A Voice for LGBT Men and Women in Uganda

For the past year, the dominant voice coming out of Uganda regarding issues surrounding homosexuality has been an extreme evangelical voice calling for LGBT people in the country to be killed or imprisoned, and to punish straight people who support gay rights with jail terms. That voice, fostered by a U.S. evangelical network with deep political connections, has been persistent in its attempts to pass legislation that would institute these forms of punishment in national law, despite worldwide criticism from governments, human rights organizations, and LGBT activists.

But this past weekend marked one of the first public efforts to rally support within Uganda against what is known as the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Led in part by the Unitarian Universalist Church in Kampala, activists held a conference on Sunday to highlight the need to stop discrimination against LGBT people in Uganda. In some ways it may have been a normal conference with beverages and chairs and speakers in a church room; but in many other ways, it could be the birth of a movement to not only stop oppressive legislation, but advance a culture that seeks to root out homophobia.

Gay rights activists had to meet under a huge cloak of secrecy. Indeed, in the wake of their meeting, a government official said that had he known about the conference, he would have gone and arrested everyone. Yikes. What's that legendary quote? "The wheels of justice grind slow but grind fine." Yeah, seems like that's certainly the case in Uganda.

One of the major forces behind Sunday's gay rights conference in Uganda -- which, coincidentally took place on a day where many folks celebrate Valentine's Day, a day to cheer love -- was the Unitarian Church, and specifically a pastor from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, president of Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry and senior minister at All Souls Unitarian Church. The conference? It was known as "Standing on the Side of Love," which is also the name of one hell (pardon the religious pun) of a campaign by the Unitarian Church to call for justice for LGBT people around the world (including here in the U.S.).

Rev. Lavanhar told the Tulsa News shortly after his arrival in Uganda that despite the risks of organizing for gay rights in a country as currently repressive as Uganda, he felt called to do this work.

"There are times when the church colludes with injustice and evil, like in its support of slavery and racial segregation. In those times, people must rise up to save the church as much as society. This is one of those times," the Pastor said. "There are moments in life when we have to take risks to support what we believe to be God's will for humanity, and it is my strong belief that God's will is for people to be free."

Here's to celebrating that vision of religion which calls for justice for all people in Uganda, no matter what their sexual orientation or gender identity might be.

Photo credit: Standing on the Side of Love