Meet the U.S. Politicians Who Want to See Gay People Dead in Uganda

by Michael Jones · 2009-11-25 08:14:00 UTC
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Bart StupakCongressmen Bart Stupak and Joe Pitts have a lot more in common than just working together to strip reproductive rights out of U.S. health care reform. The two are also tied through an evangelical network known as “The Family,” which has dubious ties to at least two Ugandan leaders who are championing draconian legislation in the country that would institute the death penalty for homosexuality.

Speaking yesterday on NPR’s Fresh Air, Jeff Sharlet – who wrote a best-selling book documenting the political influence of the family – noted that many U.S. politicians, straddling both sides of the political aisle, are involved with “The Family.” Sharlet spoke about how members of “The Family” have been quite active in Uganda, including Ugandan Parliamentarian David Bahati, who is a member of “The Family” and one of the legislators behind the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009.

“[Bahati] appears to be a core member of The Family. He works, he organizes their Uganda National Prayer Breakfast and oversees a African sort of student leadership program designed to create future leaders for Africa, into which The Family has poured millions of dollars working through a very convoluted chain of linkages passing the money over to Uganda,” said Sharlet.

Not only that, but The Family has long considered Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to be their key point man in Uganda, according to Sharlet. And President Museveni, it turns out, is one of the biggest advocates for killing gay people in Uganda. He also just met with a bunch of Ugandan youth and urged them to resist the forces of homosexuality.

That’s a pretty direct, not to mention abhorrent, connection between U.S. evangelical political leadership and Ugandan human rights abusers. Do U.S. politicians like Congressmen Bart Stupak really want to have on their consciences the murder and imprisonment of gay people in Uganda? Urge his office to condemn this proposed bill now.

The facts on the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill are clear cut. Here’s what the bill will do if passed into law: it will create a criminal violation known as aggravated homosexuality, and anyone convicted of it will be sentenced to death; it will send anyone supporting gay rights to prison, even if they’re straight; it will imprison parents of LGBT children if they don’t rat out their kids to the government; and it will sentence people to life in prison for talking favorably about same-sex marriage.

Maybe it’s all part of Uganda’s new tourism campaign: Come for the lush wildlife, stay for the brutal repression.

For Congressmen like Joe Pitts and Bart Stupak to have ties to politicians who want to murder gay people is earth-shattering. But the scary part is that “The Family” has a membership far beyond just these two politicians. Sharlet has documented a whole boatload of U.S. leaders involved in “The Family,” including Sen. John “How Much Money Will it Take to Keep My Mistress Silent” Ensign, Sen. Tom “Blackmail is the Best Way To Stay in Political Power” Coburn, and Gov. Mark “Buenos Aires is the Best Place for Adultery” Sanford. The list goes on: Sen. Mark Pryor, Sen. James Inhofe, Sen. Chuck Grassley, Sen. Mike Enzi, Sen. Sam Brownback, Rep. Heath Shuler, Rep. Mike McIntyre, and Rep. Zach Wamp. And that’s not an exhaustive list!

Do all of these folks want to see gay people murdered in Uganda?

If not, they sure better go on record condemning this bill. Rep. Tammy Baldwin has already urged the U.S. State Department to condemn the bill. What would be stopping these “Family” politicians from signing her letter as well?

The dangers of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill are obvious. Uganda historically is a country with tense political fault lines and a history of violence. This bill, if enacted, threatens to play out with catastrophic results.

And the blood of murdered gays and lesbians won’t only be on the hands of the Ugandan Parliament. It’ll be on the hands of Congressmen Bart Stupak, Joe Pitts, and the many other members of “The Family” who maintain such incestuous relationships with some of the fiercest anti-gay people in the world.

Take a moment to let Congressman Bart Stupak know that you want him to speak out against this bill now. There’s no reason for him to delay.

(Photo courtesy of house.gov.)

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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