KAMPALA, August 21, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Hundreds of people rallied today to protest the recent push by homosexual activists for gay rights in Uganda. Christian groups based their protests on the grounds that homosexuality is immoral, illegal and unhealthy. The Christian organization Interfaith Rainbow Coalition (IRC) organized the event, bringing together members of different faiths, including the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC), the Bahai Faith, Pentecostal churches and other non-government organizations.
Held at the Kyaddondo rugby grounds in Lugogo, protestors waved banners and carried signs which included the words "God loves homos, he hates homosexuality". The theme of the rally was "A Call for Action on Behalf of the Victims of Homosexuality."
The rally, the first of its kind to be organized against homosexual activism in Uganda, comes as a direct response to a homosexual press conference last week, also the first to be held in the country. The gay conference launched a media campaign to demand rights for active homosexuals.
Key organizer of today's protest Pastor Martin Sempa, head of Makerere Community Church, stated, "Our laws say that homosexuality is a criminal act against the order of nature." Sempa, who has actively fought AIDS in his home country for over 16 years, continued, "It is repugnant to our culture and a health hazard that spreads HIV/Aids."
"Homosexuality and lesbianism break three laws; the laws in the Bible and the Koran, the laws of nature and the laws of the land, the Ugandan Constitution."
Homosexual activists argue that greater legal protection will stop HIV/Aids in Uganda. However, statistics show that abstinence, rather than greater tolerance of sexual immorality, has caused the most dramatic reduction of the infection. In the 1980's a staggering 30% of the Ugandan population was infected with the disease. In 1987, however, different religious organizations began a massive campaign in conjunction with the government that promoted abstinence and marital fidelity rather than condoms and other forms of so-called "safe" sex. The rate of HIV/AIDS infection fell dramatically to 6.2 %, making the program the only effective anti-AIDS effort worldwide.
Referring to homosexual activism, Fr. Sylvester Arinaitwe, the deputy head of UJCC, commented, "Homosexuality is abnormal according to God's laws and (the) nature of creation in the Bible. It is against our faith and our society moral values. That is why we are against it and its practitioners."
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