Vigil counters hateful 'lessons'
In the wake of disturbing homophobic statements from certain US Christian groups in support of anti-gay legislation in Uganda and beyond, the Pocono Record comments on the work of faith leaders in the US to counter the animosity.
The Pennsylvania Pocono Record commends the faith leaders who held vigil on Tuesday in Washington DC to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in far-off Uganda.
The Bishops and Elders Council convened by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) highlighted their concern that some religious leaders in our own country are actively promoting anti-gay rhetoric in Uganda at the very time that that African nation is considering the passage of an 'anti-homosexuality bill'. The bill would make homosexuality punishable by life imprisonment or even death. Such a law could also inflame already dangerous sentiments of anti-gay individuals, who are sometimes prone to violence.
Just about a year ago on the other side of Africa, a mob unearthed the body of a gay man in a cemetery in Thies, Senegal, spat on it, then dragged the corpse to the home of the dead man's elderly parents. Someone filmed the awful scene on a cell phone. The video, passed from phone to phone and ultimately sold at market, panicked many gay Senegalese men. Police began rounding up suspected homosexuals. Some were beaten. Some fled to Gambia, whose president then decreed they had 24 hours to leave or face beheading.
Even in the United States, gays and lesbians often are victims of verbal, physical and sexual abuse. One national study of 9,000 gay high school students showed nearly a quarter of the male students were victimised at least 10 times a year over their sexual orientation. Last year President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard Act into law, expanding the federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. The law helps protect all minorities from violence.
Gays and other minorities in other countries, including Senegal and Uganda, aren't so lucky. So it does not help when some US religious leaders send their own condemnatory, dangerous messages to Africa. One of them, Lou Engle of TheCall organisation of Kansas City, Missouri, is holding a scheduled rally today in Uganda, calling for gays to repent and stressing the evils of 'witchcraft' and 'homosexuality and increased immorality'. It's one thing to actively support anti-homosexual messages. It's another to hold huge stadium rallies, as Engle plans, with the potential to whip people into a frenzy over others they consider 'different'.
The Bishops and Elders Council comprises more than 20 communions and networks and more than five million Christians who support the core values of Christian faith – the love of God and your neighbour, including gays, lesbians and transgender people. The NGLTF and the Bishops and Elders Council focus on tolerance and kindness. Their Tuesday vigil offered a positive response to the suspicion and hate that can endanger the lives of victims here and abroad. This troubled world needs more oil on the water and fewer calls for condemnation and division.
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* This article was first published by Pocono Record.
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