Ugandan Gays Hold Valentine’s Day Activism Meeting, African Anglican Bishops Condemn Gay Violence, Worldwide Scouting Urged To Oppose Anti-Homosexuality Bill Of 2009, Plans For Harvey Milk Day Celebrations, Texas Attorney General Intervenes In Gay Divorce

The fourth in a series of reports from the frontlines of Uganda, and that country’s campaign of anti-gay hysteria, a look a meeting held this past Sunday, Valentine’s Day, by an estimated one hundred gays and lesbians who wanted to discuss the pending passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 that threatens their very lives. There were questions and calls for more action by those in attendance, the climate of anti-gay hate seeming to spur a culture of activism among Ugandan gay men and women.

Bishops from the Anglican Church in South Africa Monday released a statement condemning not only the proposed piece of legislation that is the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009, but the trend of horrific political gay bashing. The bishops called upon Christians everywhere to stand and fight against the pending legislation, so that it does not gain passage in Uganda or anywhere else, and called on Ugandan politicians to “engage in dialogue with their counterparts on the rights of minorities.” The bishop’s statement reminded lawmakers that “all human beings are created in the image of God,” and are therefore to be treated with dignity and respect, adding that “we are therefore deeply concerned about the violent language used against the gay community across Sub-Saharan Africa. As bishops we believe that it is immoral to permit or support oppression of, or discrimination against, people on the grounds of their sexual orientation.”

The worldwide Scout Organization is involved in the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009, the Bill’s sponsor David Bahati is the Chief of the Scout Board of Uganda. There are calls to remove Bahati from his position since his “stance and actions are incompatible with scouting values.”

This May marks the inaugural Harvey Milk Day, the day set aside in California to honour the slain gay civil rights leaders, and Stuart Milk, Harvey’s nephew, who in late 2009 created the Harvey B. Milk Foundation, has planned a number of celebrations that will extend well past May 22nd.

The Texas Attorney General, predictably, has intervened in the same sex divorce case in Texas, arguing that the couple in question cannot be granted dissolution of marriage in Texas since the state does not legally recognize same sex marriage. Greg Abbot said in petition filed Thursday that divorce is the wrong legal remedy, and that the couple, married in 2004 in Massachusetts, needs instead to have the marriage voided. The Attorney General‘s motion is meant to protect the state from any and all constitutional challenges to Texas’s gay marriage ban.