Between 2004 and 2008, the United States has provided 1.2 billion dollars to the East African nation of Uganda through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Instigated by President George W. Bush, PEPFAR's results have been striking. According to a 2009 Annals of Internal Medicine research report, an estimated 1.2 million lives have been saved. The AIDS rate has dropped dramatically. PEPFAR funds three components of AIDS education and prevention: Abstinence education, Be faithful in marriage or to one partner, and Condom usage (ABC).

However, a bill proposed in the Ugandan parliament in early October may add a D to this policy and compromise Bush's good work. The D stands for the death penalty for homosexual offenses, including multiple homosexual acts and engaging in sex while HIV positive.

Introduced by MP David Bahati, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009 would impose the death penalty on some homosexual behaviors, and maintain life in prison for others. Even touching someone of the same sex could be considered an offense if the intent is sexual. Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda but this bill cracks down harder on offenders as well as anyone with any relationship to a homosexual. The bill requires persons in authority (pastor, teacher, missionary, physician, parent, etc.) to report any knowledge of any offense covered by the act within 24 hours upon pain of 3 years in jail or a hefty fine. Thus, parents could be expected to turn in same-sex attracted children. Relevant to AIDS relief work, there is no exemption in the bill for professionals. If a patient reveals homosexual behavior in the course of AIDS treatment or education, then those hearing the revelation must report.

As might be expected, the bill is receiving condemnation from human rights groups, including those within the AIDS prevention and treatment community. However, the bill has divided two former collaborators on AIDS policy in Uganda - Martin Ssempa and Edward Green. The story of this divide illustrates the complexity of developing a workable AIDS policy when cultures clash.

Martin Ssempa is a Pentecostal pastor from Kampala and Dr. Edward Green is Director, AIDS Prevention Research Project at Harvard University. They worked together to craft AIDS prevention policy in 2004. At the request of the Uganda AIDS Commission, they and four others authored a paper detailing evidence for what worked in prevention and developed a plan for implementing those strategies in Uganda. In an email, Green explained,

In various forms, the ABC approach has been implemented in Uganda since the mid-1980s. By 2004, there were condom strategies but no fidelity strategies. Ssempa and I (and 4 others) just laid out the evidence of what worked and made plans to include some of that in a package of otherwise ineffective medical services masquerading as AIDS prevention.

Ssempa received a Masters of Arts degree in counseling from Philadelphia Biblical University and boasts on his website that he is "a passionate voice in the global fight against HIV/AIDS." His DVD on sexual abstinence is promoted by Wait Training, a Colorado-based abstinence education organization. However, he is actively campaigning for the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Ssempa told me in an email, "I am in total support of the bill and would be most grateful if it did pass."

According to Harvard's Green, Ssempa's support for the bill and the ramifications to AIDS prevention and treatment efforts are deeply troubling. Green said, "The bill sounds dangerous and completely inhumane. As a practical matter, such a bill is unenforceable and would only drive homosexuality underground, terrorize gay men and women and their loved ones, and justify witch hunts."

AIDS workers on the ground in Uganda agree. In practice, such a law will create ethical conflicts for pastors, health care providers and educators, and heighten stigma for patients. Karen Moul, spokesperson for Catholic Relief Services, a major PEPFAR grantee, told me that if the bill becomes law, it could dramatically inhibit patients presenting for treatment and/or to discuss risky behavior of any kind. "It will only make it harder to get services. The stigma of AIDS is bad enough. Anything that increases stigma will make getting treatment harder. Patients may avoid coming in altogether," Ms. Moul said.

The bill directly contradicts the approach to primary prevention of AIDS advocated by Dr. Green. Writing in a professional journal, Green summarized the principles in working with stigmatized groups, saying,

Working with marginalized, high-risk groups in any meaningful way involves accessing such people, gaining their trust and developing some level of sympathy for their plight. These groups are often looked down upon, perhaps despised, perhaps more openly in the tradition bound and/or religious societies in the less developed world.

Somehow what seems obvious to Green and Moul is not registering with Ssempa and supporters of the bill. Despite the draconian restrictions and requirements, the bill seems likely to pass due to support from religious leaders like Martin Ssempa. Ssempa told me, "This bill seeks to put Africa and Uganda to be custodians of values and family knowledge as handed down from our fathers and our faith."

Policy makers in the US and elsewhere will need to confront this impulse. Adding D to ABC in Uganda will not reduce HIV/AIDS and may make matters worse. For the sake of human rights and a working AIDS policy, ABC is enough.

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This appeared in the Independent, a newspaper in Uganda. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 would impose the death penalty on certain homosexual behaviors and require citizens to report suspected homosexuals to the authorities.

Put down the stones

Christians believe that when Jesus was confronted by the religious leaders of His day, He had just the right response. However, I fear that many of my Ugandan brothers and sisters now doubt that Jesus was correct in His example. Let me explain.

In the 8th chapter of the Gospel of John, the Pharisees and teachers of the law brought a woman to Jesus for Him to judge.

They said, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" The woman expressed no repentance, no remorse; she was coerced to this degrading situation by the religious leaders who used her as a scapegoat and example.

Jesus did not speak but instead wrote in the dirt on the ground before He spoke. We don't know what He wrote, but we do know what He said: "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

No one tossed so much as a pebble. They all walked away, leaving the woman untouched by the wrath of men. Rather, she had been touched by the mercy of her Benefactor.

Jesus asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She replied, "No one, sir." "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

We do not know whether or not she left her life of sin. The Bible does not say. However, we do know that Jesus prevented this woman from being stoned to death. She had sinned and was free to go.

Was Jesus wrong?

As I read the Anti-Homosexuality Bill proposed in Uganda by MPs David Bahati and Benson Obua, I wonder if perhaps these gentlemen think Jesus should have picked up a stone. Instead, Jesus intervened on behalf of the woman, was He wrong?

Clearly, He did not believe adultery was proper. But He signaled a new way of dealing with sin, one which emphasizes mercy and freedom, rather than coercion and death. People must choose to follow the teachings of Christ, not be coerced by Pharisees or government officials. The human heart cannot be changed by laws, but through the freely chosen grace of Christ.

Brothers and sisters, jailing or killing gays or those suspected of being gay or those who know gays cannot create a righteous people, and in fact may further a self-righteous people. One may disapprove of homosexuality, and still treat homosexuals as you would want to be treated. 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.

Join the Facebook group Speak Out Against Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009.

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For one reason, American Christians may have contributed to the recent introduction of a bill called the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 in the Ugandan parliament. The bill would impose the death penalty on some offenses, maintain life imprisonment for other offenses, and even make it a crime to fail to inform the authorities if you know a homosexual. Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, but imprisonment is rarely enforced. If this become law, one may expect a change in policing policy.

While there are many cultural forces which oppose homosexuality in Uganda, a dominant one currently is the evangelical church. Most recently, in March of this year, three Americans were recruited by the Uganda-based Family Life Network to speak at workshops on ways to change people from gay to straight. Two of the Americans, Caleb Brundidge and Scott Lively, spoke in favor of keeping homosexuality illegal but giving those convicted an option of therapy to cure them of their gayness. Both Brundidge and Lively spoke to the Ugandan parliament regarding their view that homosexuality is learned and curable. Their ideas took hold. The proposed bill bases the need for stronger regulation on the concept that "same sex attraction is not an innate and immutable characteristic."

The other American who spoke in Kampala, Don Schmierer, is a board member with Exodus International, the leading Christian ministry which helps same-sex attracted people affirm traditional Christian doctrine regarding homosexual behavior. However, just days after the bill was introduced, Exodus International denounced the legislation as "horrible legislation" and "hateful public policy." Critics of Exodus complain that the organization should have denounced the original trip to Uganda. At least Exodus has spoken out against the Ugandan proposal; Brundidge's International Healing Foundation and Lively's Defend the Family International defended the Ugandan mission and have been mute regarding the proposed law.

A positive American influence in Uganda has been the war on AIDS. In 2003, George Bush initiated the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) which has sent 1.2 billion dollars to Uganda alone. In the private sector, Rick Warren's Saddleback church has invested heavily in Uganda and declared it a "Purpose Driven Nation." Prior to 2007, Ssempa had connection to the AIDS ministry of Saddleback Church. However, Saddleback cut ties with Ssempa over his views on homosexuality. Ssempa is also promoted by Colorado based Wait Training, a Christian abstinence group. Ssempa opposition to homosexuality is clear and often extreme. Mr. Ssempa is in the leadership of two religious coalitions which have rallied against homosexuality. As far as I can tell, he has not contested accusations that he published the names of suspected homosexuals, sending them into hiding. Recently, he accused a fellow pastor of abusing a young male. The police dropped the charges after the boy recanted his accusations. Via email, I asked Pastor Ssempa his view of the proposed legislation . He replied, "I am in total support of the bill and would be most grateful if it did pass."

 Clearly, the proposed law is a draconian attempt to stamp out homosexuality. This will not work nor should it. One tragic and fleshly intuition of any group when they come to power is to impose their ideology on the masses. This should be especially abhorrent to Christians. In fact, Christians are often the recipient of persecution based on failure to conform to the dominant religion or culture. We have a dog in this fight. In Uganda, it is homosexuals, elsewhere it is another group. In many places, Christians face the fear of the knock in the middle of the night.

Furthermore, Christ is not honored by obedience to His teaching when imposed by coercion from the state. Jailing or killing gays or those suspected of being gay cannot create a righteous people, and in fact may further a self-righteous people. Christians in the US may have unwittingly contributed to the deteriorating state of freedom in Uganda. Now, we need to help right those wrongs by calling on our Ugandan brothers and sisters to back away from this bill.

--Warren Throckmorton, PhD

To get more information and ideas about how to help, see this Facebook group...

UPDATE: In a comment on this article Scott Lively says: "I do not now and have never supported incarceration for homosexuals and was in Uganda to advocate for treatment of homosexuals as an alternative to inacrceration (sic)..."

However, in the article above, I did not say that Mr. Lively favors incarceration for homosexuals. I did say this: "Two of the Americans, Caleb Brundidge and Scott Lively, spoke in favor of keeping homosexuality illegal but giving those convicted an option of therapy to cure them of their gayness."

In Uganda, before the same body which is considering the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, Mr. Lively did favor a "legal deterrent" with therapy as an option for those convicted of the offense. This is what I wrote above. Mr. Lively did not speak in favor of decriminalization. He later described his statements to the Ugandan Parliament. On this website, Mr. Lively says this about his March, 2009 trip to Uganda:

"My trip was quite successful, encompassing multiple seminars, sermons, media appearances and private meetings with key leaders, all packed into a single week. My hosts were very pleased. But the high point of the week was my address to members of the Ugandan Parliament in their National Assembly Hall. In it I urged the government to shift the emphasis of its criminal law against homosexuality from punishment to rehabilitation by providing the option of therapy, similar to the option I once chose after being arrested for drunken driving many years ago (in my wild pre-Christian days). Such a change would represent a considerable liberalization of its policies (currently a holdover from Colonial British common law, similar to US policy until the 1950s), while preserving sufficient legal deterrent to prevent the international "gay" juggernaut from homosexualizing the society as it has done in Europe and other countries. I thought it was an inspired compromise."

As I wrote, Mr. Lively does favor keeping homosexuality illegal in Uganda, but does not favor the harshest legal deterrents.

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At least, I think Alfie's Home is the book meant by the following PFOX (Parents and Friends of Exgays) news release:

"Ex-gay books are also not made available in many community public libraries," said Griggs. "The libraries in West Bend and Beaver Dam, Wisconsin will not accept our donation of an ex-gay book for children, although these libraries circulate several picture books with gay themes for children."

I wrote to ask PFOX if Alfie's Home by Richard Cohen is the book they tried to donate. They have not answered as yet. I do know that they have donated it elsewhere. It was offered to the Ex-gay Educators Caucus during the 2004 National Education Association convention as a possible giveaway to people who stopped by the booth. However, all involved refused to provide it and gave the books back.

Classically Liberal has an expose of the book with most of it in pictures. Essentially the book depicts the reparative view of how people become and un-become gay. It also contains a creepy and unnecessary drawing of a boy in bed with a man. I would not want my son to read it.

The book is offensive on at least two levels. For gays, it reduces their experience to bad fathers and sexual abuse. For those who have been sexually abused, it makes becoming gay the real tragedy of the book, not the abuse. There may be a sensitive way to tackle these issues, but this is not it.

I think any number of ex-gay books could be made available simply for information and research purposes. But please, not this one.

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