Rick Warren won’t condemn anti-gay Uganda death law
Tags: John Ensign, Mark Sanford, Martin Ssempa, Nevada, Rick Warren, Saddleback Church, South Carolina, The Family, Uganda, Wayne Besen | by Matt Comer | November 30th, 2009, 8:10 am
For a few days now, the LGBT and progressive blogosphere has been a’swirl with news and commentary on a new death penalty law proposed in Uganda. A pastor in the African nation, Martin Ssempa, has endorsed legislation that would make gay sex punishable by death. “The Family,” an anti-gay American group with ties to GOP pols like South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and Nevada Sen. John Ensign, has been connected to the proposed laws, as has Rick Warren — the pastor who delivered Barack Obama’s inaugural invocation. Warren has hosted Ssempa at his Saddleback Church.
Newsweek attempted to get Warren to reject Ssempa’s proposed death penalty law:
But Warren won’t go so far as to condemn the legislation itself. A request for a broader reaction to the proposed Ugandan anti-homosexual laws generated this response: “The fundamental dignity of every person, our right to be free, and the freedom to make moral choices are gifts endowed by God, our creator. However, it is not my personal calling as a pastor in America to comment or interfere in the political process of other nations.” On Meet the Press this morning, he reiterated this neutral stance in a different context: “As a pastor, my job is to encourage, to support. I never take sides.” Warren did say he believed that abortion was “a holocaust.” He knows as well as anyone that in a case of great wrong, taking sides is an important thing to do.
Gay author and activist Wayne Besen is also speaking out on the issue. He says world leaders should disavow and refuse to attend the upcoming National Prayer Breakfast in protest of the proposed Ugandan law:
World leaders and members of Congress should skip the National Prayer Breakfast, February 4th, in protest of The Family’s (aka The Fellowship) direct role in promoting a bill that would lead to severe human rights abuses against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in Uganda.
The National Prayer Breakfast is giving legitimacy to those who promote barbarism in the name of the Bible. I hope that world leaders who care about human rights will reconsider attending this year’s breakfast. To say grace with the people pushing this hateful and dehumanizing bill in Uganda would be disgraceful.
Think about it. Is it not unconscionable to pray with a group that is actively preying on innocent people in Uganda, just because of their sexual orientation? No one should break bread with a group that is breaking the bones and spirits of gay and lesbian people.
Leave a Reply
