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Rape is a frequent occurrence in South Africa. An article on the AWID women's rights website states 150 women are thought to be raped every day in South Africa. “Corrective rape” is also common in South Africa. Five hundred lesbians are estimated to be raped each year. Some men appear to believe that lesbians can be turned straight by being raped. Trying to comprehend how anybody can picture rape as “corrective” or therapeutic could herniate one's mind. Forced sex is in no way medically healing or corrective. Violence and abuse do not improve people. Straight women find rape and sexual abuse so deeply traumatic that they have a reduced desire for sex. Trust is an important element in sexual relationships. Rape can make it difficult for women to trust men. When men rape lesbians, they will not make lesbians want to have sex with men. In fact, they will probably make lesbians even less likely to want to have sex with men.

Sexual orientation and sexual experience are very different. Heterosexual experiences do not make a person straight. Homosexual sexual experiences do not make a person gay. Many gay men and lesbians had straight sexual relationships before they had a same-sex relationship. If having one or two straight sexual relationships could makes a gay person straight, there would be very few gay men and lesbians in the world. Even a pleasant straight sexual relationship cannot make a gay person straight. Rape is never a pleasant sexual experience.

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In Arizona, nineteen people, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords, were shot. Six victims of the shooting died from their wounds. Because the motives of the shooter remain unknown, care needs to be taken when making conclusions. The shootings might be a wakeup call for politicians and political commentators to stick to the issues, to refrain from inflammatory rhetoric and to avoid the use of military terms when discussing how to defeat politicians.

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David Kato, a Ugandan gay rights activist, was murdered in January. When the Ugandan newspaper Rolling Stone published the names and photographs of people suspected of being gay, David Kato was able to get the courts to issue a ban on publishing the names and photos of homosexuals. From news reports, we gather David received threats, after his name and photograph appeared in the newspaper. In January 2011, he was murdered. According to a news report, he was hit in the head with a hammer.

Levels of homophobia and hatred appear are so high in Uganda that homosexuals might be treated with disrespect at their funerals. At David Kato's funeral, an article in Vancouver Sun indicates the pastor condemned homosexuality. When people in the village would not bury the remains, David Kato's friends carried the remains to the cemetery and buried him. A You Tube video titled “Burial of Gay Activist David Kato in Uganda” shows film that appears to have been taken at David Kato's funeral. Unfortunately, not all of the video is in English and the subtitles do not translate major portions of the video. What can be seen in the video is a period of confrontation that is not appropriate at a funeral.

Two other You Tube videos about David Kato's murder, including “A Tribute to David Kato” and “Ugandan Gay Rights Activist 'David Kato' Bludgeoned to Death!” (CNN News video).

An article on the PinkNews system states David Kato was an advocacy officer at Sexual Minorities Uganda. David was described as patient, persistent, intense and stubborn. The world will miss David Kato's tremendous courage and inner strength, in the face of overwhelming hatred.