US: Christian right leader continues support for Ugandan President, despite “kill the gays” bill
Despite the fact that the Ugandan Parliament has been reviving its so-called ‘kill the gays’ bill, the US-based Family Research Council has continued to offer its support to the country’s president.
The Washington-based group, which describes itself as “the nation’s premier advocacy organiSation advancing faith, family, and freedom in our nation’s capital,” has continued to offer support to the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni for his “national repentance” program, and for his Christian faith.
While the FRC has said it does not support the death penalty, in a newsletter this week, it said it does oppose “the suggestion that gay and lesbian acts are universal human rights,” and has made no moves to distance itself from the controversy surrounding the legislation in Uganda.
The original draft of the anti-gay legislation includes a provision for the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”, defined as someone with HIV engaging in homosexual acts, sex with a minor or repeated offenses of homosexuality.
Contrary to some reports, the death penalty clause has not been removed from the bill.
Ugandans “are demanding it,” she previously declared.
Last month, President Museveni delivered a speech, during which he renounced “the Satanic influence” of “the last 50 years of [Uganda’s] history,” citing “sexual immorality,” reported Salon.com.
Family Research Council President, Tony Perkins, tweeted about President Museveni’s speech, commending him for “leading his nation in repentance” and thus creating a “nation prospered by God.”
Following his tweet, on 26 November, the FRC sent out an email alert titled “During revival, media still atone deaf,” in which it condemned the worldwide media for reporting on the controversy caused by the coutntry’s anti-gay legislation.
The email said that the media is “so threatened by religion that it refuses to leave another country alone to pursue its own views on sexuality and faith.”
