A man of character & courage: Zimbabwean PM Morgan Tsvangirai refuses to throw LGBT people under the bus due to homophobia in Africa

(Mr. Romney, this is what character looks like. You take an unpopular position on an important human rights issue and you stick with it because it is the right thing to do.)

Zimbabwean PM Morgan Tsvangirai has caused an uproar from conservatives in his country over his support of LGBT citizens.

“I want to put finality and closure to an issue that has been misinterpreted, the issue of the so-called gay rights. My beliefs on this issue are a matter of public record. My beliefs manifest themselves in my practice. I am a Christian associated with the Methodist church. I am a father. I am a grandfather. I am a family man. I am a Zimbabwean and I know the strong feelings of Zimbabweans about this issue. I have those strong feelings too but in the end, Zimbabweans are making their own Constitution and it is that Constitution which will bind every Zimbabwean. What I refuse to do as a loyal son of God and as a social democrat is to persecute, to judge, to condemn and to vilify people for their own opinions because judgment is a preserve of God the Almighty. The Book of Luke Chapter 6 verse 37: “Do not judge and you will not be judged, do not condemn and you will not be condemned. The Book of John Chapter 8 verse 7: “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone… So while I may differ with them, as a Christian and as a social democrat, I refuse to throw a stone at them."

Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/2011/11/zimbabwean-pm-morgan-tsvangirai-refuses-to-throw-a-stone-at-gays-in-response-to-outrage.html#ixzz1chw2yoFZ