Davis Mac-Iyalla: Unite to condemn homophobic laws

[Hetty ter Haar]

Unite to condemn homophobic laws

An open letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury and primates of the
Anglican Communion on Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill

Davis Mac-Iyalla
Wednesday November 11 2009
guardian.co.uk


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/nov/10/uganda-homosexuality-bill-anglican

To the Archbishop of Canterbury and primates of the Anglican
Communion,

I am writing to you to call on the Church of England and the wider
Anglican community to condemn Uganda's proposed anti-homosexuality
bill, which will make gay relations between disabled people and those
under 18 a capital offence. "Carnal knowledge against the order of
nature" ? as homosexuality is termed in Ugandan law ? is already
punishable with life imprisonment. However, if passed, the new bill
will widen the scope, including promoting homosexuality, aiding and
abetting homosexuality and keeping a house "for purposes of
homosexuality". This means that the relatives and friends of gay
couples could face execution if they allow them to stay in their
homes.

The anti-homosexuality legislation proposed and enacted in Uganda and
many other former British colonies has caused misery for many lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgendered people, many of whom are forced to
flee their countries due to this persecution. Religion is often cited
as a justification for state and non-state violence against LGBT
people. As a gay refugee from Nigeria who has faced this persecution,
I am well aware of the misery LGBT people can go through in Africa. As
a practising Anglican Christian, I believe it is crucial that the
Anglican Communion unites to prevent the killing of people on the
grounds of sexuality.

I would like to remind you that the Lambeth Resolution 10 in 1978
recognised the need for pastoral concern for those who are homosexual.
Resolution I.10 from 1998 commits the communion "to listen to the
experience of homosexual persons and we wish to assure them that they
are loved by God and that all baptised, believing and faithful
persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the
Body of Christ." It also condemned the "irrational fear" of
homosexuality and called on the communion to assure homosexual people
that "they are loved by God."

Legislation of the kind proposed in Uganda is based on irrational
hatred and a desire to entrench the stigmatisation of LGBT people.
There is no place for love, understanding or acceptance in such laws.
As such, the Church of England has a duty to condemn the anti-
homosexuality legislation and put pressure on those MPs who support
such laws. Whatever the divisions within the communion about
homosexuality as a moral issue, Anglicans should unite in condemnation
of violent persecution and discrimination of LGBT people whoever and
wherever they are, particularly when it is carried out in the name of
Jesus Christ.

Davis Mac-Iyalla

guardian.co.uk Copyright (c) Guardian News and Media Limited. 2009