Smith Condemns Uganda Anti-Gay Legislation

by: Jason Springer

Thu Dec 24, 2009 at 12:00:00 PM EST

Congressman Chris Smith is one of five members of Congress who appealed to the President of Uganda to oppose a proposed law that would execute people who are gay.

Rachel Maddow has been all over this story and this video segment can bring you up to speed:

In their letter, the members referenced Ronald Reagan in an effort to persuade the Ugandan President:

We were deeply troubled to learn of legislation being considered in the Ugandan parliament that would reportedly penalize a single act of homosexual conduct with a life sentence and a mandatory death penalty if the person is HIV-positive.
While we understand that the legislation is being amended, we still urge you to oppose it.
President Ronald Reagan famously referred to the U.S. Constitution as a "covenant we have made not only with ourselves, but with all of mankind." In this spirit, we, as elected officials, aim to advocate for human liberty and dignity around the world.
As such, we ask that your government continue to make it clear that you are opposed to such legislation and that you do everything within your constitutional authority to stop such legislation from becoming law in Uganda.

But some questioned other references in the letter including that of the Manhattan Declaration as a reason why the law should be opposed:

What is striking is that the letter invokes the Manhattan Declaration, which is a statement of religious principles by three prominent Christian leaders, Charles Colson, Robert George, and Timothy George. Among other things, the Declaration calls homosexuality immoral and includes a long explanation of why homosexuals should be denied the right to marry.

Certainly an interesting document to reference in this situation. Regardless, Congressman Smith still deserves kudos for stepping up and taking a stand on this offensive legislation being considered in Uganda. I'll put the letter they sent below the fold. The next step for Congressman Smith is advocating for gay rights here at home.

Jason Springer :: Smith Condemns Uganda Anti-Gay Legislation

Dear President Museveni:

We write to you in our capacity as Republican Executive Committee Members of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the U.S. House of Representatives.

We were deeply troubled to learn of legislation being considered in the Ugandan parliament that would reportedly penalize a single act of homosexual conduct with a life sentence and a mandatory death penalty if the person is HIV-positive.

While we understand that the legislation is being amended, we still urge you to oppose it.

President Ronald Reagan famously referred to the U.S. Constitution as a "covenant we have made not only with ourselves, but with all of mankind." In this spirit, we, as elected officials, aim to advocate for human liberty and dignity around the world.

As such, we ask that your government continue to make it clear that you are opposed to such legislation and that you do everything within your constitutional authority to stop such legislation from becoming law in Uganda.

Earlier this month, American faith leaders Charles Colson of Prison Fellowship Ministries, Robert P. George of Princeton University and Timothy George of Beeson Divinity School voiced "grave concern" in a letter to Ugandan faith leaders characterizing this proposed legislation in the following way: "The harshness of these proposals is, we believe, inconsistent with a Christian spirit of love and mercy."

As you may know these men are the primary architects of a historic document called the Manhattan Declaration, which at the time of its release on November 20, 2009, was signed by more than 140 leaders representing every branch of American Christianity. The Manhattan Declaration has been characterized as a call to "Christian Conscience."

As Members of Congress, and as men of faith, we support the principles set forth in the Manhattan Declaration and are thankful for the principled position of these faith leaders on a host of issues, from the sanctity of life for the unborn and others, to religious freedom, to human dignity, to the belief that marriage is an institution between one man and one woman.

Furthermore, we firmly believe that people of faith have a moral obligation to be involved in the public square.

In fact, people of faith have been central to many of the great moral debates of modern times, including the abolition of the slavery and racial segregation, the call to end apartheid and discrimination, and the battle against human trafficking just to name a few.

Often times these individuals were propelled by a foundational Christian belief in the inherent dignity and worth of all men and women. We believe this legislation, if enacted, would be antithetical to that premise.

Thank you for your consideration of these concerns.

Sincerely,

Rep. Chris Smith

Rep. Joe Pitts

Rep. Trent Franks

Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao

Tags: Chris Smith, homosexuality, gay, execute, Uganda, (All Tags)

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Smith Condemns Uganda Anti-Gay Legislation | 1 comments

There Must Be A Unanimous Congressonal Resolution (0.00 / 0)

to condemn, in the strongest terms, this genocidal Ugandan atrocity.....and there should be an explicit threat of global sanctions on Uganda via UN Action if these sick evil inhuman "laws" are passed.

Further, the congress-critters involved with American fundamentalist fanatic political group known as "The Family" must join in condemning Uganda or they should all be targeted for political extinction.

Kudos to our own Chris Smith on this one....but he needs to come around to condemning those in his own party who may be soft on this genocidal un-Godly evil "legislation".

Idi Amin is dead and in hell......we don't need more of the same in Uganda.

At a deeper level what it's all about is teaching people to live in abject fear of a "government" that has the "freedom" to kill anyone anytime for any bullshit reason.

This is what happened in Nazi Germany; the evil bastards start out with one group to dehumanize and vilify and then it goes on from there.

This is all about gaining and holding power through fear and terror; and it must not stand. THIS is the REAL war on terror. I WISH the USA was really about protecting human rights EVERYWHERE!!! If that was our national purpose the whole world would be with us and there would be NO safe harbor anywhere for scumbags like Al Qaeda/Taliban et al etc.......hell, there probably never would have been an Al Qaeda to start with.

It's ALL connected folks.

by: Nick Lento @ Thu Dec 24, 2009 at 20:39:32 PM UTC