By Chris Kiwawulo
and Edward Anyoli
PASTOR Solomon Male of Arise for Christ Ministry was arrested yesterday over reports that Pastor Robert Kayanja sodomised young boys.
Plain clothes detectives stormed Male’s office on the second floor of Span House in Kampala at around 1:30pm and asked him to go with them to Central Police Station (CPS).
Male’s pleas that he was busy attending to his clients, who needed counselling services, fell on deaf ears.
He was later driven to CPS in a Saloon car with private registration numbers.
At CPS, the detectives informed Male that he was heading to Buganda Road Court to be charged. That is when he demanded to notify his lawyers.
His arrest followed advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution that Male, together with seven others, be charged for reportedly making false allegations against Pastor Robert Kayanja.
In a letter to the director of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), principal state attorney Margaret Nakigudde said pastors Male, Martin Ssempa, Bob Kayira, Michael Kyazze, their lawyers, Henry Ddungu and David Kaggwa, together with David Mukalazi and Deborah Kyomuhendo face charges of conspiring to injure Pastor Kayanja’s reputation.
The two lawyers were included for allegedly commissioning false affidavits.
Nakigudde said four sodomy files opened against Kayanja at CPS were closed for lack of evidence to warrant prosecution, and that Robson Matovu, together with all the alleged sodomy victims were medically examined but no evidence of anal penetration was found.
When the cops whisked Male from CPS to Buganda Road Court at around 3:20pm, he was instead locked up in a cell up to 5:00pm when the Resident State Attorney Baxter David Bakibinga informed them that his (Male’s) file had not been sanctioned.
Male’s lawyer, Ddungu, who earlier responded to Police summons, was also locked up in the cell until Bakibinga broke the news.
The cops then took Male and Ddungu to CPS. Ddungu was released immediately since he had earlier been granted Police bond. Male spent about an hour with the Police as they processed his bond papers.
Male kept on chanting: “We shall stand firm against sodomy.”
Unconfirmed reports indicated that Police had earlier in the day been hunting for Pastor Ssempa, but he reportedly eluded them.
SIU head Grace Akullo said Male was arrested because he had failed to honour several Police summons.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Buturo blasts human rights body over film
By Anne mugisa
ETHICS minister Dr. Nsaba Buturo has accused the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) of promoting homosexuality using a human rights documentary.
The commission attacked Buturo after he banned the documentary titled Do not Discriminate. Buturo insisted the documentary contained controversial material.
In a press conference yesterday, the minister scoffed at the UHRC, saying the organisation that should protect Ugandans’ interests had fallen by allowing themselves to be used by those promoting western vices.
He said the people showing the documentary at the National Theatre had refused to divulge its contents or allow the officials to have a preview.
About 500 people, including school children, had been invited to watch it.
Buturo observed that when UHRC realised that the Government would not allow them to show the documentary, they reluctantly allowed an official and the theatre management to view it.
Those who viewed it, he said, reported offensive material in the documentary. He said worthy themes like women’s rights were added to justify the documentary.
“We told them that if they wanted to show that documentary, they had to edit it and remove the controversial material. We also took offence that young people were invited to watch.”
ETHICS minister Dr. Nsaba Buturo has accused the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) of promoting homosexuality using a human rights documentary.
The commission attacked Buturo after he banned the documentary titled Do not Discriminate. Buturo insisted the documentary contained controversial material.
In a press conference yesterday, the minister scoffed at the UHRC, saying the organisation that should protect Ugandans’ interests had fallen by allowing themselves to be used by those promoting western vices.
He said the people showing the documentary at the National Theatre had refused to divulge its contents or allow the officials to have a preview.
About 500 people, including school children, had been invited to watch it.
Buturo observed that when UHRC realised that the Government would not allow them to show the documentary, they reluctantly allowed an official and the theatre management to view it.
Those who viewed it, he said, reported offensive material in the documentary. He said worthy themes like women’s rights were added to justify the documentary.
“We told them that if they wanted to show that documentary, they had to edit it and remove the controversial material. We also took offence that young people were invited to watch.”
Sunday, December 19, 2010
In a historic vote, the Senate overturns ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’
After years of contentious debate, the Senate on Saturday voted to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that blocked gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.
While critics, including Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, said the repeal would cause a deadly distraction on the battlefield at a time of war, the lawmakers backing repeal equated the vote to other historic moments including the end of racial segregation among troops in the 1950s and the decision to allow women to attend military service academies in the 1970s.
"It is time to close this chapter in our history," President Obama said in a statement hailing the vote's passage. "It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed."
Yet the repeal is far more than just a single policy shift. The overturning of "don't ask, don't tell" is likely to create a ripple effect in addressing other gay-rights issues, as many states continue to debate issues including same-sex marriage and the right of gay partners to share benefits the same way legally married couples do. With gay service members serving openly, it will become difficult for policy makers to justify, say, withholding visitation rights or survivor benefits to the same-sex spouse of a wounded or fallen soldier.
Still, such questions will surface over the longer term. For now, the Pentagon will address the shorter-term issue of how to go about implementing repeal. Obama is expected the sign the repeal into law this week, but the actual lifting of the ban doesn't yet have a timetable. Under the bill, the repeal will go into effect at the discretion of top military leaders, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has been previously supportive of overturning the ban.
But per NBC's Jim Miklaszewski, Defense Department officials said Saturday that the repeal could take in upwards of a year to be fully implemented.
Logistics aside, however, opponents of the gay ban called Saturday's vote a historic victory. Since 1993, when President Bill Clinton signed the ban into law, more than 13,000 troops have been discharged under the policy.
But there's been a dramatic shift in public attitudes toward gays in the military over the last 17 years. In 1993, a Washington Post poll found just 44 percent of the public thought gays should have the right to serve openly in the military. Now 77 percent of Americans believe gays and lesbians should have that right, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll released last week.
In 2008, Obama campaigned on overturning the ban, but he was slow to push that policy in his first year in office, a move that angered the gay rights community and many of his liberal supporters.
While Obama will get some credit for overturning the ban—especially when it comes to wooing moderate Republicans on the issue—Democrats in Congress were the people who really led the charge.
The Senate vote was 65-31, with eight Republicans—Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, John Ensign of Nevada, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mark Kirk of Illinois and George Voinovich of Ohio—voting "yes."
"We righted a wrong," Sen. Joe Lieberman, who led the fight to overturn the ban, told reporters afterward. "Today we've done justice."
While critics, including Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, said the repeal would cause a deadly distraction on the battlefield at a time of war, the lawmakers backing repeal equated the vote to other historic moments including the end of racial segregation among troops in the 1950s and the decision to allow women to attend military service academies in the 1970s.
"It is time to close this chapter in our history," President Obama said in a statement hailing the vote's passage. "It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed."
Yet the repeal is far more than just a single policy shift. The overturning of "don't ask, don't tell" is likely to create a ripple effect in addressing other gay-rights issues, as many states continue to debate issues including same-sex marriage and the right of gay partners to share benefits the same way legally married couples do. With gay service members serving openly, it will become difficult for policy makers to justify, say, withholding visitation rights or survivor benefits to the same-sex spouse of a wounded or fallen soldier.
Still, such questions will surface over the longer term. For now, the Pentagon will address the shorter-term issue of how to go about implementing repeal. Obama is expected the sign the repeal into law this week, but the actual lifting of the ban doesn't yet have a timetable. Under the bill, the repeal will go into effect at the discretion of top military leaders, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has been previously supportive of overturning the ban.
But per NBC's Jim Miklaszewski, Defense Department officials said Saturday that the repeal could take in upwards of a year to be fully implemented.
Logistics aside, however, opponents of the gay ban called Saturday's vote a historic victory. Since 1993, when President Bill Clinton signed the ban into law, more than 13,000 troops have been discharged under the policy.
But there's been a dramatic shift in public attitudes toward gays in the military over the last 17 years. In 1993, a Washington Post poll found just 44 percent of the public thought gays should have the right to serve openly in the military. Now 77 percent of Americans believe gays and lesbians should have that right, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll released last week.
In 2008, Obama campaigned on overturning the ban, but he was slow to push that policy in his first year in office, a move that angered the gay rights community and many of his liberal supporters.
While Obama will get some credit for overturning the ban—especially when it comes to wooing moderate Republicans on the issue—Democrats in Congress were the people who really led the charge.
The Senate vote was 65-31, with eight Republicans—Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, John Ensign of Nevada, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mark Kirk of Illinois and George Voinovich of Ohio—voting "yes."
"We righted a wrong," Sen. Joe Lieberman, who led the fight to overturn the ban, told reporters afterward. "Today we've done justice."
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Maddow Confronts Author of Ugandan “Kill the Gays” Bill
The Ugandan Parliament member appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show [video below] this week to defend his “kill the gays” bill.
Maddow set up the segment by recounting America’s long slide down the slippery slope of anti-gay rhetoric pushed by such religious right figures as Anita Bryant and Jerry Falwell. The thrust of the argument made against gays and lesbians in this country is that “they do not reproduce, so they must recruit.”
That argument against gay and lesbian rights has been quashed by medical and psychological professionals who have long studied the issue and found that no such thing happens. Gays and lesbians are who they are and no one “recruits” them to a “lifestyle.” But, good propaganda never dies—it simply moves to a new location when it’s no longer welcome in its old home.
David Bahati channeled Anita Bryant as he patiently answered Maddow’s probing questions, insisting that there is a “huge problem” in Uganda from foreigners who are spending money to “recruit” children into homosexuality. He says his bill, that includes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” is simply a way to “protect the children” from those recruiters. He also insisted, like anti-gay propagandists before him, that homosexuality is a “learned behavior that can be unlearned.” His rationale is based, not on facts, but religion.
“We believe that man was created to marry woman and that is the purpose for which God created us. The purpose for procreation, and that’s the higher purpose we believe in. Children should not be recruited into something they don’t believe in. […] I am not in a hate campaign. I do not hate gays. I love them but at the same time I must protect children who are being recruited into this practice.”
Bahati has claimed that people outside Uganda are recruiting school children to be gay by paying them. Yet despite promising to send Maddow video proof of this practice she has yet to receive a single piece of evidence. While Maddow did an excellent job of asking Bahati tough questions, it was clear that he had little but his own propaganda to go on—as well as a bit of a persecution complex. At one bizarre moment, after Maddow asked about the fate of gays and lesbians in the country should the bill pass he told her that he was “not a Hitler, Saddam Hussein, or Idi Amin.”
“I’m just a simple young man who lost both parents at the age of three years, grew up as an orphan, I have a passion for children and this is what is really motivating me. I am a God fearing person. I want to make sure this law is consistent with God’s law.”
Perhaps he doesn’t know what gays and lesbians will do if this bill becomes law, and perhaps he doesn’t care, but it’s clear he’s tired of being attacked for supporting something he sees as “God’s law.” He even took issue with Maddow when she referred to the death penalty part of the bill as “execution” but later continued to clearly advocate for such a measure:
“God’s law is always clear that the wages of sin is death whether that is implemented through legislation like mine or by a mechanism of a human being whatever happen is the end result that we need to turn to God if we have sinned.”
What makes me almost sorry for Bahati is how sincerely he believes his own propaganda, even pleading at one point with Maddow for people outside of Uganda to respect their laws and opinions just as they respect the laws and opinions of others.
But, when lives are on the line, and lies are being told to terrorize and perhaps euthanize an entire minority within a country, the law and opinions of the country pursuing such actions cannot simply be “respected.” This is what Bahati doesn’t understand. He’s proposing a law that has the potential to put many people to death—and even if that clause is removed, as Bahati says he’s open to—it would still sentence many people to life in prison for something that they simply are, not that they were “recruited” into. In addition, how does one prove that a person is engaged in homosexuality other than catching them in the act? It seems that the law could be abused further and used to imprison those falsely accused.
There is no way to “respect” that kind of law or opinion, no matter how sincere the motivation behind it. That doesn’t mean that Bahati should be attacked as promoting hatred for gay people. He sincerely does not see his actions as motivated by hatred; and to use my dad’s old phrase, “He’s sincere, but he’s sincerely wrong.” He has been so blinded by propaganda against gays and lesbians that he is unable to see any other side. Many religious right figures in the U.S., including The Call’s Lou Engle and former American Family Association leader Scott Lively, who have traveled to Uganda to fan the anti-gay flames, have convinced people like Bahati that they are doing God’s work, even if it means that people will die.
What gives me hope is that, unlike homosexuality, bigotry is a learned behavior that can be unlearned.
Maddow set up the segment by recounting America’s long slide down the slippery slope of anti-gay rhetoric pushed by such religious right figures as Anita Bryant and Jerry Falwell. The thrust of the argument made against gays and lesbians in this country is that “they do not reproduce, so they must recruit.”
That argument against gay and lesbian rights has been quashed by medical and psychological professionals who have long studied the issue and found that no such thing happens. Gays and lesbians are who they are and no one “recruits” them to a “lifestyle.” But, good propaganda never dies—it simply moves to a new location when it’s no longer welcome in its old home.
David Bahati channeled Anita Bryant as he patiently answered Maddow’s probing questions, insisting that there is a “huge problem” in Uganda from foreigners who are spending money to “recruit” children into homosexuality. He says his bill, that includes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” is simply a way to “protect the children” from those recruiters. He also insisted, like anti-gay propagandists before him, that homosexuality is a “learned behavior that can be unlearned.” His rationale is based, not on facts, but religion.
“We believe that man was created to marry woman and that is the purpose for which God created us. The purpose for procreation, and that’s the higher purpose we believe in. Children should not be recruited into something they don’t believe in. […] I am not in a hate campaign. I do not hate gays. I love them but at the same time I must protect children who are being recruited into this practice.”
Bahati has claimed that people outside Uganda are recruiting school children to be gay by paying them. Yet despite promising to send Maddow video proof of this practice she has yet to receive a single piece of evidence. While Maddow did an excellent job of asking Bahati tough questions, it was clear that he had little but his own propaganda to go on—as well as a bit of a persecution complex. At one bizarre moment, after Maddow asked about the fate of gays and lesbians in the country should the bill pass he told her that he was “not a Hitler, Saddam Hussein, or Idi Amin.”
“I’m just a simple young man who lost both parents at the age of three years, grew up as an orphan, I have a passion for children and this is what is really motivating me. I am a God fearing person. I want to make sure this law is consistent with God’s law.”
Perhaps he doesn’t know what gays and lesbians will do if this bill becomes law, and perhaps he doesn’t care, but it’s clear he’s tired of being attacked for supporting something he sees as “God’s law.” He even took issue with Maddow when she referred to the death penalty part of the bill as “execution” but later continued to clearly advocate for such a measure:
“God’s law is always clear that the wages of sin is death whether that is implemented through legislation like mine or by a mechanism of a human being whatever happen is the end result that we need to turn to God if we have sinned.”
What makes me almost sorry for Bahati is how sincerely he believes his own propaganda, even pleading at one point with Maddow for people outside of Uganda to respect their laws and opinions just as they respect the laws and opinions of others.
But, when lives are on the line, and lies are being told to terrorize and perhaps euthanize an entire minority within a country, the law and opinions of the country pursuing such actions cannot simply be “respected.” This is what Bahati doesn’t understand. He’s proposing a law that has the potential to put many people to death—and even if that clause is removed, as Bahati says he’s open to—it would still sentence many people to life in prison for something that they simply are, not that they were “recruited” into. In addition, how does one prove that a person is engaged in homosexuality other than catching them in the act? It seems that the law could be abused further and used to imprison those falsely accused.
There is no way to “respect” that kind of law or opinion, no matter how sincere the motivation behind it. That doesn’t mean that Bahati should be attacked as promoting hatred for gay people. He sincerely does not see his actions as motivated by hatred; and to use my dad’s old phrase, “He’s sincere, but he’s sincerely wrong.” He has been so blinded by propaganda against gays and lesbians that he is unable to see any other side. Many religious right figures in the U.S., including The Call’s Lou Engle and former American Family Association leader Scott Lively, who have traveled to Uganda to fan the anti-gay flames, have convinced people like Bahati that they are doing God’s work, even if it means that people will die.
What gives me hope is that, unlike homosexuality, bigotry is a learned behavior that can be unlearned.
MP Bahati ordered out of USA
Written by URN Reporter
Friday, 10 December 2010 06:12
Ndorwa West MP, David Bahati, who authored the Anti- Homosexual Bill in Uganda, calling for the death sentence of gays and their allies, has been ordered out of the United States of America.
Bahati obtained a single event visa to the USA to attend the International Consortium of Governmental Financial Management conference.
But on Tuesday he was denied entry into the conference venue, despite the fact that other MPs from Uganda had been allowed to participate.
The conference organizers cited the fact that they would not associate themselves with the author of what became known as the Kill Gays Bill, officially The Anti-Homosexual Bill; which Bahati hopes will pass.
Reports from the US state that Bahati, who was taped for Thursday’s Rachel Maddow TV Show, was told to get out of the USA by the authorities Thursday.
Bahati who had planned on staying in the USA and to leave over the weekend, was asked to leave right away by department of State officials.
The US authorities informed Bahati that he was no longer welcome and nor was he legally entitled to remain in the USA. He was put on a plane for Paris and is probably on his way back home.
A large group of activists were planning to protest today - Friday. But now that Bahati has left , the protests have been called off and the activists assert they are happy he is gone.
Friday, 10 December 2010 06:12
Ndorwa West MP, David Bahati, who authored the Anti- Homosexual Bill in Uganda, calling for the death sentence of gays and their allies, has been ordered out of the United States of America.
Bahati obtained a single event visa to the USA to attend the International Consortium of Governmental Financial Management conference.
But on Tuesday he was denied entry into the conference venue, despite the fact that other MPs from Uganda had been allowed to participate.
The conference organizers cited the fact that they would not associate themselves with the author of what became known as the Kill Gays Bill, officially The Anti-Homosexual Bill; which Bahati hopes will pass.
Reports from the US state that Bahati, who was taped for Thursday’s Rachel Maddow TV Show, was told to get out of the USA by the authorities Thursday.
Bahati who had planned on staying in the USA and to leave over the weekend, was asked to leave right away by department of State officials.
The US authorities informed Bahati that he was no longer welcome and nor was he legally entitled to remain in the USA. He was put on a plane for Paris and is probably on his way back home.
A large group of activists were planning to protest today - Friday. But now that Bahati has left , the protests have been called off and the activists assert they are happy he is gone.
Buturo blocks documentary
By Andrew Bagala
Kampala
Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo yesterday blocked the showing of a documentary, saying the organisers wanted to indoctrinate the youth on homosexuality.
The programme was organised by United Nation Human Rights office of the High Commissioner (UNHR), Uganda Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Centre Uganda at the National Theatre. But when organisers arrived at the theatre, it was locked.
The UNHR representative in Uganda, Ms Birgit Gerstenberg, described the ban as a pity but said they were intending to meet Mr Buturo over the issue today. The show was aimed at highlighting what human rights defenders go through while stopping discrimination in Uganda.
Mr Buturo told Daily Monitor that the organisers refused to delete homosexual contents in the documentary. “Some people are determined to change the morals of our country and are using all tactics. We shall put up resistance because Uganda doesn’t believe in homosexuality,” he said, adding that 40 pupils were invited to watch the documentary.
“This is terrible. I told those people to shut up because they are supposed to defend our country,” Mr Buturo said.
Kampala
Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo yesterday blocked the showing of a documentary, saying the organisers wanted to indoctrinate the youth on homosexuality.
The programme was organised by United Nation Human Rights office of the High Commissioner (UNHR), Uganda Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Centre Uganda at the National Theatre. But when organisers arrived at the theatre, it was locked.
The UNHR representative in Uganda, Ms Birgit Gerstenberg, described the ban as a pity but said they were intending to meet Mr Buturo over the issue today. The show was aimed at highlighting what human rights defenders go through while stopping discrimination in Uganda.
Mr Buturo told Daily Monitor that the organisers refused to delete homosexual contents in the documentary. “Some people are determined to change the morals of our country and are using all tactics. We shall put up resistance because Uganda doesn’t believe in homosexuality,” he said, adding that 40 pupils were invited to watch the documentary.
“This is terrible. I told those people to shut up because they are supposed to defend our country,” Mr Buturo said.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Anti-Homosexual MP from Uganda, David Bahati Booted out of USA
Melanie Nathan – Dec 09-2010 Bye- Bye Bahati. Sources have informed LGR that David Bahati ,who was taped for yesterday and today’s Rachel Maddow Show, was told to get out of the USA by authorities Thursday.
Bahati had planned on staying in the USA; he could leave over the weekend, but he was asked to leave right away by Department of State officials. He had been banned and refused entry to the conference which was the basis for his his single event VISA to enter the USA. When he showed up for the Conference he was asked by Organizers to leave and refused entry, despite the fact that other MP’s from Uganda had been allowed to participate.
The organizers cited the fact that they would not associate themselves with the Author of what became known as the Kill Gays Bill, officially The Anti-Homosexual Bill; which Bahati hopes will pass in Uganda in the Spring.
Authorities informed Bahati that he was no longer welcome and nor was he legally entitled to remain in the USA. He was put on a plane for Paris and is probably in the sky as we speak. So while you are watching him on Maddow, he is gone! A large group of activists were planning to protest tomorrow. However now that he is gone – protests have been called off and the activists assert they are happy he is gone.
Now perhaps our protests will be with our US dollars. Did you know that we use a great deal of Ugandan coffee. Nest time you are in Starbucks ask what Coffeee they use.
GOOD MORNING UGANDA
By the way Dear – Ugandan Readers – we love the people of Uganda – I have two beautiful children and I am a lesbian – I will never hurt my children or yours. American society accepts me, its only the fringe like the Fellowship that Bahati Belongs to that put out false information about people like me. None of it is true. Bahati spent the entire say shopping in the most expensive part of DC USA today. Whose money is he using. Do not vote for BAHATI he is spending your money on luxury in the USA. If the anti homosexual bill passes, I expect Uganda will be isolated by the International community and it will loose all friends. Because Bahati says that Gay people have no human rights. That is against the International Declaration of Human Rights
Bahati had planned on staying in the USA; he could leave over the weekend, but he was asked to leave right away by Department of State officials. He had been banned and refused entry to the conference which was the basis for his his single event VISA to enter the USA. When he showed up for the Conference he was asked by Organizers to leave and refused entry, despite the fact that other MP’s from Uganda had been allowed to participate.
The organizers cited the fact that they would not associate themselves with the Author of what became known as the Kill Gays Bill, officially The Anti-Homosexual Bill; which Bahati hopes will pass in Uganda in the Spring.
Authorities informed Bahati that he was no longer welcome and nor was he legally entitled to remain in the USA. He was put on a plane for Paris and is probably in the sky as we speak. So while you are watching him on Maddow, he is gone! A large group of activists were planning to protest tomorrow. However now that he is gone – protests have been called off and the activists assert they are happy he is gone.
Now perhaps our protests will be with our US dollars. Did you know that we use a great deal of Ugandan coffee. Nest time you are in Starbucks ask what Coffeee they use.
GOOD MORNING UGANDA
By the way Dear – Ugandan Readers – we love the people of Uganda – I have two beautiful children and I am a lesbian – I will never hurt my children or yours. American society accepts me, its only the fringe like the Fellowship that Bahati Belongs to that put out false information about people like me. None of it is true. Bahati spent the entire say shopping in the most expensive part of DC USA today. Whose money is he using. Do not vote for BAHATI he is spending your money on luxury in the USA. If the anti homosexual bill passes, I expect Uganda will be isolated by the International community and it will loose all friends. Because Bahati says that Gay people have no human rights. That is against the International Declaration of Human Rights
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
College Student Assaulted for Using the “Wrong” Bathroom
by Jordan Rubenstein November 26, 2010 12:15 PM
Figuring out which bathroom to use is often a difficult problem for transgender people. Gender-specific bathrooms are sometimes unsafe for transgender people, who can face harassment regardless of which bathroom they use.
On a college level, more and more universities are installing gender-neutral bathroom facilities, in an attempt to make life safer for transgender students. But that certainly isn’t the case for Michelle Rayner, a student at St. Thomas University in New Brunswick, Canada.
Rayner is a female, but he identifies as transgender and often passes as a guy. He has been carded in public bathrooms and treated with disrespect because of his gender presentation. And he’s found that using the bathroom on campus is just as troubling and dangerous as it is off campus.
One particular incident solidified the need for the university to address transgender bathroom access. Recently, Rayner was called a “faggot” and punched in the lower lip in a women’s bathroom after class.
Some may ask: why was Rayner in the women’s bathroom if he’s coming out as transgender? This question implies that society should be able to enforce specific gendered bathroom use on a transgender person, without regard for their own preferences or safety. Rayner is a female; why shouldn’t he be able to use a women’s bathroom?
Rayner said: “It simply comes down to a basic question of safety rather than which gender I identify with... by having washrooms clearly marked by gender lines it becomes a safety issue for those who fall between.”
Transgender people -- including Rayner -- have a right to equal, safe access to bathrooms. St. Thomas University should ensure that they have safe bathrooms for transgender students by making some of their bathrooms gender-neutral. Please ask St. Thomas University to take action to prevent future harassment against transgender students by educating students on transgender issues and improving the restroom options.
Photo credit: Gregg O'Connell
Figuring out which bathroom to use is often a difficult problem for transgender people. Gender-specific bathrooms are sometimes unsafe for transgender people, who can face harassment regardless of which bathroom they use.
On a college level, more and more universities are installing gender-neutral bathroom facilities, in an attempt to make life safer for transgender students. But that certainly isn’t the case for Michelle Rayner, a student at St. Thomas University in New Brunswick, Canada.
Rayner is a female, but he identifies as transgender and often passes as a guy. He has been carded in public bathrooms and treated with disrespect because of his gender presentation. And he’s found that using the bathroom on campus is just as troubling and dangerous as it is off campus.
One particular incident solidified the need for the university to address transgender bathroom access. Recently, Rayner was called a “faggot” and punched in the lower lip in a women’s bathroom after class.
Some may ask: why was Rayner in the women’s bathroom if he’s coming out as transgender? This question implies that society should be able to enforce specific gendered bathroom use on a transgender person, without regard for their own preferences or safety. Rayner is a female; why shouldn’t he be able to use a women’s bathroom?
Rayner said: “It simply comes down to a basic question of safety rather than which gender I identify with... by having washrooms clearly marked by gender lines it becomes a safety issue for those who fall between.”
Transgender people -- including Rayner -- have a right to equal, safe access to bathrooms. St. Thomas University should ensure that they have safe bathrooms for transgender students by making some of their bathrooms gender-neutral. Please ask St. Thomas University to take action to prevent future harassment against transgender students by educating students on transgender issues and improving the restroom options.
Photo credit: Gregg O'Connell
KENYA'S PRIME MINISTER SAYS GAY SHOULD BE ARRESTED
Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga has told a large crowd in Nairobi that gays and lesbian should be arrested.
"Any man found engaging in sexual activities with another man should be arrested," he was quoted as saying at a rally on Sunday.
"This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated in this country. Men or women found engaging in those acts deserve to be arrested and will be arrested."
His comments were reportedly greeted with approval by the crowd.
Odinga, who assumed office in 2008, also denied suggestions that the country's newly adopted constitution supports LGBT equality.
"Those were lies from leaders who wanted to confuse Kenyans to reject the new law. The Constitution is very clear on that matter. It does not state anywhere that same sex marriage is legal in Kenya," he said.
Last month, the country’s Special Programmes Minister, Esther Murugi, said that Kenyans should learn to co-exist with gay men.
“We need to learn to live with men who have sex with other men… we are in the 21st century and things have changed,” she told delegates at an HIV/AIDS conference.
Her statement led to religions leaders calling for her to be sacked.
Homosexuality, referred to as "carnal knowledge against the order of nature", is illegal in Kenya with penalties of up to 14 years' imprisonment.
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URL: www.faruganda.org
"Any man found engaging in sexual activities with another man should be arrested," he was quoted as saying at a rally on Sunday.
"This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated in this country. Men or women found engaging in those acts deserve to be arrested and will be arrested."
His comments were reportedly greeted with approval by the crowd.
Odinga, who assumed office in 2008, also denied suggestions that the country's newly adopted constitution supports LGBT equality.
"Those were lies from leaders who wanted to confuse Kenyans to reject the new law. The Constitution is very clear on that matter. It does not state anywhere that same sex marriage is legal in Kenya," he said.
Last month, the country’s Special Programmes Minister, Esther Murugi, said that Kenyans should learn to co-exist with gay men.
“We need to learn to live with men who have sex with other men… we are in the 21st century and things have changed,” she told delegates at an HIV/AIDS conference.
Her statement led to religions leaders calling for her to be sacked.
Homosexuality, referred to as "carnal knowledge against the order of nature", is illegal in Kenya with penalties of up to 14 years' imprisonment.
--
COMMUNICATIONS DESK
Freedom and Roam Uganda
Tel:+256(0) 31229 4863
Hotline: +256 (0) 771840 233
URL: www.faruganda.org
Monday, December 6, 2010
Gays petition Clinton to stop Bahati
By Risdel Kasasira (email the author)
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Posted Monday, December 6 2010 at 00:00
Kampala
Gay activists have petitioned US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to stop Ndorwa West MP David Bahati from attending a conference in Washington.
In a statement issued yesterday on Lez Get Real website, gays said Mr Bahati should not be allowed to enter the US because of his anti-homosexuality bill that seeks life imprisonment, and in certain cases, death by hanging for homosexuals.
“…As it is within the Secretary of State’s lawful discretion to deny entry to the United States to any person who represents a threat to internal security and orderly administration, it is our respectful request that Mr Bahati be denied permission to enter the United States, and that a visa for that purpose, if already issued, be withdrawn,” the statement said.
Convening tomorrow
Mr Bahati and five other MPs are scheduled to attend a financial management conference of practitioners in the US starting tomorrow. The gays also want to demonstrate at the venue of the meeting to show their distaste of the Bill and Mr Bahati. But Mr Bahati said he would continue with his trip.
“I know US as a defender of democracy in the world and can differentiate between the efforts of a legislator in a democratic parliament from acts of dictatorship,” he said. Unlike other MPs, the American mission in Kampala gave him a single-entry visa specifically for the event.
COMMUNICATIONS DESK
Freedom and Roam Uganda
Tel:+256(0) 31229 4863
Hotline: +256 (0) 771840 233
URL: www.faruganda.org
Send Cancel
Posted Monday, December 6 2010 at 00:00
Kampala
Gay activists have petitioned US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to stop Ndorwa West MP David Bahati from attending a conference in Washington.
In a statement issued yesterday on Lez Get Real website, gays said Mr Bahati should not be allowed to enter the US because of his anti-homosexuality bill that seeks life imprisonment, and in certain cases, death by hanging for homosexuals.
“…As it is within the Secretary of State’s lawful discretion to deny entry to the United States to any person who represents a threat to internal security and orderly administration, it is our respectful request that Mr Bahati be denied permission to enter the United States, and that a visa for that purpose, if already issued, be withdrawn,” the statement said.
Convening tomorrow
Mr Bahati and five other MPs are scheduled to attend a financial management conference of practitioners in the US starting tomorrow. The gays also want to demonstrate at the venue of the meeting to show their distaste of the Bill and Mr Bahati. But Mr Bahati said he would continue with his trip.
“I know US as a defender of democracy in the world and can differentiate between the efforts of a legislator in a democratic parliament from acts of dictatorship,” he said. Unlike other MPs, the American mission in Kampala gave him a single-entry visa specifically for the event.
COMMUNICATIONS DESK
Freedom and Roam Uganda
Tel:+256(0) 31229 4863
Hotline: +256 (0) 771840 233
URL: www.faruganda.org
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