is now justifying the prosecution, imprisonment, and potential execution of Ugandan LGBT people and their families. As Adventists, and regardless of the church’s statements on human sexuality, we believe that the Seventh-day Adventist church should never stand for the violation of basic human rights. The recent End It Now campaign is just the latest example of our church’s track record of standing against violence and abuse. Because of that track record, we do not accept that one of the church’s top-ranking leaders can support legalized violence against a minority group or use the pulpits and authority of the worldwide church to do so." On December 21, the Adventist News Network in Silver Spring, Maryland issued a press release saying that the New Vision article did not "convey an accurate representation of his [Ruguri's] intentions or the voted position of the church regarding homosexuality." The ANN article quoted Ruguri declaring he had no knowledge of the contents of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill and that the newspaper had misrepresented his actual views: "It is unfortunate that the media took the liberty to extend my statements to suggest what I did not say or imply. I have never seen that bill. Mine was a general statement to disapprove of homosexual practice and behavior. Our church is a ministry of mercy, and as a minister in the Seventh-day Adventist Church I cannot condemn homosexuals to death or to hell." Jamaican Adventist Politicians and Criminalization of Homosexuality In July 2012, Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Jamaica's newly elected Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller, urging her to take stronger action than her predecessors to protect the basic human rights of homosexuals in the country. According to HRW, in the eight years since its 2004 report, "Hated to Death: Homophobia, Violence, and Jamaica's HIV/AIDs Epidemic," "attacks on homosexual people or people perceived as being homosexual or transgender appear to remain commonplace." Jamaica is widely described by rights organizations as among the most dangerous places in the world to be a homosexual, with the authorities often turning a blind eye to assaults and murders of gays, lesbians, and their allies. With more than a quarter of a million Seventh-day Adventists, Jamaica also has among the highest percentages of Adventists of any country in the world. Approximately 10% of all Jamaicans are Adventist. Numerous Adventists have served in prominent positions in government. In a November 2011 interview with a