Petition Against Anti-Gay Law in Uganda

[The Pecman]

Check out this petition:

http://www.allout.org/en/petition/uganda

Very scary, what they're trying to do in some foreign countries. Here we move a step forward, with Brazil legalizing gay marriage, while the morons in Uganda are trying to put gay people to death. Insane.

[DKStories]

This bill has been going on for over a year now. Christian conservatives consider the Ugandan lawmaker who wrote it, and the President now pushing for it, as their 'agents in Uganda". Ex-gay christian groups held meetings in Uganda pushing their agenda that people can be 'transformed' out of homosexuality, and shortly thereafter this bill appeared in the Ugandan parliament. The person writing it attended the conference, and in late 2010 was hosted at a conference in the United States by religious conservatives. Those same religious conservatives have publicly denounced the death penalty portion of the bill, but otherwise supported it, including prison sentences for gay people, as well as prison sentences for anyone who knows someone is gay and does not report them.

Meanwhile, here in the United States, two state Republican parties have officially endorsed the recriminalization of gay sex. In states where conservatives gained majorities in 2010, we see more bills to restrict not only marriage equality, but to try and ensure that domestic partnerships and civil unions are not permitted. Other states try even more restrictive policies, and there are even states that force people to attend religious-based alcohol or drug treatment programs that also push anti-gay messages.

Certainly we should raise a protest voice against what is happening in Uganda, but we need to remember what is happening here at home. If we continue to elect Republican majorities in our states and in our federal government, we will begin to walk backwards towards what is going on in Uganda. I know it sounds partisan, but there is ample evidence for this as fact.

1. The Attorney General and White House decide to refuse to continue defending DOMA as they believe it is unconstitutional. The House of Representatives on a party-line vote 3-2 (3 Republicans voting Aye, 2 Democrats voting No) chooses to spend $500,000 to hire a law firmm to defend DOMA.

2. In 2010, Democratic lawmakers, joined by a grand total of EIGHT Republicans voted to repeal DADT. This was one of the last acts of the Congress that held Democratic majorities in both houses. Now, the Republican majority in the House has voted today 33-27, again a strict party-line vote, to add amendments that would (they hope) restrict or prevent the implementation of DADT. The amendments, three in all, would require the four service chiefs to sign off on repeal (knowing full well the Marine Commandant is opposed to the repeal), forbid marriages of same-sex servicemembers on base, even in states where such marriage is legal, and stipulates explicitly that all passages of DOMA applies to the miltary services (effectively blocking military benefits to same-sex spouses or their children).

3. In 1994 a vast majority of Democrats joined with an absolute Republican majority to enact the Defenase of Marriage Act. Seventeen years later, Democrats in both the House and the Senate have authored bills that would remove DOMA from the law books. The repeal of DOMA enjoys very strong support among Democratic lawmakers, but will never see the light of day in the House because Republicans are nearly unanimous in their opposition to the bill.

4. Since the Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v Texas striking down sodomy laws, Republican-controlled Texas has refused to strike the sodomy laws from the books. They may no longer enforce them, but the laws remain on the books in Republican-controlled states, likely in the hopes that one day a conservative-majority Supreme Court would overturn Lawrence v Texas. (Texas is one of two states with state Republican party platforms calling for the recriminalization of sodomy).

5. In Wisconsin, Republican Governor Scott Walker fired the attorney defending the domestic partnership law in that state.

6. In Wyoming Republican lawmakers pushed legislation that would deny recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other states, and sought to push DOMA into their state's consittution.

7. In Ohio, Republican lawmakers pushed an anti-gay DOMA language into the bill that stripped union workers of collective bargaining rights.

8. In Tennessee, the Republican-led state legislatures has a bill that would overturn Nashville's non-discrimination ordinance that bans anti-gay discrimination.

9. In California, where Democrats control the state legislature and the governor's office, Republicans attempted to pass language that would allow protectmarriage.com defend Proposition 8 in court. The bill never made it out of committee, thanks to a united Democratic Majority.

10. Democratic majorities in East Coast states like Rhode Island have led the fight to recognize gay relationships either as civil unions/domestic partnerships or through full marriage equality.

There are many more examples, but the point is clear. As we protest Uganda and what is going on there, do not close your eyes to its connection with conservatrive, Republican lawmakers here in the United States. If they have their way, it won't just be Uganda passing legislation like this.

[Mountain Dude]

These people are dangerous and are not followers of the true Christian ethic. We need to keep watch on their insidious agenda's and political aspirations. We must strive to stop them at every turn and never let them achieve any level of political power. If we do we will all be doomed.

Rick

You are so right Rick. The right wing is pushing this country to the 'gates of hell'.

Just last night on MSNBC they were talking about a lobby group (name didn't register with me, then or now)

that was organised in 1974 and has about 400 members -- company's and company CEO's in the top 1% and are supplying the new republican governors and state legislators with ready made bills such as what we are seeing spreading across these United States.

They have been operating under the cloak of darkness since 1974 -- doing their evil manipulation while we are sound asleep. Me thinks they should have turned their fan off last November, because the shit sure hit it this spring!

Way to go Republicans~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!

I'm sure we will be hearing more about this group in the near future. Move along, nothing to see here.

Sure dude -- American's are watching and they are way more than pissed!

[DesDownunder]

You are so right Rick. The right wing is pushing this country to the 'gates of hell'.

I have been watching this direction since the early 70s, hoping we were wrong, but even then we said that there was a sign on life's highway, and it read,

"Turn back you are going the wrong way"

Since then, humanism has been attacked as some kind of flawed concept, which it isn't. Right wing religion has grown in power to the point where it is terrorizing peaceful citizens. The poor and rich are so far apart that we will be unlikely to realise equality of opportunity without rebellion. Not armed rebellion, but rebellion peacefully demanding our intrinsic human rights.

Corporate corruption is rife and political integrity has now become an oxymoron. Voters have failed to see the balance required to maintain social infrastructure and services, alongside the so-called free market in which the people are fleeced for obscene profits.

Religion claims the protection of the first amendment, whilst denying the value of separation of church and state. Fear and ignorance are the results of policies which deny science and evolution, for the sake of primitive ignorant teachings about creation. Education is manipulated to misinform on historical fact, and rightwing media personalities distort and twist the truth to accuse their critics of the very abominations the right wing commits on a daily basis to sustain power, corruption and conservative attitudes best suited to the horrors of the Dark Ages.

Is all of this really true? Ask yourself, when have the conservatives shown even the least amount of compassion for their fellow human beings, or why the poor grow weaker in spirit and body, but larger in number. Ask yourself why would you give money to a religion when the sick are denied help and poor people are denied food and shelter, let alone a job, love and understanding.

Ask yourself why you would support organisations, or priests of burden, who have invested time, money and effort to encourage a return to laws against sodomy, laws against freedom to love and marry the person you choose for a life partner. Why would you support those who would execute you for whom you love.

History shows us quite clearly that no culture which has liberated LGBTQ people, hasn't at some later time reinstated laws against homosexuals, denied the individual's intrinsic human rights, and sought to deprive each person of their birth right to be whom we are; to be free to find our own answer to life's questions; to love in peace, instead of hate in fear and ignorance.

We can make the world a better place. No one else can do it for you. Liberating your compassion and love for life is something each of us has to make an effort to do.

Obviously if LGBTQ people are to avoid oppression, persecution and execution then we who are able, must show we will not permit ourselves, and the entire human race to be repressed in the closet ever again.

We are valuable to our cultures, to our nations, to each other; too valuable to life to have our existence denied, ever again.

As for the gates of hell, the barbarians have locked them, and we are trapped inside until we realize such gates only exist for as long as we have a need to believe in them. We just have to free ourselves from our conservative demons.