FIEC National Director John Stevens has reacted strongly against the decision of the Ugandan government to enact new hardline legislation against homosexuality. This may now include the death penalty for ‘aggravated’ offences and for ‘promoting’ homosexuality.
In a statement said: ‘I do not think consensual homosexual sex between adults should be a criminal offence – still less one that attracts life imprisonment. There is no evidence that consensual sex amongst a tiny percentage of the population is a danger to society. Fornication and adultery are far more socially damaging. I also don’t think it is the task of the church to support such repression in society (see 1 Corinthians 5-6). It is only one small step from societies that criminalise homosexuality to those that criminalise Christianity. We need to defend freedom and civil rights for all.’
Speaking to en, Stevens made it clear that that was his view, not necessarily that of the FIEC. Asked why he had reacted so strongly to the new Ugandan law, he said: ‘There is a great danger of reactionary homophobia here. The empirical evidence for this law is thin, as there are only 25 prosecutions a year in Uganda, so the harm to society argument is weak. Biblically, there is no justification for the death penalty, which I believe is reserved for murder. The right Christian approach is not to criminalise homosexuality at all’.
