

Rachel Maddow followed up on her interview with Jeff Sharlet, author of 2008’s ‘The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power,’ and contributing editor at Harper’s on Wednesday evening to discuss new developments in the ties between ‘The Family’ and the Ugandan gay execution legislation.

Sharlet reveals that David Bahati, the Uganda legislator backing the bill, reportedly first floated the idea of executing gays during The Family’s Uganda National Prayer Breakfast in 2008.

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Maddow points out that David Bahati is scheduled to attend The Family’s National Prayer Breakfast here in the U.S. in February 2010. That’s the same ‘Family’ as Uganda’s National Prayer Breakfast.

The liberal host, herself a lesbian, asks Sharlet about that 2008 meeting, “Do we know if there were any Americans…elected officials present? “We haven’t been able to confirm this,” Sharlet notes, a Christian business consultant was present, and possibly “Senator James Inhofe.” He explains that Inhofe (R-OK) has been “especially active in the Ugandan National Prayer Breakfasts,” and that Family member Inhofe visits there twice a year.

Sharlet spoke of a rift within The Family over supporting the Ugandan legislation, though not one of them has come out publicly to speak against it.

And not only is David Bahati scheduled to attend the National Prayer Breakfast here in the U.S. in February, but President Barack Obama is a scheduled speaker as well.

“If not, there’s the prospect of an American president speaking at an event before an invited audience that includes the guy… who introduced legislation to execute people for being gay in his country with the support and encouragement of American quacks like ex-gay therapists,” said Maddow, apparently referring to her guest Monday evening, gay-to-straight “therapist” Richard Cohen. “Wow.”

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Maddow was joined by Harper’s Magazine contributing editor Jeff Sharlet to talk about the secretive religious group, The Family, and how it influenced the drafting of Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill.

This video is from MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, broadcast Dec. 9, 2009.





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