This just in from Uganda Pulse:
Members of civil society organizations (CSOs) have today petitioned Parliament, calling for a select committee to investigate the impact of homosexuality in Uganda and to pass stern laws to punish people involved in acts of homosexuality.
The petition, signed by over 50,000 Ugandans, was presented to the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, by the Executive Director of Family Life Network, Stephen Langa.
Langa, who was accompanied by Pastor Martin Ssempa, Deputy Mufti, Sheikh Abdul Musisi and other civil society members, notes that homosexuals have continued to roam the country freely promoting the vice yet homosexuality is illegal according to the Constitution and the Penal; Code Act.
He says that the homosexuals have penetrated into schools and distributed reading tools that promote the vice, citing United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which was recently put in the spotlight for distributing a book that promotes homosexuality without approval from the Ministry of Education.
Langa revealed that the CSOs have submitted a protest letter to UNICEF expressing disappointment in their actions and have called upon them to apologize to Ugandans and also retrieve the books that were distributed to schools in about 30 districts.
Deputy Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga, commended the organizations for their solidarity against homosexuality, adding that Parliament will look into current legislation to ensure that they are strengthened to penalize acts of homosexuality.
Kadaga promised to push for the amendment of Article 31 of the Constitution which prohibits homosexual marriages. Langa had earlier noted that the article prohibits gay marriages but not the actions.
I wonder what would have happened if the three Americans who went to Uganda in March would have called for decriminalization of homosexuality? I wonder what might have happened if those three Americans said we will not speak at your conference unless we are allowed to advocate for freedom of conscience? I wonder what would happen if American Christian groups made direct contact with the Ugandan church to urge calm and rational policy? If the laws are toughened, I wonder what will happen to religious people who speak in favor in decriminalization there? Will their speech be free?
Maybe nothing would/will change but I just wonder.
How about that. A country with the backbone to try and stop the spread of a destructive lifestyle choice. It amazes me that with all the available information some people still want to try and portray homosexuality as something normal and healthy. The politically correct thing of course is to criticize and demonize anyone who speaks out against homosexuality as destructive. It is very important to separate the lifestyle choice from the people engaged in it. The lifestyle choice of homosexuality is destructive and is killing people before their time. This seems to be well documented by homosexual and heterosexual survey and study efforts. That doesn’t make all the people caught up in it bad or destructive, just those who have contributed to unnecessary pain by their advocacy of homosexuality, such as those who admitted recruiting children.
Am I reading that correctly? They want to put into their constitution [amendment of Article 31 of the Constitution] an article stating that no Ugandan should engage in homosexual acts?
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If so, Hillary Clinton is getting another letter from me.
I wonder how many homosexuals who do not want to live as homosexuals will be able to come forward and find bona fide support now that they run the risk of being criminally penalized. Sort of like the whole effort defeated the purpose to help. This is a shame and EXODUS as an international organization should have stepped up to the plate. Sometime we sin greiviously when we are silent and take no action. This Uganda thing has grown to effect thousands of people – not just some folks in a room.