Why Practicing Homosexuality in Public Should Be Criminalised By Law
Charles Makakala Jr
What a person does in his bedroom is hardly anybody’s business (unless it is done with a minor or does endanger others). But the moment that person brings his bedroom issues to the public- it becomes a public issue.
Homosexuality has always accompanied human life- and in several instances in history (say during the Ancient Rome times) it was an accepted practice. But those instances are very isolated in time. The general opinion has been homosexuality is an abnormal, unnatural, immoral, unethical and sinful practice. Now, not all those definitions suit everyone. Sinful for example depends on one’s faith- and that is one argument that can be used in the Churches/Mosques and not in a secular community.
With that one exception- the solid fact remains that homosexuality is an abnormal, unnatural practice (unnatural with reference to human anatomy- nature.) The same can be said about its being immoral and unethical.
People speak of choice. People have choices all-right. Why end with homosexuality then? If two adults choose to engage in incest (relatives), bestiality (man-to-animal), etc, what is wrong with that? Somehow people are assumed to have the ability to choose their sexuality when it comes to sleeping with a relative, or an animal, or a 17 years old boy or girl (minor in many Western countries)! This logic fails on its tracks.
Homosexuality is not a genetic issues- otherwise it would have been transmitted from one generation to another by inheritance (and since homosexuals cannot reproduce, they would have become instinct.) It is not a hormonal issue- otherwise it would have been ‘curable’ by chemicals. True, human beings are very diverse- there are dwarfs, giants, and sometimes the sexually impaired. But nobody argues that dwarfism is a normal human condition. The contrast is true.
The truth is- the current homosexuality issue is a cultural issue- a choice issue. These are usually people that can function normally sexually, and many of them do (thus the ‘modern’ term bi-sexual). But if they are sexually dis-oriented, why force the world to accept a dis-orientation as an orientation? Again, a bedroom issue is not a public issue until one makes it one.
The homosexuality movement is an attack on the most important human institution- the nucleus family. Suddenly we are confronted with new definitions of family: Joe has two dads! She has two moms! If it is a matter of choice- is the choice of a baby being raised in this unnatural ‘family’ considered? One could give so many arguments against homosexuality- such as its tendency to be militant and domineering, etc, etc, but one argument is unassailable: the human body. One would think that those who champion Evolution would also champion criminalising Homosexuality for natures purposes (since nature knows best and it has equipped people with the sexual organs that we know), but alas, the depravity of human reasoning becomes apparent in such a time as this. As I said one time, the sight of two men kissing is grotesque and appalling- and that is why homosexuality should be forced to remain in the bedroom. By law. Let us not confuse children by making them considering unnatural practices as if they were natural…
Friends- I have not even touched any religious argument here lest I become branded a hater!
Charles.
Cases of abuse do not logically constitute an indictment on the family
institution; they do not necessarily happen to a significantly greater
degree within families than without. The family institution is in fact
a safe haven that protects and nurtures.
Loads of research show that most indices of human well-being are better for individuals within families than those without. It is a strange logic when people take particular events and generalize. This grandstanding is unfortunate.
Article 16 of the Universal declaration of human rights recognizes the
role of families thus;
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race,
nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a
family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during
marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent
of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society
and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
I am alive to the fact that many who attack families and marriage are
themselves either single, divorced or separated. Having failed to
start, manage and sustain normal families, they label the institution
faulty.
NB – I would be happy to see refined abstractions on patriotism among
some mundane viewpoints in tomes such as Encyclopedia Britannica. But not in any debate meant for practical application.
Tabia hii ya kuingiliana jinsia moja hata wanyama hawaifanyi, ni baadhi ya watu wenye matamanio yasiyo sahihi ya kimapenzi ndiyo wenye kufanya mambo hayo. Ikiwa uhuru wa mtu aamuwe afanye analolitaka, basi wanywa gongo(pombe haramu), wavuta bangi na unga, wasichana wanaojiuza, wanaojipatia riziki zao kwa unyang’anyi au ulaghai wasihukumiwe kama ni wahalifu.
Tunaelewa hii yote ni mambo ya kisiasa, wanasiasa wakitaka kura za watu huleta mambo kama haya ya kuleta sheria ya kuhalalisha ndoa za jinsia moja, ili wukubaliwe na watu wenye tabia hizo kwa kura zao. Je sheria hii ikiruhusiwa na kupitishwa ulimwenguni kote nini athari yake? Kwa mtazamo wa karibu wale wote waliohukumiwa kama wahalifu kwa tabia hii lazima waombwe msamaha na na viongozi wa dini zenye kukemea mambo haya waache na kama kuna maandishi ya kukataza mambo hayo yakiwezekane yafutwe. Leo watu hawataki mambo ya dini katika jamii, hawajui kuwa dini ndiyo zilizoleta utaratibu wa maisha katika jamii za watu, kutokana na dini watu wameweza kukatazika au kuamrishika katika mambo yao ya kimaisha.
Nina imani kubwa kwamba ikiwa nchi yetu hii imekataza wizi lakini hakuna dini yoyote iliyokataza wizi basi jela za nchi zingekuwa nyingi kuliko majumba ya ibada ya dini zote nchini. Ikiwa wewe ni mzazi sidhani kama utataka mwanao wa kiume akikuwa awe mwenye kupendana kimapenzi na mwanamme mwenziwe au kama ni mwanamke awe anapendana kimapenzi na mwanamke mwenzake, sijui kama utalikubali hilo, na kama likitokea sijui kama utafurahishwa nalo, itabidi ukubali matokeo kama hakuna jinsi ya kumkemea.
Na kitu kingine ni kwamba majina waliyopewa watu wa aina hii ni majina ya dharau na kebehi kama vile mwanume kuitwa shoga au mwanmke kuitwa msagaji na mfano wake, inabidi watu hawa watafute majina yanayoweza kukubalika katika jamii ambayo yatakuwa si ya kejeli au dharau (kama yatapatikana). Naomba tuige mifano mizuri yenye mandeleo katika jamii yetu na si kuiga mambo ambayo jamii haitofaidika na kitu chochote. Na kwa mtazamo wangu hebu tuwaangalie hawa watu wenye kuwa na tabia hizi wamefaidika vipi? Ikiwa wazazi wetu wangekuwa na tabia hizi sijui kama tungezaliwa?
Ninaomba wale wenye tabia hizi wasitake kujidhihirisha katika jamii kwani tabia hizo si nzuri na ni zenye wakati maalum, inafikia wakati huwezi kuyamudu maisha hayo na inabidi usaidiwe, ikiwa ulijidhihirisha kwa tabia yako hiyo basi utapata shida, keani tumeshayaona hayo. Naomba tuwe wenye kutafakari na si tu kufuata matamanio yetu.
Nawasilisha.
It is no more a surprise that people whose sexuality does not align
with the majority can get persecuted in some societies; however,
African societies tend to prosecute them.
Add religious intolerance and tyrannical moralising to the mix and you
have the result of people being condemned to death for being
different.
Now, there are certain punishments which might serve as deterrents to
others when it comes to crimes, but how would capital punishment serve as a deterrent to a situation that is inherently accepted as genetic?
Homosexuality a norm
Medical science no more considers homosexuality a mental disease, an
aberration or treatable condition, it is a norm for the people who
exhibit those tendencies and the same people have been, are and will
continue to be worthy and contributing members of our societies
whether we accept them or not.
When I was in Paris in June, I observed the Gay Pride march where a
group against capital punishment highlighted a number of nations that
imposed the death penalty on.
This is a human rights issue has been hijacked by irrational
religionists and painted with the epithet of a taboo – but whose taboo
is it anyway? And what right has anyone to make their taboo a crime on others who do not subscribe to that taboo?
These selfsame people are the cancer that eats into our societies and
deprives our humanity of talented, reasonable, tolerant and albeit
different people to perpetuate an illusion of ridding our societies of
corruption and moral laxities.
In my view, if anyone so advocates the death penalty for people being
who they naturally are and are found committing supposedly victimless
crimes amongst consenting partners then the accuser does not deserve
justice for wanting to unnecessarily punish the innocent to validate
their bigoted and prejudiced views, they should be first in line for
the stoning – be they bishops, disciples, imams, politicians, fanatics
or people who just refuse to use their God-given right to think and
rationalise.
Our societies can tolerate and accept homosexuals but we must not
tolerate or accommodate bigots and religious fanaticism that fork
lifts Scripture for their own selfish ends seeking evil rather than
mercy, speaking death rather than saving life.
Homosexuality has grown from the closet to become an issue in the
Western World. We need to understand the reason for its rapid growth
in America, the attitude of the church there, and its implication to
Tanzania.
Most Tanzanians believe that homosexuality is not part of our culture,
and therefore cannot gain ground here. That is a misnomer.
Homosexuality is nobody’s culture, but grew out of a series of
decisions in response to life development process.
Homosexuality was once a taboo in the Western World as it is today in
Tanzania, but changing values have made it acceptable there. In
societies, cultural values can change from one generation to another,
especially when the younger generations are not protected from the
negative influence of other cultures. Immorality is spreading like an
evil disease across the nations leaving a thick dark cloud of moral
decadence
Looking at the history of homosexuality in the Western World and the
church’s response to it opens the implications of where we are with
homosexuality in Tanzania, the Tanzanian church attitude to it and
where we are going with it.
In the Middle Ages, particularly the 13th century, Europe totally
condemned homosexuality. The attitude of the church then was that sex itself was a relationship, which God provided for procreation. The
church was not prepared for the new way of thinking (liberalism),
which emerged as a result of scientific discoveries and the
philosophies of the 18th, and 19th centuries of which Charles Darwin’s
theories of evolution played a major role. Society began to shift away
from traditional, Jewish/Christian beliefs into humanism in which
there are no absolutes.
In 1810 France legalized homosexuality amongst consenting adults,
other European nations followed much later. People see America at the
forefront of spearheading the pro-homosexuality campaign, but the
American story started much later than some European nations.
In America, the church and society had a very negative attitude
towards homosexuality, but with the advent of Darwin’s theory of
evolution, humanism started gaining grounds in America. With the
Kinsey’s report on American male sexuality lending support to the
Darwin’s theory, science sanctioned what society had hitherto seen as
sinful.
But homosexuality did not start growing rapidly until after the 2nd
world War. Homosexuals were dismissed from the army, this prompted
there coming together and the eventual formation of the first
homosexual association in 1950 called the Mattache Society. But in
1955, the association lost its steam and was not very effective.
In 1953, President Eisenhower banned homosexuals from being employed by the American Government. The 1950s was a period of heavy persecution for homosexuals. They were sacked by the their employers, many were arrested and tried in courts. All these persecution did not deter them, but actually aided in the growth of homosexuality in America.
The sex revolution of the 1960’s: By the 1960s sex began to be talked about freely and openly even amongst youths, but most of this was misinformation. Science and the media played a major role in this.
There was “knowledge explosion”, more books on sex were published
between 1940 and 1970 then all the previous decades of American
history. This altered their beliefs, values and attitudes more than
anything else. One would ask, in all this drama where was the church,
and what was her role? The church was there, and her role was that she kept silent. Not that they did not condemn sex, but they did not
inform the youth adequately on sexuality. The church’s sin was
silence.
At the period homosexuals were being arrest and even beaten up by the police, they started calling themselves gays (to express that they
were happy being homosexuals). 1969 was the year the homosexuals first demonstrated publicly against their arrests, and they did this for
three days. In1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed
homosexuality from the list of mental illness, and since then
homosexuality has been on a rapid growth.
From the middle of 1970’s organizations like Exodus and some churches
emerged that started ministering to homosexuals. But they never
envisaged that homosexuality would become as widespread as it is now
in America, not to talk of some state governments licensing gay
marriages. “The milk has been spilt already”.
The church really underestimated the power and influence of the gay
rights movements and its cohorts. It is continuing to spread that in
few years it will become difficult to preach the gospel in America
with the infiltration that is going on. Soon, things that were called
immoral will be called acceptable. God help us!!!
What would have happened if the church had started combating these
issues in the 50’s? What would have happened if the church had started educating youths earlier about sexuality from a Godly perspective? The youths in America only heard one side of the story, the wrong side.
Right now there are 2,000 schools in America with Gay Alliance Clubs,
whose main purpose is to make homosexuality acceptable to children.
We cannot afford to allow these things to happen in Tanzania. We
really thank God for a father like the Anglican Archbishop, who has
demonstrated great boldness against this menace internationally. May
God continue to increase him.
It is very easy to turn a blind eye, and to underestimate the forces
of evil. This is what the church in Tanzania is presently doing.
It is difficult to give the exact population of homosexuals in
Tanzania because of the fear and secrecy involved in it here. But with
the presence of operational homosexual associations with a presence on the Internet, it should be a clear indication that the advent of
homosexuality in Tanzania is alarming. It is more alarming when you
discover that these movements that have been in operation since 1999
and 2002 respectively, have the mission of eliminating the belief
amongst literate and non-literate Tanzanians that homosexuality is a
taboo. Through their campaigns on HIV, STDs safe sex etc, they have
been able to get grants from government and other donors within and
abroad and are in turn propagating their underlying mission. Let us
open our eyes to see clearly.
How far these organizations will go depends largely on the attitude of
the church. Are we to keep silent like the American church did? This
question is hard to answer, with the spate of prosperity consciousness
in our churches.
The same elements that gave rise to immorality and homosexuality in
America are gradually taking root in our beloved Tanzania. Rapid
urbanization; sex advertisements; x rated books and magazines; and the most damaging, Internet pollutions. Visiting cyber cafes and seeing
our youths and adults hooked to pornographic and x rated websites
break our hearts when we try to calculate the extent of the damage
this will cause them.
The church in America failed because she did not understand
homosexuality from the onset. And because she did not understand it,
her attitude to homosexuality was wrong. For the church in Tanzania
not to tow the same line, she has to understand homosexuality; its
origin, causes and recovery and in turn change her attitude towards
this issue.
There are two kinds of people struggling with homosexuality. Those who are struggling and want to come out it, and those who are struggling with it and have made the choice to remain with it. A young man called John came to GAYAID for help, he came timidly and fearfully, not knowing what to expect. On putting his fears to rest and picking up courage he was able to share his homosexual struggle experience with us. GAYAID told John that homosexuality is a sin before God, but that confession to it and a genuine repentance brings forgiveness.
It was explained to him that homosexuality is not as hopeless as he
has been made to belief, that anyone who seeks freedom from
homosexuality will get it from Jesus Christ who has promised to give
rest to whoever comes to him with a burden. John started weeping
profusely after this. These were tears of repentance and relief.
John had been burdened with guilt, condemnation, and fear of rejection
by God and Society.
There are many Johns in our society (male and female), who are
struggling with homosexual attractions. Many of them are confused
about their feelings and sexuality. Some of them tried to get help
from our churches, and what they got was condemnation. This attitude
of the church has become the devils strongest point of deception. Many of them are lonely, looking for people who will care for them and show God’s kind of love. In the absence of this, many of them come to see homosexual activity as a means of finding relief, securing safety, and taking revenge. It rarely starts out this way, but once they get a
taste of what they believe homosexuality provides, they are hooked. As
they start to pursue more of what they’ve stumbled across, they begin
to believe that what homosexuality provides is necessary and
deserved.
According to our penal code, homosexuality and other carnal knowledge against the order of nature carries a penalty of imprisonment. Any person who attempts to commit any of the offences defined is guilty of a felony and liable to imprisonment for several years. This law is good, but it is not the solution. It has existed for a long time, and yet homosexuality is growing under our nose. Legislation may be helpful in a lot of cases, but it is limited in this case.
The church and the society have a vital role to play. In other to
offer the kind of solution needed, the church must dump her self-
righteous judgment, and her fear of a sin she doesn’t understand .We
all must stop offering part answers and band-aids to heal a condition
that requires spiritual surgery, a lengthy recovery period and lots of
compassion and acceptance. GAYAID visited one of the bishops of the
Pentecostal churches in Lagos to partner with her in the seminars ”
YOU ARE NOT BORN GAY” which she holds in our campuses. Do you know what? The bishop treated us as if we are taboos ourselves. He did not want to come near us. What a show of ignorance by a father like that. This is the attitude of many of us.
The majority of us lead quite unheralded lives as we pass through this
world. There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for some of
us, no monuments created in our honour. But that does not lessen our
possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for ministries
like GAYAID and churches to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our encouragement, who will need our unique talents.
Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took time to
share what we had to give.
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. It is
overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to
make love felt.
No matter what we have done, or how long we have done it, or whom we have done it with, our life is never beyond repair. From a life of
sexual brokenness, constant yearning, self-devaluation and rebellion,
God can carry us into a place of joy and fulfillment. We have
discovered that reality in Jesus Christ. That is the hope for all of
us in this sometimes chaotic and unexplainable world. JESUS IS LORD.
Mr. Juma and Mr. Makakala: YES, YOU ARE HATERS!..I don’t profess to be an expert on sexual orientation…. in this case I fail to see how gays and lesbians affect your marriage/family or MINE?????. I don’t know which country you guys hail from?/. Can you be kind enough to tell us what the constitution of your respective country say “about sexual orientation”?
Please. don’t throw in bible passages in your argument on why you think Sexual orientation need to be ” Criminalized” in your country. If by any chance you guys are from Kenya, can you tell us if the H. Draft constitution…is addressing your concerns on this matter!. I know the answer already!..the human right clause in K. consti.. draft covers all Kenya citizens regardless of their ethnicity, disability sex orientation.
If you are from Uganda or Tanzania, feel free to share with us the stipulation of ” Sex orientation” in their constitutions.
Your asinine arguments of this issue shows how your are intellectually challenged when it comes to moral tolerant! Not to confuse you with rational argument, can you also tell us what your “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” says: about polygamy marriages, under age marriages, arranged marriages…!. In some countries, polygamy is accepted practice…and there is good chance that in your own country…polygamy may be practiced and in other countries this would be against the law.
I am just trying to show how lack your of tolerance has damaged your way of thinking in matters dealing with human nature!
You are full of yourself when you accuse: divorce, single people who may be tolerant to others as failures of marriage institution!. You want your “society/ State to protect marriages whether polygamy or underage, but to prosecute individuals/group of gays and lesbians persons in the same society!.
I would urge you to separate your religious believes from government/ State apparatus on this issue. In secular State individual rights must be protected regardless of their sex orientation.
Let me stop here because the more I read your article..the more I get confused with your convoluted logic on this issue. Listen to yourself talk Mr. makalala, …what people do in their bedroom is their business…. Are you saying that it is OK for gays and lesbians to keep their relationship in private but not in public?. In other words you support other people Sexual, orientation so long as they keep private!. As we speak capital punishment is being passed in Uganda..let us see how this country answer and address the universal human rights, which they are signatory to at the UN!!!!!!