Three US Evangelical Christians delivered a series of talks in Kampala last March denouncing homosexuality as “an evil institution,” according to this week’s New York Times. These men are now distancing themselves from the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009, proposed by Ugandan Parliamentarian David Bahati, which initially threatened homosexuals with hanging.
The three evangelical speakers—Scott Lively, Caleb Lee Brundidge, and Don Schmierer— suggested to thousands of Ugandans that queer people can be made straight, that gay men often sodomize teenage boys, and that the goal of “the gay movement” is “to defeat the marriage-based society,” according to the 3 January article. Lively is the author of 7 Steps to Recruit-Proof Your Child:A Parent’s Guide to Protecting Children from Homosexuality and the “Gay” Movement and The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party. Brundidge is a “Sexual Reorientation Coach” for Extreme Prophetic Ministry and the International Healing Foundation. Schmierer sits on the board of directors for Exodus International.
Brundidge and the International Healing Foundation released a statement on 2 December denouncing the bill; Lively and Schmierer have also spoken out against extremity of the proposed legislation. However, the Ugandan leaders of the conference at which Brundidge, Lively, and Schmierer spoke helped to draft the bill. Further, Lively has admitted to discussing the bill with Ugandan legislators.
Under threat of losing millions in foreign aid, the Ugandan government has reduced the sentence for proven homosexuality to life in prison. The Times article is available here. More information on the bill itself is available here.
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