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| Credit: Sandy Wassenmiller |
Rick Perry's
response to Obama's and Clinton's speeches condemning discrimination against homosexuals throughout the world is telling. The speeches both concentrated on condemning criminalization of homosexuality and violence against homosexuals. (Neither Obama nor Clinton favors same-sex marriage.) Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and Iran all impose the death penalty for homosexuality. Homosexuality is still criminalized (usually with prison sentences of 10 years or more) throughout most of Africa, the Muslim world, and the Caribbean.
For Rick Perry to condemn Obama's and Clinton's speeches and characterize their objections as a war on people of faith is revelatory and repugnant. They are not waging war against this person of faith, because my faith tells me that Jesus would deem the punishment of homosexuals antithetical to his message: love the most 'disreputable' person you encounter as you do yourself.
