HOMOSEXUALS ARE HERE TO STAY

Uganda has been in the limelight of late majorly because of the controversial laws being passed by members of parliament in the name of morality. Wearing sexually provocative clothing is now illegal and one found going against this law by wearing skimpy clothing is liable for prosecution.

Thought this was absurd? Well, the members of parliament did not stop at this point but went ahead to ban homosexuality in its borders. Any person found guilty of being a gay or a lesbian will now face the possibility of life imprisonment.

The extent of Uganda’s homophobia showcased itself today when an angry mob burnt down a homosexual man.

The incident of course triggered heated debates on social sites with anti and pro gay activists spewing their views vehemently.

Was the action of burning a person because of their sexuality justifiable?

From a rational point of view, nothing justifies taking away human life to impart morality, the same argument posited by the anti-capital punishment activists.

Whether homosexuality is morally upright or not, there is no justification whatsoever to deny them their right to live and enjoy life like any other person.

African societies are generally homophobic because of the sole reason that sex is meant for procreation and nature dictates the same. As thus, homosexual behaviour is considered taboo. However, there are those few individuals whose preferences diverged from those of the society at large. Their actions were kept a closely guarded secret and more often than not, men who were homosexuals would marry a wife and sire children to hide their identity.

With colonialism and the onset of Christianity, homophobia was stamped. The Bible clearly states that God hates homosexuals. Clergy men emphasized the fact that hell’s fire and brimstone awaits those who dared to engage in the “vile” and “dirty” action that is homosexuality.

Indeed Christians have been known to be among the most homophobic persons.

But one begs to ask the question, if indeed homosexuality is that evil, why are the highest cases of homosexuality and child molestation reported in the church and amongst clergymen for that matter?  Does the Bible change when it comes to such?

Does a person’s sexual orientation define him or her? Am I less superior simply because I prefer the company of a person of my own sex? I think not.

Times have changed and whether we accept it or not, homosexuality is here to stay. Ignoring the issue won’t make it go away neither will tormenting gays and lesbians make them disappear from our midst. Denying them their rights only serves to make the situation worse.

To the Christians that vehemently condemn homosexuality, whatever happened to love thy neighbour as you love yourself mentality that Jesus himself advocated for? The book of Romans advises Christians not to judge the actions of others. The holier than thou mentality that is inbred in most of the Christian folk however makes them the saintly judges of others’ morality.  Condemning prostitution yet you engage in fornication; killing an innocent person just because they dared to go against the crowd;  pastors condemning theft yet they  pilfer the pockets of congregations in the name of tithe; hypocrisy of the highest degree.

We cannot fight time and changing trends. It is better off for everyone if we as a society embraced change as a whole. Homosexuality will not go away even if we threatened to behead all homosexuals. They are as human as everyone else and deserve equal rights. We don’t see Vegetarians being lynched because they do not eat meat; neither do we see vegetarians stoning meat lovers because of their preference. The issue of sexual orientation is no different.  Be liberal, accept change.