Suspect in David Kato's murder pulling 'gay panic' card, right-wing gloats

There is now a suspect in the murder of Ugandan activist David Kato. What's more, he seem to be pulling an old anti-gay card, i.e. the "gay panic" defense:

A man whom police arrested yesterday on allegations of killing David Kato, a human rights activist, has reportedly told police that the deceased coerced him into sodomy.

 . . .Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba said the suspect had been hiding in Nakabago village, Mukono District. “It is true the suspect has been arrested but we need to record his statement first before giving a formal statement,” Ms Nabakooba said yesterday. But a police source, who preferred anonymity because he is not authorised to talk to the press, said the suspect confessed to killing Kato because he was reportedly tired of engaging in homosexual practices.

“We have taken him to Mukono Magistrate’s Court to record an extrajudicial statement,” the source said. “He told us that he killed Kato after he failed to give him a car, a house and money he promised as rewards for having sex with him,” the source said.

 . . . The suspect allegedly told the police he got tired of having sex with Kato but the latter would not have any of his excuses. “The suspect said he left the bedroom, went to a store and picked a hammer which he used to hit him [Kato] while he was still in bed,” the source said. The death of Kato was condemned by the international community as an attack on the gay community.

Doesn't this man's claims remind you of the initial claims of Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, the murderers of Matthew Shepard?

Oh he hit on us.

We were so upset because that homosexual was making advances upon us.

We felt threatened.

In other words, it's the old tired story again - i.e. the dirty nasty fa@!* got what he deserved because he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Meanwhile, some on the right seem to be taking this moment to engage in a bit of unrestrained, un-Christian, and HIGHLY improvable gloating.

Protests loom over National Prayer Breakfast

I have to hand it to GetEqual this time. In spite of my differences with their past protests, the one at the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday morning is right on and if I was there, I would be protesting with them:

On Thursday, February 3, GetEQUAL -- a national direct action lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization -- in partnership with multiple LGBT and human rights organizations will host a “Breakfast Without Bigotry” protest outside of the National Prayer Breakfast. The National Prayer Breakfast is an annual event, keynoted by the President and attended by many politicians and business leaders, that is organized by a secretive religious group called "The Family" and is tied to the Ugandan lawmaker who authored the “Kill the Gays” bill in the Ugandan legislature.

In front of the Washington Hilton Hotel (1919 Connecticut Avenue, NW) from 6:00am – 8:00am (ET), civil rights activists, faith leaders, human rights organizers, and LGBT advocates will gather during the National Prayer Breakfast to ask that both Democratic and Republican Members of Congress and our President stand against the hatred and bigotry that the National Prayer Breakfast organizers have promoted worldwide. Groups joining GetEQUAL in this event include the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Unitarian Universalist Association, Soulforce, and others. (An updated list will be available at www.getequal.org on the day of the event.)

In the wake of the murder of Ugandan gay activist, David Kato, and the pending deportation of Brenda Namigadde from the UK back to Uganda, organizations across the country are uniting to make sure that “The Family” is exposed for their influence on world affairs, including the annihilation of LGBT people worldwide. "History has proven time and again that the kind of hatred, bigotry, and prejudice promoted by 'The Family' cannot be allowed to go unchallenged. 'The Family' already has blood on its hands, and must be stopped before it can kill again in even greater numbers. Uganda today serves as a lethal preview of what 'The Family' hopes to accomplish worldwide," said Michael Dixon, a lead organizer for GetEQUAL DC.

In addition, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has called on President Obama and all members of Congress not to attend the breakfast tomorrow morning:

"The National Prayer Breakfast uses the attendance of elected leaders to give the Fellowship greater credibility and facilitate its networking and fundraising," said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan. "President Obama and members of Congress should not legitimatize this shadowy group with ties to scandal-ridden politicians and hateful and discriminatory positions against gays." Sloan continued, "It is all the more important that American political leaders avoid this event in light of the murder of prominent Ugandan gay activist David Kato."

The Fellowship, also known as "The Foundation" and "The Family," is run by Doug Coe, a spiritual advisor to some government officials, who uses the organization to push his brand of Christianity. The Fellowship owns and operates the infamous C Street House, a congressional residence and meeting place on Capitol Hill that has been a frequent haunt of some ethically-challenged elected officials identified by CREW, including Sen. John Ensign (R-NV).

. . . Members of the Fellowship pushed for anti-gay legislation in Uganda that made homosexuality a capital offense. Just last month, prominent activist David Kato was murdered in Uganda. Much of the wave of anti-gay sentiment can be linked to the promotion of anti-gay policies by American evangelicals.

Most likely President Obama and other members of Congress will  still be attending this breakfast. It would be nice if Obama took the time to give a little hell to these folks over their past actions.

Oh well, one can dream.

But the main point is that attention is slowly but surely growing about this awful group (The Family) and their ties to that awful situation in Uganda which claimed the life activist David Kato.

A USA Today article gives more details:

This year, lawmakers, clergy, power brokers and diplomats will break bread under a disturbing pall cast by the Jan. 26 murder of David Kato, a well-known gay activist who was bludgeoned to death in his home in Kampala. Kato had been targeted by a Ugandan newspaper in a front-page article identifying him and dozens of other Ugandans as "known homos" under the headline, "Hang Them."

While a number of high-profile prayer breakfast and Fellowship participants have repudiated the proposed Ugandan law, many human rights activists and other critics nonetheless remain convinced of the Fellowship's role in catalyzing support for the law.

The Fellowship, for its part, keeps a low profile. Its participants and leadership generally shun the media and the group maintains no official website, membership roster or official spokesperson.

You all can run but you can't hide. God don't like ugly, even if it's done in His name.

Hat tip to Americablog Gay and Pam's House Blend.

Related posts:

Homophobic murder in Uganda is not about DOMA or ENDA


Matt Barber: 'Homofascists' picking on 'Christians' for murder of Ugandan gay activist


LaBarbera makes Scott Lively out to be a victim in wake of Ugandan murder


President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton condemns murder of gay Ugandan activist


Did Scott Lively's homophobic 'nuclear bomb' cause a death in Uganda?

Getting deported for not being 'gay enough?' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Sarah Lindstrom And Desiree Shelton, Lesbian Couple, Cheered By School After Winning Rights - Too, too awesome. And it's the religious right's biggest fear - sooner or later lgbts will be standing up for themselves at a younger age.

Could You 'Play Gay' if Your Life Depended on it? Asylum Seekers Who Don't 'Act Gay' Enough Being Sent Home to Face Death - Now I have heard of EVERYTHING.

Man claims Glaxo drug Requip made him 'gay sex addict' - Yep, that's the excuse I would use.

Vandals Slice 'Equality' out of Hollywood Methodist Church's Pro Gay Marriage Banner - Silly act. You can't eliminate equality by slicing it out of a sign.

Told ya! Religious right begins religious whitewashing of Pennsylvania campus incident

That didn't take long at all.

Yesterday, I wondered how long it would take before some on the religious right began exploiting an incident in which a campus police officer in Pennsylvania got into trouble for refusing to do his job.

This morning, One News Now and the Alliance Defense Fund demonstrates how they are attempting to manipulate the case:

A U.S. appeals court has heard oral arguments in a case involving a policeman who refused to carry out his chief's orders to remove a Christian pro-life group from of a college campus.

In April 2007, a small group of Christians was peacefully demonstrating on the grounds of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, sharing their beliefs about moral issues like abortion. Meanwhile, a much larger group of protesters who loudly opposed the pro-life message led the KU president and campus police chief to insist the Christian group leave campus. But the officer on the scene, Corporal Steven Armbruster, refused the order.

"Just because someone has a pro-life message doesn't subject them to arrest," contends Tom Marcelle, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF). "It took great courage for the officer to uphold his duty to protect the Constitution and not violate the demonstrators' First Amendment rights."

Please bear in mind that while the article claims that the "group of Christians" were peacefully demonstrating, they didn't give the name of this group. And I think that is intentional. The group in question, Repent America, has a reputation of causing disruptive protests, getting arrested, and then suing in court about how their "First Amendment Rights" were violated.

Furthermore, the article doesn't even give the university's side of the story, i.e. Repent America was asked to leave because it didn't obtain permission to protest on campus. Also, the One News Now article omitted the reasons why Armbruster's case was initially dismissed:

His initial lawsuit, contending that the disciplinary action against him violated his free-speech and due-process rights, was dismissed last year by U.S. District Judge C. Darnell Jones II.

Jones ruled that Armbruster had refused the chief's order while serving in his official capacity as an officer, and so could not claim the university had violated his First Amendment rights.

Jones also rejected a second claim that the university violated Armbruster's "right to refuse to violate others' constitutional rights."

"Based on this court's research, over the past 30 years, no [higher court] has held such a right exists," Jones wrote.

The fact of the matter is this - Armbruster was an employee of the university and as such had a job to do. He deliberately decided on his own not to do his job and suffered the consequences - which was nothing more than a five day suspension without pay and a disciplinary letter.

However, should Armbruster somehow prevail - and he really shouldn't - perhaps it would be a good idea for lgbt students and their allies to start protesting Liberty University - which is affiliated with the Alliance Defense Fund.