Evangelical: Amended U.N. Resolution Creates Loophole for Anti-Gay Bill
An evangelical professor fears that a deletion in a U.N. resolution condemning unjustified killings may provide a loophole for the Ugandan government to pass anti-homosexuality legislation.
Last week, the U. N. General Assembly deleted the phrase "sexual orientation" from a draft resolution against extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions last. With that, Warren Throckmorton, a psychology professor at the Christian institution Grove City College, fears Uganda will have the opportunity it needs to pass legislation that would imprison homosexuals and those who knowingly help them.
"Under the [previous] resolution that would have been considered an unjustified execution," he told The Christian Post.
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Throckmorton, an outspoken evangelical who blogs regularly about homosexuality, has played an active role in contesting the Ugandan legislation. He says the bill's author, David Bahati, fears that Ugandans are being recruited into the sexual orientation and spreading HIV infection.
"This is based on faulty beliefs," stated Throckmorton.
He says that the government has no proof that gays are recruiting anyone, and neither does it have sufficient evidence to prove homosexuals are responsible for the spread of HIV.
"The driver of HIV [in Uganda] is not homosexuality. The driver of HIV is sexual networking," he noted.
Throckmorton explained that Ugandan men tend to have affairs, called "side dishes," with many women.
Despite this, Bahati has proposed the Anti-Homosexual Bill in parliament, which would punish not only homosexuals but also those who know of homosexuals, including family members, health care officials and missionaries, for three years or more. Though homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, the bill was designed to strengthen the criminalization of homosexuality by introducing the death penalty for people who are considered serial offenders, are suspected of "aggravated homosexuality" and are HIV-positive, or who engage in sexual acts with those under 18 years of age.
Despite concerns, supporters of the bill cite the Bible, saying homosexuality is immoral.
But Throckmorton pointed out that to impose a law base on biblical teachings is akin to creating a church-state conflict. He also called on Ugandan leaders to consider the love and mercy Jesus displayed among sexual sinners such as the woman who was to be stoned to death in the Gospel of John.
In an op-ed piece in Uganda's Independent newspaper, Throckmorton questioned, "Who among us could stand if our private sins were judged in such a manner as the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009?
"I urge my brethren in beautiful Uganda to follow the example of Jesus. Please, for the sake of Christ, put down your stones."
Still, with the amended U.N. resolution, the Ugandan bill may pass with little international resistance.
The U.N. General Assembly passes a resolution condemning extra judicial summary and arbitrary executions and other killing every two years. Previous versions of the resolution have included mention of sexual orientation as a basis for unwarranted executions and killings.
However, this year Morocco and Mali successfully lobbied the assembly on behalf of Muslim and African nations to accept an amendment removing the words "sexual orientation" and replacing them with the phrase "discriminatory reasons on any basis."
The phrase is a catch-all statement. The U.S. delegation voiced its discontent and voted with Britain against the motion.
"The subject of this amendment – the need for prompt and thorough investigations of all killing, including those committed for ... sexual orientation – exists in this resolution simply because it is a continuing cause for concern," the British delegation said in a committee statement.
According to Reuters, the amendment narrowly passed 79-70. The resolution was then approved by a committee including all 192 U.N. member states. A total of 165 members voted in favor of the amended resolution. Ten countries, including the United States, abstained from the final vote. No countries voted against.
Throckmorton says the resolution changes the legal implications for the seemingly homophobic law.
Other evangelical leaders have come out in the past condemning the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Pastor Rick Warren, who works with Ugandan pastors through his Purpose Driven campaign and the P.E.A.C.E. Plan, criticized the bill in a December 2009 video calling it unjust and un-Christian.
However, a group of 20 interfaith Ugandan leaders sent Warren a letter, reprimanding him for using his pulpit to "coerce us into the 'evil' of Sodomy and Gaymorrah."
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has also expressed grave concerns about the bill and its inclusion of a death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality."
ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson wrote in a January letter that the enactment of such legislation would be "an abhorrent injustice and outside the norms and standards of internationally-recognized human rights."
According to Throckmorton, the bill may be coming up for a parliamentary vote soon.
