Oregon Public Broadcasting

A man who was deeply involved with Oregon's culture wars is defending a recent trip to Uganda. April Baer reports.

During the 80s and 90s, Scott Lively stood at the center of the Oregon Citizens' Alliance.  That group was behind several of Oregon's most divisive ballot measures concerning gay rights.

Lively was one of three Americans attending a conference in Uganda last year on what organizers called the gay agenda.

One month later, one participant introduced a controversial proposal to make homosexuality a crime.

Reached by phone on the East Coast, Lively says the law goes too far and shocks him. He says his comments at the conference did not call for capital punishment.

Scott Lively: "I used the analogy, I was arrested for drunk driving in my pre-Christian days, and I was given the option of diversion, instead of losing my license or going to jail.  And I suggested to Uganda that they should follow that same sort of approach."

Jeana Frazzini  is with Basic Rights Oregon, a group that was formed to fight the Oregon Citizen’s Alliance.

She says Lively's remarks and involvement in Uganda have contributed to a climate that is not safe for gay people.

The Ugandan parliament has not yet passed the proposal.