MCC of the Gentle Shepherd

By October, rhetoric had turned to public action, and the Ugandan legislature introduced a bill to make homosexuality punishable by death in some cases and life in prison in others.  Parents, teachers, doctors and people working to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS were also threatened with imprisonment should they fail to report anyone suspected of being LGBT. 

From the moment word reached my desk that LGBT people in Uganda were facing a new and deadly attack, I began working with our Global Justice and Public Policy Teams, sometimes in public ways and sometimes behind the scenes, to make sure that this dangerous legislative effort criminalizing the existence of LGBT people in Uganda did not come to pass. 

I NEED YOUR HELP NOW!

President Barack Obama has already denounced the proposed law with a written statement.  We must urge him to do more. 

We must also send a clear message to the President of Uganda that if this bill becomes law, it will have a chilling effect on both global efforts for human rights and relationships between nations, especially Uganda's relationship with the United States.

The United States has been a major contributor to the fights against HIV/AIDS in Uganda.  Uganda has a proven track record in curbing the spread of this disease.  Now is not the time to backtrack.  More than ever, men, women and young people need to know that they can safely confide in treatment providers and trust that they will get the support and medical treatment needed for long and healthy lives.

I am asking you to join me today in calling on our Congress to unite across party lines and demand decisive action from President Obama and President Musevini in stopping this immoral effort to criminalize LGBT lives and set the work of HIV/AIDS prevention back by decades.

Join me in writing to your Congressional representatives today, urging them to lend their voices to the chorus demanding that our President and the Uganda's leader take decisive action.  The Human Rights Campaign Fund has establishe a site we can use.  

Go to this link to make your voice heard now:

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org

Click on "Take Action."

Make sure you share this link with anyone you think can help.  The more people we get to write to Congress, the more powerful our witness and efforts will be.  The more powerful our efforts, the closer the day when LGBT people around the globe will be safe. 

Act today, and join that great cloud of witnesses who've paved the way for all of us to live openly and freely as the beloved Children of God.

The Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson, Moderator
Metropolitan Community Churches