Tag Archives: global

The anti-gay legislation investigated in Vanguard's “Missionaries of Hate” is stalled in committee and, according to local gay activists in the country, unlikely to pass during this current parliamentary session. Correspondent Mariana van Zeller said she was taken aback by the fervor surrounding the anti-gay movement, especially at one of Pastor Ssempa’s inflammatory church rallies. “One of the shocking experiences that we had [in Uganda] was being in this congregation, with children, old women, and there he was with his laptop, showing these very graphic images of gay porn,” Mariana said. [Watch more commentary with Mariana.] “You could see the faces of the congregation. They were completely shocked. And this is what they are taking home with them.” Although religious leaders and politicians had managed to elevate the discourse to fever pitch earlier this year, local activists report that the general population of Uganda is more tolerant, and the government seems to be responding to international pressures that the bill be withdrawn from parliament. From the Global Post: “Politicians find that homosexuals are a great scapegoat or red herring to divert attention to more pressing issues … such as unemployment, corruption, poor health facilities, reform of electoral laws and so forth,” wrote Ugandan lawyer Sylvia Tamale, the first female dean of law at Makerere University law school. “If we are to be absolutely honest with ourselves, we should ask whether there are not more pressing issues of moral violation in other areas such as domestic violence, torture and corruption. None of these areas have specific laws outlawing their practice,” wrote Tamale. Rev. Mark Kiyimba of the Ugandan Unitarian Universalist Church, also known as “Pastor Brown,” is a leader in Uganda’s LGBT community. He says that international pressure, especially from the Obama administration, has “cooled down progress on the bill.” “We have shifted our focus and are now concentrating on HIV, spirituality and social issues,” said Kiyimba. “We don’t hear anything anymore about the bill. Besides, parliament will dissolve next month, so it is too late to debate the bill before the close of parliament.” Watch a clip from “Missionaries of Hate” in which Mariana and a