As conservatives put religion in schools, Satanists want in, too

Tyler Kingkade
Updated Fri, May 17, 2024 

When conservative lawmakers in Florida and Texas won the fight to allow religious chaplains in public schools, they swung open the door to ministers from other faiths — including the Satanic Temple.

The demonic-sounding group, which describes itself as “nontheistic,” is using this debate and others like it to make a point about the growing encroachment of religion on public life.

It would prefer no chaplains in schools, it says, but would settle for equal representation, intentionally goading conservatives, some of whom are explicit about wanting Christianity, rather than just religion, in public education.


“If they pass these bills, they’re going to have to contend with ministers of Satan acting as chaplains within their school districts,” said Lucien Greaves, a co-founder of the Satanic Temple, who uses a pseudonym to protect him against threats. “We think the public should know in advance that that’s what the outcome of these bills can be.”The Satanic Temple, founded in 2013 and recognized as a religion by the IRS, is known for trolling the religious right by taking advantage of Christian campaigns. When Arkansas installed a statue of the Ten Commandments outside the State Capitol, the Temple unveiled its own statue of Baphomet, a goat-headed figure, there, too. It offered the Hellions Academy as an alternative to Christian studies during school hours and named a telehealth abortion clinic after Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s mom.

Image: A statue of Baphomet surrounded by children. Baphomet sits on a throne adorned with a pentagram. (Hannah Grabenstein / AP file)

The Temple believes in reason, empathy and the pursuit of knowledge, its website FAQ helpfully explains. And it doesn’t worship Satan. “Satan is a symbol of the Eternal Rebel in opposition to arbitrary authority,” it states. But it’s not just a joke, supporters say. And opponents seem to agree.

One man was charged in January with a hate crime for vandalizing the temple’s altar at the Iowa State Capitol. Another was arrested and accused of throwing a pipe bomb at the group’s headquarters in Salem, Massachusetts, leaving a note that urged the group to “REPENT” and “TURN FROM SIN.” And a third was arrested this month and accused of plotting to blow up the headquarters.

“It definitely started with a kind of humorous or satirical element to it, but this is a movement with hundreds of people that’s been going for 10 years now — they’re quite serious about it,” said Joseph Laycock, a religious studies professor at Texas State University who wrote a book-length study about the group. “They’re willing to put up with death threats. They’re willing to wear bulletproof vests because Neo-Nazis have threatened to kill them if they give a public speech. People don’t normally take those kinds of risks for a joke.”

Interest in joining the Satanic Temple shot up in recent years, Greaves said, and the number of congregations more than doubled since 2021. That coincides with a decrease in the number of self-identified Christians in the U.S. and a growing movement among right-wing activists to insert conservative Christian doctrines into public policy and schools.

“The real fear of Christian nationalism is driving people into the arms of groups like the Satanic Temple,” Laycock said. “And then the fact that there are now Satanists taking to the streets of America is causing the Christian nationalists to double down, too, and making them even more determined to cling to power for as long as they can.”

The laws in Florida and Texas require school boards to vote on whether to appoint chaplains in their districts. Similar bills have been proposed in 13 other states this year. The proposals, which vary slightly, would have chaplains of various denominations serve in similar capacities as school counselors, in some cases with on-campus offices or salaries paid for by the districts.

“They are able to help the child work through their issues, work through their feelings, and also encourage them to work with their parents, in accordance with their family’s underlying religious foundations,” said Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, a conservative advocacy group that testified in favor of the Texas bill.

Proponents of chaplains in schools have gone on the offensive, vowing that the Satanic Temple won’t infiltrate their schools. “There will be no Satanists in Oklahoma Schools. Period,” Ryan Walters, the state’s right-wing superintendent of public instruction, recently tweeted. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared at a bill signing for the new law last month that the Temple wouldn’t qualify to provide chaplains. “That is not a religion,” he said.

But legal experts warn that conservatives disregard the Satanic Temple at their own peril, because the group’s strategy of stepping into spaces intended for other religions is often effective. In 2016, the Temple began running After School Satan Clubs, seeking to start them in schools that already had Christian-based groups on campus. A federal court sided with the Temple in a legal challenge last year, and there are currently seven clubs nationwide, where children make arts and crafts, learn about animals and do science experiments.

“The Constitution is unambiguous about this,” Greaves said. “You just cannot take a religious identity and cut it out from a public accommodation. It’s against the law, the school districts will lose, they’ll have to pay the attorneys fees, and frankly, they shouldn’t be pulling their budget into this culture war grandstanding B.S.”

Lucien Greaves outside a courthouse. (Josh Reynolds for The Washington Post / Getty Images file)

One of the Temple’s first actions was to perform a “pink mass” in which gay couples made out over the grave of the mother of Fred Phelps, founder of the homophobic Westboro Baptist Church, and declared her a lesbian. The Temple has protested corporal punishment of children and sued states to argue that abortion restrictions violate their religious rights.“It is a poignant way of pushing the idea of what these governments really care about,” said Jay Wexler, a Boston University law professor who studies church-and-state issues. “Do they really care about opening up their spaces for religious pluralism, or do they actually care about just promoting one view of God and Christianity in the public space?”

People often ask why the Satanic Temple, with its lofty principles, uses such divisive names.

“If we were to name it the ‘fluffy bunnies and rainbows science club,’ or anything else, and people were to find out it is run by the Satanic Temple, we feel that that would actually cause more harm than good,” said June Everett, a Satanic Temple minister and the campaign director of the After School Satan Club. “Also, we are proud to be Satanists. So anyone that has a problem with the name or what we’re trying to do is free to just not send their kids.”

Rocky Malloy, a born-again Christian and founder of the National School Chaplain Association, said his group organized a phone bank and letter writing campaign to lobby for the Texas chaplains bill, according to video of his remarks at a fundraiser in November. Malloy called it an effort to “bring the boldness of Christ Jesus to public education” and a “legal way to bring God and prayer in school.” Malloy didn’t respond to an interview request.

The National School Chaplain Association offers certification provided by Oral Roberts University, a Christian school in Oklahoma that suspends students for being gay.

“Who is against it? Alphabet people,” Malloy said, referring to members of the LGBTQ community. “It messes up their whole agenda,” he said at the fundraiser after having declared that school counselors are “confirming gender confusion.”

The Satanic Temple isn’t the only religious group opposed to chaplains in schools. In Florida, the Florida Council of Churches, Pastors for Florida Children and the National Council of Jewish Women opposed the bill. Over 100 Texas pastors signed an open letter asking school districts not to hire chaplains, and most school boards appeared to follow their advice. Only one district had hired a chaplain by last month, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

Greaves said the Temple is waiting to learn the details of how the chaplain programs will be implemented. But the Temple plans to start with placing its first ministers in Florida and Oklahoma.

Everett, the minister, is optimistic that they’ll be welcomed into some districts. “A lot more people are now aware of the Satanic Temple and what we’re doing,” she said. “Basically fighting fire with fire.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government 'a disgrace' on women's rights

The Canadian Press
Thu, May 16, 2024 

CARAQUET, N.B. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.

During a news conference in Caraquet, N.B., Trudeau delivered his attack in response to a question about whether he would be campaigning with the New Brunswick Liberals ahead of the upcoming provincial election, which has to be held by October.

Despite his desire to "work with any government" in Canada, the prime minister said, "I do have issues with the current government of New Brunswick."

He said Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs doesn't respect a "woman's right to choose." The prime minister was referring to a New Brunswick regulation that prohibits public funding for abortions administered outside hospitals, a rule that was blamed for the closure earlier this year of Clinic 554, a private care provider in Fredericton.

The closure of that clinic, Trudeau said, and "the unwillingness to engage in allowing women to actually choose what happens to their future and their bodies is a disgrace."

"I will continue to call out the government of New Brunswick and any conservative leader who continues to go after women's rights."

Higgs's office did not return a request for comment. But in January after Clinic 554 closed, a provincial Health Department spokesman said abortions are publicly funded in the province by way of surgical abortion in hospitals or medical abortion with the pill Mifegymiso. Surgical abortions are offered at two hospitals in Moncton and one in Bathurst.

"The introduction of Mifegymiso as an alternative means of abortion has reduced demand for surgical abortions in New Brunswick," spokesman Sean Hatchard said at the time. "It is now the predominant form of abortion in our province and accounts for two-thirds of all abortions in New Brunswick."

Trudeau brought up the 2022 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion in that country, saying Canada could suffer similar restrictions if conservatives are in power.

Restrictions on abortion, Trudeau said, are "more likely to happen in Canada, particularly with conservative leaders who continue to not stand up for women's rights."

The prime minister also criticized the Higgs government's changes to the provincial policy on gender identity in schools. The revised policy requires teachers to have parental consent before they can use the preferred names and pronouns of transgender and nonbinary students under 16.

Trudeau said Higgs and other conservatives in the country are trying to score political points off "incredibly vulnerable" transgender and nonbinary children.

Higgs, for his part, maintains that parents have a right to be informed if their children are questioning their gender identity.

Finally, Trudeau lashed out at Higgs's calls for the removal of the federal carbon price, saying the premier wanted to "scrap" Canada's fight against climate change.

In February, shortly before the carbon price went into effect in New Brunswick, Higgs said, "the federal carbon tax has and will continue to result in higher prices on everything."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2024.

Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press

Gov. DeSantis signs bill cutting mentions of climate change from state law, bans wind turbines

William Clayton
Wed, May 15, 2024


Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made waves on Wednesday as he signed into law a contentious energy bill that would remove mentions of the words “climate change” in state statutes, and ban power-generating wind turbines off the state’s coastline.

The proposed bill would remove over 50 lines in state law established in 2008 by then-Republican Gov. Charlie Crist addressing climate change and promoting renewable energy.

READ: Proposed Florida bill could remove majority of mentions to climate change from state law

The energy bill, HB 1645, includes provisions repealing parts of state law mentioning “the potential of global climate change” as a state and energy policy; banning offshore wind energy generation; easing regulations on natural gas pipelines; and eliminating the requirement for Florida state agencies to consider a list of “climate-friendly” products before making purchases.

In a social media statement, DeSantis stressed the bills’ significance, saying they would “keep windmills off our beaches, gas in our tanks, and China out of our state.”

“We’re restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots,” DeSantis stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The bill would also require the Florida Public Service Commission to develop a “cost-effective” energy infrastructure “resilient to natural and manmade threats.”

Currently, pipelines within Florida that are 15 miles or longer require certification under the Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline Siting Act. The bill proposes to change this requirement so it applies to pipelines 100 miles or longer.

The Florida Natural Gas Association reportedly applauded the bill in a news release stating it will “maintain and encourage reliable fuel sources for public utilities, remove federal and international control over Florida’s energy policies, and allow consumers to choose their energy source.”

“This law strengthens natural gas infrastructure resiliency and reliability, which are critical to the state’s economy, the ability to recover from natural disasters and the health, safety, welfare and quality of life of Floridians,” Dale Calhoun, the association’s executive director, said in a prepared statement.

Florida utilities rely heavily on natural gas to fuel power plants, with nearly 74% reliant on power electric generation according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

However, the legislation has faced criticism from Democrats and environmental groups, particularly concerning its approach to greenhouse gas emissions.

For example, the bill would eliminate part of the current Florida law that states, “The Legislature finds that the state’s energy security can be increased by reducing dependence on foreign oil. The impacts of global climate change can be reduced through the decrease of greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the implementation of alternative energy technologies can create new jobs and employment opportunities for many Floridians.”

The information will be partially replaced by sentences stating, “The purpose of the state’s energy policy is to ensure an adequate, reliable, and cost-effective supply of energy for the state in a manner that promotes the health and welfare of the public and economic growth. The Legislature intends that governance of the state’s energy policy be efficiently directed toward achieving this purpose.”

Senator Tina Polsky (D-Boca Raton) raised concerns in February, highlighting Florida’s vulnerability to climate disasters due to its coastal geography.

“We are surrounded by water, and the effects are showing,” Polsky said.

Despite ongoing concerns about rising sea levels and flooding in Florida, DeSantis’ approach has shifted since he first took office, when Republicans began publicly addressing the effects of climate change.

While campaigning for president in 2023, DeSantis promoted the use of fossil fuels and criticized the “concerted effort to increase fear” of issues such as “global warming and climate change.”

“This is driven by ideology, it’s not driven by reality,” DeSantis said during a September appearance in Texas. “In reality, human beings are safer than ever from climate disasters.”

The DeSantis administration in 2023 additionally turned down over $350 million in federal funding for lowering the cost of making Florida homes more energy efficient.

Another part of the bill will prohibit the construction or operation of offshore wind turbines in Florida-controlled waters and on property within one mile of coastlines. Currently, it is not considered feasible to locate wind turbines in those areas and none currently exist.

Senate bill sponsor Jay Collins (R-Tampa) stated the ban on wind turbines was designed to help protect wildlife and ecosystems and to prevent additional noise.

“Overall, the risk to our flora and fauna, our whales, the ecosystem around there, that’s concerning,” Collins said. “And then the tourism and noise aspect as well is also concerning.”

The bill signing occurred one day after a poll of 1,400 Floridians revealed that 68% of respondents believe the state government should take more action to address climate change. Of those surveyed, 58% attributed climate change to human activity, a decrease from the previous year. The survey also indicated that only 40% of Republicans attributed climate change to human activity.

The governor was supposed to sign the bill in Clearwater Beach, Pinellas County. However, a spokesperson informed the assembled crowd 15 minutes before the scheduled appearance that he would not be there in person due to concerns about the weather.

As sea levels rise, DeSantis signs bill deleting climate change mentions from Florida state law

Ella Nilsen, CNN
Wed, May 15, 2024 

As Florida copes with rising seas and record temperatures, lawmakers are going to exceptional lengths to delete many mentions of climate change from state laws in a new bill that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law on Wednesday, according to his official X account.

The wide-ranging law makes several changes to the state’s energy policy – in some cases deleting entire sections of state law that talk about the importance of cutting planet-warming pollution. The bill would also give preferential treatment to natural gas and ban offshore wind energy, even though there are no wind farms planned off Florida’s coast.

The bill deletes the phrase ‘climate’ eight times – often in reference to reducing the impacts of global climate change through its energy policy or directing state agencies to buy ‘climate friendly’ products when they are cost-effective and available. The bill also gets rid of a requirement that state-purchased vehicles should be fuel efficient.


“Florida rejects the designs of the left to weaken our energy grid, pursue a radical climate agenda, and promote foreign adversaries,” DeSantis said in a post on X, posting a graphic that said the law would protect the state from “green zealots.”

“What Florida is really doing is saying we’re going to deemphasize any policies that would help mitigate climate change,” said Emily Hammond, a professor of law at George Washington University.

It’s certainly not the first time Republican politicians have deleted the phrase ‘climate change’ – erasing the phrase from government websites was a commonplace activity during the Trump administration. But experts said few other states have passed bills to move away from clean energy and erase climate mentions from their laws.

“It goes further than any other state has gone in repealing its existing climate laws,” Michael Gerrard, founder of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, told CNN.

Last year was the hottest year on record for Florida, breaking yet another heat record in the state. South Florida in particular observed scorching heat index temperatures that reached as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit. Sea levels have risen as much as eight inches higher than they were in 1950, already leading to increased flooding from storms and tides alike.

“Florida is one of the most vulnerable states in the country,” Gerrard said. “All of South Florida is at great peril from sea level rise. They should be the last state to stand in the way of fighting climate change.”

Even as Florida politicians are erasing mentions of climate change from their laws, they are also increasingly focused on helping a storm and flood-prone state withstand climate impacts.

DeSantis and state lawmakers have poured over $1.1 billion into increasing community resilience to flooding and storms, according to a 2023 news release from the governor’s office. In 2019, DeSantis appointed the state’s first chief resilience officer Julia Nesheiwat – who explicitly referenced climate change and sea level rise as a “significant challenge” to the state. (Nesheiwat has since left her post and replaced by the state’s current chief resilience officer Wesley Brooks).

Florida has also accepted millions of dollars in federal funding to help reconstruct a state highway in Miami Beach – elevating the pavement and installing new pump stations to help clear the road of water during flooding events.

When it comes to other federal climate and clean energy funding, however, the state hasn’t been eager to accept. DeSantis vetoed over $29 million dollars in federal energy rebates and energy efficiency grants from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Florida was one of five states that declined to compete for $4.6 billion in federal climate grants, although numerous Florida metropolitan areas including Jacksonville, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Tampa have raised their hands for the funding instead.

Hammond and Gerrard said this approach from Florida politicians to fund programs dealing with climate impacts without acknowledging its root cause isn’t surprising. Hammond called focusing on adapting to climate change and hardening infrastructure without attribute it to a warming planet “consistent to the conservative approach.”

“They don’t want to acknowledge that climate change is happening; they acknowledge they have flooding,” Gerrard said. “If it’s about moving away from fossil fuels, they don’t like it.”



Opinion

Ron DeSantis Makes “Climate Change Isn’t Real” Official Florida Law

Hafiz Rashid
Wed, May 15, 2024 


Ron DeSantis thinks that if the words “climate change” are removed from Florida state law, nobody has to worry about it.


The Florida governor signed legislation Wednesday that would eliminate climate change as a priority in the state’s energy policies set to go into effect July 1. The legislation also takes out most of the references to climate change in Florida law, bans offshore wind, and weakens regulations on natural gas pipelines.


“The legislation I signed today [will] keep windmills off our beaches, gas in our tanks, and China out of our state,” DeSantis told Florida’s Voice, an outlet friendly to the Florida governor. “We’re restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots.”

What’s the point of such a bill? Florida faces many threats from a warming climate, including severe hurricanes, higher temperatures, and rising sea levels and flooding. In many cases, the bill is largely symbolic: the state doesn’t have any offshore wind thanks to low wind speed and its severe hurricanes. Instead, it seems to be just the latest example of DeSantis attempting to gain attention from Republicans nationally through embracing the culture wars.


Previously, DeSantis has passed anti-LGBTQ legislation as well as book bans, and he even banned lab-grown meat despite the industry still being in its infancy. All the while, his popularity has waned in Florida, particularly after he dropped out of the presidential race. This latest bill could put Florida residents at risk from increased weather disasters, while also putting more pressure on the state’s already struggling insurance industry. But DeSantis seems more concerned about his image beyond Florida, and is likely thinking ahead to 2028.

DeSantis, amid criticism, signs Florida bill making climate change a lesser state priority

The Associated Press
Wed, May 15, 2024 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Climate change will be a lesser priority in Florida and largely disappear from state statutes under legislation signed Wednesday by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that also bans power-generating wind turbines offshore or near the state’s lengthy coastline.

Critics said the measure made law by the former Republican presidential hopeful ignores the reality of climate change threats in Florida, including projections of rising seas, extreme heat and flooding and increasingly severe storms.

Florida strip clubs: Gov. DeSantis signs bill requiring strippers to be at least 21

It takes effect July 1 and would also boost expansion of natural gas, reduce regulation on gas pipelines in the state and increase protections against bans on gas appliances such as stoves, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

DeSantis, who suspended his presidential campaign in January and later endorsed his bitter rival Donald Trump, called the bill a common-sense approach to energy policy.

“We’re restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots,” DeSantis said in a post on the X social media platform.

Florida is already about 74% reliant on natural gas to power electric generation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Opponents of the bill DeSantis signed say it removes the word “climate’ in nine different places, moves the state’s energy goals away from efficiency and the reduction of greenhouse gases blamed for a warming planet.

“This purposeful act of cognitive dissonance is proof that the governor and state Legislature are not acting in the best interests of Floridians, but rather to protect profits for the fossil fuel industry,” said Yoca Arditi-Rocha, executive director of the nonprofit Cleo Institute, which advocates for climate change education and engagement.

No rainbow lights: Sunshine Skyway Bridge goes dark for Pride 2024

The legislation also eliminates requirements that government agencies hold conferences and meetings in hotels certified by the state’s environmental agency as “green lodging” and that government agencies make fuel efficiency the top priority in buying new vehicles. It also ends a requirement that Florida state agencies look at a list of “climate-friendly” products before making purchases.

In 2008, a bill to address climate change and promote renewable energy passed unanimously in both legislative chambers and was signed into law by then-Gov. Charlie Crist, at the time a Republican. Former Gov. Rick Scott, now a Republican U.S. senator, took steps after taking the governor’s office in 2011 to undo some of that measure and this latest bill takes it even further.

The measure signed by DeSantis would also launch a study of small nuclear reactor technology, expand the use of vehicles powered by hydrogen and enhance electric grid security, according to the governor’s office.

Why African Homophobia is Still the Real Western Import

BY DANIEL VOLMAN

 MAY 15, 2024

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African political leaders and religious zealots (both Christian and Muslim) have used homophobia as a tool for political and religious power for many years. They say that same-sex relations and gay rights are imports from the west. They have used homophobia to portray themselves as nationalists and defenders of African and religious values. They have used homophobia to frighten and divide people to mobilize popular support and votes.

But it is homophobia, as others have said before me, that is the real import from the West. And the whole panoply of weapons employed by the homophobes in Uganda and elsewhere in Africa are themselves colonial imports, ranging from sodomy laws that were a legacy of colonial rule to the parliaments that pass these laws.

And homophobia is growing stronger in Africa. In mid-March of 2023, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was quoted by the Monitor newspaper website as saying that the “Western countries should stop wasting the time of humanity by imposing their social practices on us.” And Kenyan President William Ruto declared at the same time that “our culture and religion does not allow same-sex marriages.”

On April 2, 2023, Museveni called upon African leaders to reject “the promotion of homosexuality” and said homosexuality was “a big threat and danger to the procreation of human race.” He said, “Africa should provide the lead to save the world from this degeneration and decadence, which is really very dangerous for humanity. If people of opposite sex stop appreciating one another then how will the human race be propagated.”

On December 29, 2023, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye said at an event in the country’s eastern Cankuzo Province, where he answered questions from journalists and members of the public, that powerful nations “should keep” their aid if it comes with an obligation to give rights to LGBTQ+ persons: “For me, I think that if we find these people in Burundi they should be taken to stadiums and stoned, and doing so would not be a crime.”

In Ghana, parliamentarians have been debating the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values bill since August 2021. Same-sex relations are already punishment by up to three years in jail under current law, but this new bill will introduce punishment for even identifying as LGBTQ+. It will also criminalize being transgender and includes jail sentences of up to 10 years for advocating for LGBTQ+ rights. On February 28, 2024, the Ghanaian parliament passed the bill, imposing three-year prison terms for people convicted of identifying as gay, five-year terms for people convicted of organizing gay rights groups or “promoting” gay rights, and five-year terms for anyone convicted of engaging in gay sex. The bill has not yet been sent to President Nana Akufo-Addo for his signature.

John Dramani Mahama, the former president of Ghana and leading presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress, said during a meeting with members of the clergy in eastern Ghana that gay marriage and being transgender were against his Christian beliefs. “The faith I have will not allow me to accept a man marrying a man, and a woman marrying a woman,” Mahama said while responding to a church leader’s call against LBGTQ+ people. “I don’t believe that anyone can get up and say I feel like a man although I was born a woman and so I will change and become a man,” he added.  Mahama did not say whether or not he would sign the anti-LGBTQ+ bill should he win the presidential election in December 2024.

In Kenya, opposition parliamentarian Peter Kaluma introduced the Family Protection Bill. The draft of the bill, which was seen by Reuters, mirrors many aspects of the Ugandan law and would punish gay sex with prison for up to ten years or even death in some cases. The new bill is “cut from the same cloth” as the Ugandan legislation, said  Kevin Muiruri, a Nairobi-based lawyer. The bill is now being vetted by a parliamentary committee, which can then refer it to the full chamber for a vote. And Kenyan President William Ruto, an evangelical Christian, has already endorsed the legal repression of LGBTQ+ rights. “We cannot travel down the road of women marrying their fellow women and men marrying their fellow men,” he declared in March 2023.

And in April 2024, Constant Mutamba, a member of the National Assembly in the Democratic Republic of Congo and leader of the Dynamic Progressive Revolutionary Opposition platform (the main opposition party in the country) introduced a bill to impose prison sentences of five to 10 years on anyone who “commits a homosexual act (including acts and gestures).”

It would be simplistic to explain everything as the result of external actors, said Barbara Bompani in a October 26, 2023 article in the Review of African Political Economy. And she is quite correct to insist on the primacy of internal factors and actors. But American right-wing evangelical Christians clearly play a key role in mobilizing, organizing, supporting, and funding homophobic groups and individuals in Africa. This has already caused enormous damage in a number of African countries. And all the signs point in the direction of greater legal persecution and violence against LGBTQ+ people in Africa.

African homophobes say they are standing up to the West and saving the continent and the world from homosexuality, but they are just serving their own selfish interests and the interests of right-wing Christian nationalists in the West. Gay communities in Africa and the West share a common interest in fighting back, and civil society groups and all genuine supporters of human rights are increasingly active. The decision of the Biden administration to suspend Uganda from the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act was a good first step, but people in the United States and around the world need to press for further action. As Eric Gilari, an LGBTQ+ activist in Kenya said, “one day we shall defeat these assaults on our human rights and triumph in equality and inclusion for LGBTQ persons within African countries. This ideal must be our guiding light in this moment of darkness and tears.”

This article was excerpted from a more detailed article that was posted on the website of the African Security Research Project.

Daniel Volman is the Director of the African Security Research Project in Washington, DC (www.africansecurity.org), and a specialist on US national security policy toward Africa and African security issues. 

Target cites employee safety in limiting Pride collection to select stores



 Citing a sense of safety among its 400,000 employees, Target will not offer its collection of Pride-related products at all of its retail stores.

 File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | 

May 10 (UPI) -- Citing threats affecting a sense of safety among its 400,000 employees, Target will not offer its collection of Pride-related products at all of its retail stores.

The Minnesota-based discount retail chain said in a statement issued Friday it will still participate in Pride Month festivities in June, but is making the move to reduce the availability of its assortment of products aimed at celebrating Pride Month because of safety.

"Since introducing this year's collection, we've experienced threats impacting our team members' sense of safety and well-being while at work," Target said in the statement.

"Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior. Our focus now is on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year."

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In a separate statement, Target said the decision about which stores will offer its Pride product line would be "based on historical sales performance."

The retailer added its Pride+ Business Council will continue to host internal events and experiences for interested team members. Target has a long history of supporting LGBTQ+ initiatives and will once again participate in Pride events in its hometown of Minneapoli

Target was founded in 1902 and operates approximately 1,956 stores in the United States.

The company has faced criticism in the past for its LGBTQ+ merchandise.

Conservative activist groups have threatened employees in some locations and organized boycotts because of LGBTQ+ displays in stores, leading to Friday's news.

Last year, Republican governors from Indiana, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and South Carolina also spoke out against Target's support of an organization that works to end bullying in schools based on sexual and gender identity.

The governors also suggested Target's Pride month clothes and merchandise might violate child protection laws in their states.