Letters to U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett to protect the rights of LGBT in foreign nations.
The dealth penalty in Uganda, about U.S. foreign aid going to anti-Gay churches, and an American Christian group against having a foreign policy supporting LGBT rights.
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Introduction
Christian groups are endangering LGBT around the world. There is the recently passed law asking for the death penalty for homosexuals in Uganda, CNN just reported that Western governments gave millions of dollars of foreign aid to vicious anti-Gay groups in Ghana, a Christian group in the United States is campaigning against the United States government supporting the human rights of LGBT overseas.
Each letter takes up one of these topics. Those who run for office claiming to be friends of the LGBT need to support the U.S. government taking vigorous actions to defend the rights of the LGBT in foreign nations.
They need to do more than say nice things when they show up on Cedar Springs wanting votes.
Asking for action on Uganda’s death penalty law and also make sure asylym is readily available.
March 31, 2023
Edward H. Sebesta
Dallas, Texas 75216
Hon. Jasmine Crockett
House of Representatives
1616 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Hon. Crockett:
I enclose a copy of the article, “Uganda MPs pass bill imposing death penalty for homosexuality,” from the Guardian.
1. I hope that we have expeditious procedures for those seeking asylum from this murderous regime. Not just those applying for asylum while resident in the United States or its territories, but also for those who might walk, or run, in our embassy in Uganda and need asylum. Further, I think the U.S. Embassy there should not shirk from flying a Gay pride flag.
2. I would be interested in what measures might be done to protect the human rights of LGBT+ in Uganda. In the 1980s the U.S. State Dept. made it a point to send an African American ambassador to South Africa to make a statement concerning apartheid. Perhaps the U.S. embassy could use some official who is Gay or Lesbian.
3. Finally, this murderous law is a result of pressure applied by various religious groups in Uganda. I don’t think that these vicious groups should be sending people to the United States. I suggest that any and all officials of these churches who pushed for this murderous law, as well as the legislators who voted for this, as well other officials supporting it, should be denied the right to travel to the United States or its territories. After all, they go on and on about keeping out Western influence. We can be concerned about keeping their bad influence also.
I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely yours,
Edward H. Sebesta
[Boldface wasn’t in the letter.]
For all the Uganda related posts go to this post.
Asking that the United States not send foreign aid money to anti-Gay churches.
March 31, 2023
Edward H. Sebesta
Dallas, Texas 75216
Hon. Jasmine Crockett
House of Representatives
1616 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Hon. Crockett:
According to this report on CNN, titled, “Millions in Western aid flowed to churches in Ghana despite years of campaigning against LGBTQI+ rights,” that that is exactly what happened. Report enclosed. It can also be read at this link.
I have four questions:
1. How did this happen?
2. Has the flow of money to these anti-LGBT churches been stopped?
3. Is United States aid money going to any other anti-LGBT groups anywhere else in the world?
4. What will be done to prevent United States aid money from going to any other anti-LGBT group anywhere in the world in the future?
I enclose a copy of the article, “Uganda MPs pass bill imposing death penalty for homosexuality,” from the Guardian.
Support for these vicious sentiments can have consequence. I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely yours,
Edward H. Sebesta
Asking that anti-Gay Christian group opposed to the U.S. government supporting LGBT rights be disqualified.
March 31, 2023
Edward H. Sebesta
Dallas, Texas 75216
Hon. Jasmine Crockett
House of Representatives
1616 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Hon. Crockett:
There is a difference when a group supports human rights and wishes no one would be persecuted, and when a group is really complaining that the wrong people are being persecuted, and further that it is themselves being persecuted.
In one case it is the support of human rights, in the other it is merely self-interest.
I bring to your attention a group called International Christian Concern which seeks to influence American foreign policy.
https://www.persecution.org/
In particular they want the United States to drop concern for the human rights of the LGBTQ as they stated in a policy report, “Religious Freedom an Essential Tool of Statecraft,” published as an International Christian Concern Fellows Brief for their February 2020 issue of Persecution magazine. I enclose the cover page, introductory, and page 7 in particular.
https://www.persecution.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/1.31.20_fellows_brief.pdf
It is at the Internet Archive also; in case the ICC decides to delete it or restrict access.
Peter Burns: So something I'll throw in here on the grand strategy idea. The U.S. has traditionally, and I'll just go back to Bush because that's really all I feel comfortable speaking to, had non-security related interests. In our foreign policy obviously the Bush administration had democracy promotion, the Freedom Agenda was a big idea that we pushed a lot and we spent a lot of energy on. Then the Obama administration, something that has kept coming bubbling up from conversations is that the gender issues were something that they raised a lot in discussions with other countries, concerning LGBTQ communities and minorities.
So what's interesting to me is that both of those are issues that I think did not translate well to the people, the audiences that we were pushing them towards. I think that religious freedom is a lot more universal and a better message for the U.S. to have as our flag, our forward facing value proposition. It seems like every administration has some sort of values-proposition they're making in their foreign policy. I think that religious freedom as a value proposition is something that other countries can find much more space to engage with and usually be more receptive to. Also, it probably is more representative of the international community, since America is one of the more postmodern states in the world, one of those trending away from religion being part of civic life as opposed to the rest of the world where it's still deeply ingrained in civic life.
So I think it could be the antidote to some of our mistaken attempts to thrust our values on other countries, and lately people would be really anxious about America running in and trying to clamp our values down on everyone we meet. It's almost an antidote to that. We're going in and we're not rushing in with a foreign value set. We're basically saying, "Hey, we recognize the importance of religious freedom to civic life all over the world. Your religion is important to you. There are other communities that are not receiving the same sort of opportunities to express that." I think that, as a grand strategy interest, the concern that I hear is this, "Well America can't run around the world, pushing its values on everyone." Well, this isn't necessarily doing that. This is more just carrying the standard on something that is already an internationally-recognized value.
This entire fellows’ program was included in their journal, The International Religious Freedom Review, Vol. 1 No. 1, Summer 2020 including Peter Burn’s advocacy of dumping LGBTQ from the American diplomatic agenda.
This issue now has restricted access, but it is at the Internet Archive. I enclose copies of the cover, the masthead page, and pages 9 and 10 where Peter Burns urges dumping LGBTQ rights.
You will notice that Peter Burns is pushing the very anti-LGBT arguments that the anti-LGBT movements in Africa employ and by the Uganda legislature with its recently passed murderous law.
I want to especially point out the misrepresentation of the ICC agenda by Peter Burns when he says:
I think that religious freedom is a lot more universal and a better message for the U.S. to have as our flag, our forward facing value proposition.
The proposition of the ICC “religion freedom” proposition, actually is that religions that were introduced to various regions around the world when Europeans showed up with gunboats, need American backing since those gunboats have long since sailed away. Though they may make reference to medieval arrivals of Christianity to South, Central and East Asia, these complaining Christians are not Nestorian Christians, but derive from missionary efforts in colonial and post-colonial times.
Having America being seen as replacements for European Imperialists to back up local mostly colonial derived Christians into whatever local quarrels they might get into isn’t a winning proposition for the United States. Especially since Christians often don’t seem to have respect for the religions of the areas to which they travel and make derogatory statements. They kick the dog and then complain when they are bit.
The so-called “religious freedom” proposition of the ICC is merely the exploitation of the power of the United States for their agenda of winning quarrels here and there around the world.
It also appears that some of the ICC claims of persecution are merely them being publicly criticized. For example, a Canadian Bible Camp was criticized for being anti-Gay. I enclose their report on this case of so-called persecution.
Being unpopular can be unpleasant if you are a delicate sensitive thing, but it isn’t persecution. The following is a link to their report on the Canadian Bible Camp online.
https://www.persecution.org/2016/08/09/canadian-bible-camp-under-fire-for-policies-on-homosexuality/
This complaint is saved on the Internet Archive also at:
In regards to this pernicious group, the International Christian Concern, I would like to see the following:
1. The anti-LGBTQ policies of the International Christian Concern be brought up every time they testify to the U.S. Congress about supposed persecution and how their concern isn’t about human rights but just self-interest. Their credibility should always be challenged.
2. No member of their group should be in any advisory body to the U.S. Government, including the legislative branches.
3. The U.S. State Department be alerted to the anti-LGBTQ agenda of the International Christian Concern and the State Dept. should investigate how this group might have been active sabotaging U.S. diplomacy overseas for LGBTQ rights.
The United States is involved a global struggle against the combined power of Russia and Communist China, and our security depends the good will and support of many nations to be aligned with us. We should always be concerned about human rights, but we should make sure it is about human rights and not some quarrel some group has picked in some place and alienate allies.
Further, at this time of the writing of this letter, besides the murderous law passed in Uganda, the Seoul Pride Parade and festival hasn’t been scheduled for 2023 because of the opposition to it of Korean Christians working through the current Korean government. The Russian Orthodox Church is driving the persecution of LGBT in Russia.
Even in Dallas just recently a drag show at the club On Rotation was shut down through an intimidation campaign of local anti-LGBT Christians, nationally notorious Vonciel Jones Hill was nominated for office by city council members. An organization which hoped to exploit mpox to attack Gays had a speaker giving an invocation at a Dallas City Council meeting. Anti-LGBT campaigning is at our very doorstep.
The LGBT everywhere are under attack. There needs to be a serious agenda to protect our communities. I ask that you take the anti-Gay campaign agenda of the International Christian Concern which is a menace to LGBT around the world with their goal of undermining U.S. State Dept policy seriously, and undertake significant and substantial measures to counter their efforts.
Sincerely Yours,
Edward H. Sebesta
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