(AP)
After signing the draconian anti-homosexuality bill into law, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni illustrated for the world just how out of touch with science and reality all on the anti-gay side really are, explaining that, among other things, oral sex gives people worms:
“One of the cultures that we detest is oral sex. The mouth is for picking food, not for sex. We know the address for sex. That address (the mouth) is not for sex,” he said. “The mouth is for eating not for sex. The mouth is engineered for kissing.”
‘Wrong address for mouth’
As for gay oral sex, he said the health risks were appalling.
“It is not healthy. You can contract STD (sexually transmitted diseases). You push the mouth there, you can come back with worms and they enter your stomach because that is a wrong address. You can also contract Hepatitis B,” he said.
Museveni also believes that no one is truly gay, but that gays are “mercenaries” who are only in it for the money:
Museveni, a devout evangelical Christian, said the only explanation for being gay was money.
“Homosexuals are actually mercenaries. They are heterosexual people but because of money they say they are homosexuals. These are prostitutes because of money,” he said, asserting that he had taken the time to get scientific advice before signing off on the law.
“No study has shown you can be homosexual by nature,” he said. “That man can choose to love a man… is a matter of choice. After listening to the scientists, I got the facts.
That, of course, is not true. Museveni listened to quacks, just as the American Religious Right relies on quacks in order to be able to cite something in a court of law. Indeed, Museveni may have relied on research such as the debunked study by Mark Regnerus, who was bought and paid for by right-wing groups in order that they may look like they have facts on their side.
In response to the bill’s signing, the Netherlands has cut aid to Uganda, and the United States is “reviewing” its relationship with Uganda. The White House released the following statement in response to the law:
Instead of standing on the side of freedom, justice, and equal rights for its people, today, regrettably, Ugandan President Museveni took Uganda a step backward by signing into law legislation criminalizing homosexuality. As President Obama has said, this law is more than an affront and a danger to the gay community in Uganda, it reflects poorly on the country’s commitment to protecting the human rights of its people and will undermine public health, including efforts to fight HIV/AIDS. We will continue to urge the Ugandan government to repeal this abhorrent law and to advocate for the protection of the universal human rights of LGBT persons in Uganda and around the world.
Museveni claimed at the bill’s signing that his nation is so rich they don’t need outside help. Reality begs to differ.
