Update on Grassley and the Family, Uganda and Gays

Posted on December 12, 2009 by Trish Nelson

Update on Grassley and the Family, Uganda and Gays

On Wednesday, BFIA posted an action alert by Alta Price, M.D., calling on Iowans to ask Senator Grassley to use his Family connections to save gays in Uganda.  On Thursday, Rachel Maddow reported the following:

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley has also come under fire on this subject because of his alleged ties to the secretive religious organization known as the Family, most famous for operating the C Street house in Washington. The Family has been intensely involved in Ugandan religion and politics for years, and reportedly involved in the origins of the “kill the gays” bill specifically. It was reportedly announced for the first time at a Family sponsored event, the Ugandan prayer breakfast.

Mr. Grassley still hasn‘t spoken out against the bill, but he did through a spokesperson today say that he has never had anything to do with the Family ever.

Senator Grassley is described multiple times as a member of the Family in Jeff Sharlet‘s book-length expose of the group. We contacted Jeff today to get his response to Mr. Grassley denying he‘s ever had anything to do with the Family, Jeff told us that he stands by his reporting in his book. He said that as recently as yesterday, he learned from Family sources that Chuck Grassley traveled to Uganda in the mid-1980s at the request of the Family.

Whether or not Chuck Grassley is a member of the Family or not, we are still very curious as to what the senator thinks about the prospect of putting people to death for being gay.

We are still waiting to hear from him on that subject and we live in hope.  Check out the video


Also:

Justin Uebelhor, of One Iowa, said 700 Iowans contacted Grassley’s office about the issue during the first 48 hours of the campaign [note from BFIA:  Grassley's comments to Rachel Maddow were that he was contacted by “a few” constituents].

The Globe-Gazzette reported on December 10 that Grassley's office shared his constituents' concerns with the State Department, which said there has been “back channel” communication with Ugandan officials about the issue.

According to the Globe Gazette, Grassley “doesn’t plan to speak out on the issue or appeal to Ugandan parliamentarians.”

And this from the Iowa Independent: 

Grassley released a statement Friday night to the Iowa Independent declaring the proposal “un-Christian.”

Grassley said his “commitment to traditional values” and “respect for life” holds true both in the United States and around the world. So with that in mind, after he learned more about the proposed legislation through the U.S. State Department, he was able to conclude that it is wrong and should be rejected.

“Based on what I’ve been able to learn about the legislation and from the stand point that I’m a born again Christian, I can tell you that I don’t agree with this un-Christian and unjust  proposal, and I hope the Ugandan officials dismiss it,” he said.


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