GAY ORG WITHDRAWS SUPPORT FOR COPE
The South African Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (SA GLAAD) says that it has withdrawn its support for fledgling political party COPE in the 2009 elections due to the party’s choice of Methodist Bishop Mvume Dandala as its presidential candidate.
In a statement, the organisation listed its reasons for retracting its call for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual (GLBT) community to vote for the party. These include:
- COPE’s choice of presidential candidate – The appointment of religious figures in positions of political power and influence as a direct threat to secular democracy;
- The appointment of a presidential candidate associated with a religious group which has in the past unequivocally demonstrated its opposition to GLBT rights and equality;
- COPE’s apparent decision to change into a religious political entity and the threat this poses to equality for all in SA, particularly with reference to GLBT rights.
“SA GLAAD views a secular democracy as the only safe way forward where ALL people in SA of all faiths, races, cultures and diversities can enjoy freedom and equality together,” said the organisation.
It said that Bishop Dandala, who served as the head of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa between 1998 and 2003, was also a past co-chairperson of a group called SACLA (South African Christian Leadership Assembly). SA GLAAD claims that SACLA actively opposed the passing of legislation which legalised same gender marriage in South Africa.
“A President who is also an ordained religious minister and who had filled high offices in religious bodies – would simply by that fact alone ensure that SA would no longer be run by a secular government, but a theocracy – a country whose government is run by a church or religion,” said SA GLAAD.
I agree. I agree 100%
I’m also agree. Thanx so much for reviewing such a very conceal information. Really, as from today I HATE COPE.
true. I was so in cope but now i hate it. But in my mind i think after 5 month Rev he will be down Lekota up,because Rev is clean than Lekota let wait and see.
Gay bigots!. As of now, I am withdrawing my support of SA GLAAD! As a gay Christian, yes, Christian, I no longer wish to associate myself with any gay organisation that thinks because it has the word “gay” attached to it, that it automatically speaks for all gays.
It doesn’t.
The rights of gays are protected by our constitution, no matter what the head of COPE believes in his personal capacity.
Let’s not forget there are THOUSANDS of gay Christians out there, who also dislike being dictated to by gay bigots.
It’s like saying all blacks must withdraw support from the DA just because the leader is not black.. Duh!
Wait a moment. Your logic is flawed, GLAAD isn’t saying it’s withdrawing support because he’s christian, but rather because he seems not to have supported gay rights.
Neither do they purport to speak for all gay people. They just said they don’t support the party anymore.
I think its reasonable to err on the side of scepticism when it comes to religious leaders. Besides the great Desmond Tutu, Christians tend to value their views on the bible above any laws. And that is the danger of non-secular leaders.
I think it is a bit overdramatized. Just because Dandala is/was a “man of the cloth” does not mean that we will all of a sudden lose all our rights. Look at the FANTASTIC Bishop Desmond Tutu. He is also a bishop, and an example for how people really should be. COPE is trying to bring back Mandela’s dream for South Africa from 1994, and that dream led us to be as free as LGBTI people as we are today. I seriously SERIOUSLY doubt that if Cope would by some miracle win the election, they would retract all rights of LGBTI people, because of “religion”. They are forever saying that we should (and the ANC should) stick to our constitution. So I fail to see any danger here.
Nahh, I think this is making a mountain out of a mole-heap. Cope had, and will still have my vote come Apr 22.
Even though I’d much rather vote for aunty Helen, I know that my best chance as a single citizen, to break the strangle-hold of the ANC or to at least strip Zuma-ass of some power. The DA, however wonderful they are, culd never get enough votes to do that, because of the “white party” stigma. So I’ll vote strategically for Cope this time around, and perhaps next election, when politics are more balanced and fair, I can vote for whom my heart tells me to.
GLAAD and COPE. I don’t think GLAAD is making a mountain out of a molehill. All the major religions and their various handbooks (Bibles, Qurans) have expressed themselves against gays and caused a lot of suffering, even if some of them nowadays are trying to soften that aspect with their usual falseness and opportunism.
Although Desmond Tutu personally is in favour of gay rights, we should remember that his own church, the Anglican, worldwide is currently being torn in two on the very issue of gays as clerics, with the African sections being the most anti-gay – and unashamedly and openly so. And as for the Catholics, their current leader, Ratzinger has made some horrifically critical anti-gay statements recently.
Quite apart from religion, in general, I cannot see in which way COPE offers any really different policies to those of the ANC.