homosexual conduct is somehow a traditional African value is really quite preposterous it has its origin in very racist misogynistic views about human sexuality and so it's a colonial import to begin with foreign influences continue today in 2009 Reverend dr. capea coma of political research associates attended anti-gay seminars in Uganda in his report he describes the link between these seminars and the anti-homosexuality bill so i had that the evangelic up christian right is coming to Uganda to hold this anti-gay seminar but when I hit that I took that opportunity to go and listen to what was being said one of the speakers at the anti-gay seminar was American Scott lively who calls himself one of the most knowledgeable and articulate opponents of the homosexual agenda they mislead people and I kept on saying these guys are lying to people in the name of religion talking about our dangerous gears are in this world they are violent people they're out to kill they are the ones who are responsible moral station of kids in the world the other ones who are responsible for HIV all sorts of evil we're put on this small group of people he also met with the Parliamentarians of your grinder for four hours teaching them about this international gay agenda to take over the world and why Uganda should stand up against it the bill which came from Uganda is the direct product of this hate seminar which was held in Uganda for us we always thought people from America from Europe from the West a kind of liberal and very more understanding to the issues of sexuality and sexual rates but then I was very surprised when Reverend capilla koroma told me bispo actually here to condemn homosexuality as it is it is really not acceptable this is what has made me question what is the agenda of my brother and sisters in the evangelical movement when it comes to Africa do they really care what happens to other people's lives no I don't think they do they are interested in using Africa for their own political gain Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma longtime family member and one of the very few that's extremely candid about what he does with them he goes over to Uganda traveling with lots and lots of money he can say it's a private trip you're a u.s. senator when you go to a foreign country our embassy meets you there it's not a private trip your representative of the most powerful nation on the earth and you say you hate gay people and you say you have money to share and here's a really truly believe you're desperately poor nation it's pretty conservative anyways they're gonna go along with that the Member of Parliament who introduced a 2009 anti-homosexuality act is a guy named David Bahati it's recently come to light that that member of the Ugandan Parliament David Bahati who sponsored this legislation is affiliated with the family tax documents from the family show millions of dollars have gone into programs linked to David Bahati mr. behati is also Secretary of the family's parliament fellowship in Uganda the family did take steps to oppose the bill much too little and much too late and mainly to protect their own image and this is what David Bahati says he says look when they would call me to talk about it they didn't tell me to withdraw the bill they talked about damage control they talked about appearances and that really came to a head in February around the National Prayer Breakfast the speaker for the prayer breakfast was supposed to be the prime minister of Spain zapatero and at the last minute made the main speaker Hillary Clinton and I recently called President Museveni whom I have known through the prayer breakfast and expressed the strongest concerns about a law being considered in the parliament of Uganda and she denounced the bill in pretty strong terms and so did barack obama but surely we can agree that it is unconscionable to target gays and lesbians for who they are and i think the family said we've done what we needed to do and meanwhile at that point the bill was just it'll still hurtling toward passage I'm no swallows our embassies in Uganda began speaking up publicly against the build the US ambassador started speaking publicly on the record opposing the bill it looks like the bill is locked up in committee now and that does have to do with in the 70 realizing that this was going to hurt him internationally but on top of it he'd gotten all the benefits like whipped up a witch hunt he had convinced Ugandan that he was standing up for the decadent West he wins and Uganda loses it hurts me that I can't go back to my country but i think i need to be happy i think i need to be happy i need to start a new life all together I'm going back to Uganda to ask the gutter campaigns to crush on the religious groups that are spreading a lot of hate and homophobia if what they are doing is not bringing a genocide in Uganda and it's about time the government of Uganda ask these religious groups are you here to preach love or I appreciate you all your sins surprise strengthen you you were serving with your sins David was a mental lift was a teacher gift was a brother on january 26 2011 outspoken LGBT activist david kato was murdered in uganda he was beaten to death with a hammer in his home kato was a close friend and associate of Frank Mugisha I kept on hoping it might be wrong it might be a mix-up or something but after they told me it's him I started thinking now and looking back how did it happen what are the things that David was telling me that could have caused this just weeks before his death Kato led a successful lawsuit against the Ugandan newspaper known as rolling stone which had published the names and photos of homosexuals along with the caption hang them we had just won the Rolling Stone kiss Rolling Stone Uganda where the ring stone was outing people and calling for people to be killed get people to be killed in Uganda my name was their district java sunday or the front page but these people should be responsible for David his mother because they called for him to be killed and we sue them and won the case and it was one of the plaintiff they've lived his life and he did what God wanted him to do to fight for typos freedom he died a horrible death but he was buried with dignity instead of bigotry David was buried with dignity my name is Moses in i am from Uganda in july two thousand ten five months after first speaking out at the National Prayer our Moses revealed his identity I did not physically do it for my own sake no it was to help other people who are like me who are living in bondage as my I might call it he temporarily moved to San Francisco to pursue his asylum case so when I came here and went to the castro and looked at the flags everywhere in the area I felt like wow people can be free I mean to this extent I mean they can do whatever they want to do and no one cares I I think it it was so amazing by against shocking because how in the world can you have all these flags I mean instead of maybe the US flag or the states flag but having a rainbow flag flying over I mean this was something that that you know shocked me after Moses revealed his identity the Ugandan magazine red pepper ran a three page article calling him a quote gay monster and distorting facts about his youth red pepper also published a photo of his family Moses's case for asylum is still pending through telling my story it has called people's attention and many people just want to find out who this Moses is and what the story is all about and if it's you know what he's talking about is actually true and it has compared you know some people to go to Uganda and find out what is exactly taking place there the situation for other LGBT Ugandans remains critical a good person stadium you bet I can extend it 200 meters near frog because i fear i could be i could get in the media any minute or could get arrested the 2009 anti-homosexuality bill is still pending in uganda's parliament its supporters are also incorporating language from the original bill into new bills for consideration every new day I get a different feeling today I woke up with a feeling at the local deepest anti-gay legislators are using other legislations to criminalize homosexuality for example there is a bill that is coming up which is in cabinet it's called a anti-pornography beer they have totally smuggled the anti-homosexuality bill and placed it in there on December 13 2010 Frank Mugisha was joined by the UN coalition of faith to deliver his message to keep international pressure against the bill I mean every person listens to America so support the progressive movements in Africa so that they can also have a stun they can have more support speak out go and vista to go and give them more support vie with them when they are facing all these challenges in africa as of the date of this broadcast Frank Mugisha is back in Uganda the damnation of your own soul is it or sinful is how conservative creatures described demonize and oppose full equality for LGBT people yet progressive religious leaders provide a counterweight preaching full LGBT inclusion to their congregations next we feature Reverend dr. Welton Gaddy who put his career on the line writing a paper that looks to the US Constitution to make the case for equality hello and welcome I'm Reverend Welton Gaddy well let's face religion and the LGBT community historically has not had a very good relationship joining us now is Reverend dr. Welton Gaddy he is a doctors minister in Monroe Louisiana and full disclosure he's my friend when we look at Welton we sort of see Jerry Falwell but then he starts to talk and it's a whole new world National Day of Prayer had been hijacked by right-wing extremists he's saying the exact opposite of what Falwell ever said in terms of the importance of the separation between church and state and in terms of tolerance or respect for diversity and that's powerful welcome everyone does this data belief is a radio program sponsored by the Interfaith Alliance I've been at the Interfaith Alliance now going on almost 12 years Interfaith Alliance is an organization that reflects the diversity of religion in this nation and advocates for religious freedom and works against the manipulation of religion by politics but also the manipulation of politics by religion when Welton did the Interfaith Alliance paper on same sex marriage he subtitled it a call to quiet conversations and public debates Welton's point is that religion and the state must be separate both for the health of the government and for the health of religion to oversimplify grossly one it had to do with the nature of marriage which in the United States is a legal issue not a religious issue and it had to do with whether or not religious institutions have the right to either deny marriage to someone or engage in facilitating marriage because of the faith tradition one of the points that Welton makes and I think it's powerful coming from a minister is that he says that listen every religious faith has its own ideas about marriage everybody just faith also has its own ideas about divorce the government grants divorces given the circumstances of a particular relationship and the government does not try to please any religious institutions in the decision it makes about divorces right now there are a lot of religious traditions that say that divorce is totally verboten but we go to the government to get divorced we don't go to the church to get divorced in the same way and that sort of points for calling us out on our principles about how we let religion and government handle different issues because they're good at handling different issues for the way we get along as a society in a country i think is basic and interesting and so that's why fine to have a discussion about the Bible but when we're dealing with a legal matter whether it's same-gender marriage or many of the other issues that are controversial in our nation let's start with the Constitution which is the same document that gives us the religious freedom to say yes or no as religious people and I want everybody in this nation whether they embrace faith are not to have the rights that are offered by the kind steh to shun regardless of their position on a particular religious issue one trait of authentic religion is freedom and so I won't ever try to drag a person kicking and screaming into a religious confession or a religious devotion but I will say to everybody the doors open and you can be a religious person and be who you are thank you for watching in the life to learn more about the issues in tonight's program or to tell us your thoughts about the show text itl 269 866 on your mobile phone or visit itl media org the gates of paradise lead your child home to your mercy seat eat lead your child home to the kingdom of heaven lead your home in the life is funded in part by the H fan Emory and foundation Patricia kind in honor of her brother Henry van a meringue him arcus foundation the estate of richard w island and by the annual support of in the life members like you you