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Demand Canyon Ridge Christian Church Tell The Truth About Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill
  1. Signatures
    183 out of 200
    Petitioning
    1. Pastor (+ 3 others)
      Petitioning
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      • Pastor (Kevin Odor)
      • Pastor (Doug Parks)
      • Pastor (Mitch Harrison)
      • Pastor (Susan Fuller)
  2. Created By
    Change.org
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

Canyon Ridge Christian Church has partnered with a minister in Uganda, Pastor Martin Ssempa, who has advocated for passage of a bill known as the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. This bill would institute the death penalty and harsh prison sentences for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in Uganda, and it would also institute jail terms for straight people who do not disclose their gay friends, relatives or neighbors.

Canyon Ridge is among the few U.S. religious institutions that has not condemned the Anti-Homosexuality Bill or the work of Pastor Martin Ssempa to pass the bill. They continue to list Martin Ssempa on their web site as a "prophetic" minister, and support him financially and institutionally.

Add to this that in June of this year, Canyon Ridge leadership told their congregation that the Anti-Homosexuality Bill only sought to criminalize the molestation of minor boys by men and the intentional spread of HIV, glossing over the fact that the death penalty and harsh prison sentences for homosexuality were still intact. Canyon Ridge's position here is misleading in a number of ways, particularly because molesting boys is already illegal in Uganda, with equal punishments for that crime as crimes against girls.

Meanwhile, in an article set for the next issue of Harper's, reporter Jeff Sharlet notes that while the Anti-Homosexuality Bill has fallen off of newspaper front pages, it is still a dangerous bill. Sharlet interviewed the legislator who authored the bill, David Bahati, who notes that it is his wish to see all gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in Uganda killed.

How could Canyon Ridge Christian Church stand by and be idle on this issue, while financially supporting ministers who back the Anti-Homosexuality Bill's passage? Already, their support of this pastor has cost them partnerships with two public health organizations in Nevada, and has positioned them as one of the only major U.S. religious institutions not denouncing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Send this Church a message today that they should be honest with their congregation about the contents of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, and that they should rescind their support for work in Uganda that would kill or imprison people on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Recent Signatures

Please Tell Your Church Membership The Truth About Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Dear Canyon Ridge Christian Church,

For several months now, your Church has been pressured to condemn efforts in Uganda to pass what's known as the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Of particular note in this debate has been your ongoing support for a Pastor, Martin Ssempa, who has championed passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda.

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda calls for the death penalty for gay HIV-positive people, as well as severe prison sentences for anyone convicted of homosexuality. More than that, the bill calls for straight people to go to jail if they do not disclose their gay relatives, friends and neighbors.

Though the bill has been on the backburner of media coverage of late, a new piece in Harper's shows that the bill is still alive and well, and only a few weeks away from passage depending on when the political climate in Uganda shifts. The lead author of the bill, David Bahati, is a close ally to Martin Ssempa. Bahati notes in the Harper's piece that his goal is to see every gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender Ugandan sentenced to death.

I urge you to disclose the truth about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill to your congregation, that this bill could pass in a matter of weeks, and that in its current form, the bill would institute the death penalty and harsh prison sentences for homosexuality. Does Canyon Ridge Christian Church really want its fingerprints on this bill?

Thank you for your time.

[Your name]

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