Petrelis Files

US Gay Hater Rev's Bizarre Theory
Why Ugandan David Kato Murdered

Over the years I've advocated for gay tolerance in Jamaica, and I can say with all honestly that the most frequently cited reason for brutal attacks and gruesome deaths of homosexuals and transgender persons is a supposed gay romance gone sour. From letter-writers to the local papers up to the police forces, homo-on-homo hate is behind the crimes. Such thinking is now on display in the tragic murder of our gay Ugandan brother David Kato.

I learned this thanks to a column at the Boston Globe's site written by my friend Rob Anderson. We hooked up in 2006 when a call went out for vigils on the one-year anniversary of Iran hanging two gay teenagers, and 23-year-old Rob organized a well-attended speak out in Washington's Dupont Circle park, that also generated mainstream media including an excellent piece in the Washington Post, "Pictures from an execution."

Rob and I have kept in touch and he's doing us all a huge favor in putting this reportage out about the nutty and dangerous Scott Lively's views on the Kato killing. That's Lively in the photo.

From Rob's essay in the Boston Globe:

After the brutal murder of a Ugandan gay rights activist Wednesday, a Massachusetts preacher accused of helping incite anti-gay sentiment during a trip to the African nation responded to the killing with a feeble, callous statement. The pastor, Scott Lively, also offered his own bizarre theory about who may have killed activist David Kato by bludgeoning him to death with a hammer.

The killing is still being investigated, but gay rights activists in Uganda have connected Kato's murder to the anti-gay climate fostered by a trip there by Lively and other American preachers in 2009. ...

But in a statement posted on the website Defend the Family today, the Springield pastor made no mention of his 2009 trip, nor did he condemn the murder or offer his condolences. Lively also said he would "caution the media against assuming Cato’s [sic] murder was a hate crime."

Instead, Lively suggested Kato may have been killed by someone with whom he had been romantically involved, despite the fact that no one familiar with the case has suggested Kato was killed by a gay person, let alone someone with whom he had had a sexual relationship. There remains a "possibility" Kato was "killed by a 'gay' lover," Lively wrote, and likened Kato's death to that of Carlos Castro, a Portuguese journalist who was allegedly beaten to death and castrated by a male model in New York City earlier this month. The link between Kato and Castro — besides the fact that they were both openly gay men who had been brutally murdered — is unclear. But Lively has linked homosexuality to violence in the past. In his book Pink Swastika, Lively blames Nazi violence on homosexuality. ...

One way to counter the disgusting nonsense of Lively and his ilk, while also honoring the bravery of David Kato and all gay Ugandans fighting for their well-being and very lives, or seeking asylum in the United Kingdom and everywhere else, is to show up on Thursday, February 3 at 6 pm at Harvey Milk Plaza in San Francisco for an important rally. Click here for more info on the action.