In a recent revelation, it has come to light that Rep. Tim Walberg, a Republican member of the House of Representatives representing Michigan, expressed support for Uganda’s stringent anti-LGBT law during a speech in October. The Young Turks brought attention to this matter, uncovering Walberg’s remarks made at a national prayer breakfast in Uganda, attended by the country’s president.
During his speech, Rep. Walberg, a former pastor, criticized entities like the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and some elements within the U.S. administration for their opposition to Uganda’s law criminalizing homosexuality. Enacted in May, the law imposes 20-year sentences for “promoting homosexuality” and includes the death penalty for “serial offenders.”
Notably, Walberg also took the opportunity to express his disapproval of the existence of transgender individuals, stating, “I’ve been told all throughout COVID and everything else, ‘Follow the science.’ But when they come to understanding that there’s male and female and God created it, that science and to lie to our children, to groom our children, to think that they can determine whatever they want… That’s not science.”
He urged Uganda’s President Musevini to stand firm against global pressures, emphasizing the need for the nation’s solidarity despite international opposition.
While Rep. Walberg aligns with Uganda’s anti-LGBT law, it’s worth noting that Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas spoke out against it online after its enactment.
This is not the first instance of Rep. Walberg opposing LGBT rights. In 2015, he cosponsored a bill attempting to amend the U.S. Constitution to explicitly state that marriages are only between men and women, allowing states to refuse recognition of same-sex marriages. Although the bill was not brought to a floor vote, the Supreme Court’s landmark Obergefell v. Hodges case later mandated nationwide recognition and performance of same-sex marriages.
Within a month of that ruling, Rep. Walberg cosponsored another bill aiming to formally declare the House’s opposition to the Supreme Court’s decision, which, like the previous bill, was never brought to a vote on the floor.