RELIGION HAS BEEN USED to stoke some of the major conflicts the world has known. Many were burned at stake and termed as heretics when they had disagreement as to how the church was proceeding.
MANY CRUSADES WERE FOUGHT in the name of God, never minding the fact that Jesus told Peter that there are legions of angels in heaven and if He (Jesus) wanted a fight, His Father would send them.
THE HIDEOUS OF THEM WERE Children Crusades which saw thousands of children leaving Europe to fight a battle they had no knowledge of. Along the way, many died from starvation etc.
EVEN AS THE WORLD HAS TRANSITIONED to modernity, fundamentalists in many religions, including Islam are still rattling the world with suicide bombings, killing innocent people in the name of fighting for God.
AT A GATHERING OF CHURCH LEADERS at the Centennial Memorial Pavilion to present their political manifestos, five of the leading Liberian presidential candidates promised to reject gay rights and accept polygamy.
A LOCAL NEWSPAPER SAID THE candidates, Liberty Party’s Cllr. Charles Brumskine, MOVEE’s Dr. Mills Jones, ANC’s Alexander Cummings, UPP’s McDonald Wento and independent candidate Pastor Aloysius Kpadeh.
MACDONALD WENTO OF THE UNITED PEOPLE’S Party said “The Bible must be our law. Liberia has forgotten the Bible. We will uphold the laws. Gay right [is] not part of my agenda.”
THE CANDIDATES ALSO AGREED to uphold the cultural practice of polygamy because such practice does not violate any law of Liberia.
“AS THE PRESIDENT OF THIS COUNTRY, I will uphold the laws. I will swear to support and defend the constitution of Liberia. Homosexuality is a crime.” Brumskine said.
WHAT’S INTERESTING TO NOTE IS that these candidates are being allowed by men who are supposedly religious to pledge persecution of a minority group in Liberia, even though the key points and messages about Jesus was love as he rightly summarized the Bible in two point: Love God and love your neighbor.
LIBERIA’S LESBIAN, GAY, BI-SEXUAL TRANSGENDER AND QUEER (LGBTQ) population currently stands at 40,000 and of that number, a local organization Stop Aids in Liberia (SAIL) has been able to work with 14,000 in the provision of sex education and adequate awareness.
A TALK WITH SOME MEMBERS OF Liberia’s LGBTQ community revealed that they aren’t advocating for same sex marriage but rather for the repealing of laws which infringes on their rights.
SUBCHAPTER D (RELATING TO SEXUAL OFFENCES) of Chapter 14 of the Penal Law of Liberia criminalizes voluntary sodomy, as follows:
SECTION 14.74. VOLUNTARY SODOMY. A person who engages in deviate sexual intercourse under circumstance not stated in Section 14.72 [relating to aggravated involuntary sodomy] or 14.73 [relating to involuntary sodomy] have committed a first degree misdemeanor.
WHAT TWO CONSENTING ADULTS DO IN THEIR comfort of their bedroom does not concern anyone and certainly does not need to be legislated.
AT THE HOSPITALS, THEY ARE MOSTLY refused treatment by those who have taken oath to save lives. The scorn and look on the faces of nurses and doctors speak volume and say much about how they treat their patients.
AT A TIME WHEN THE WORLD IS ACCEPTING people for their differences and welcoming them into fold, Liberia’s presidential candidates must stop chasing away potential voters because of bedroom choices.