Facebook has shut down, at least temporarily, one of the largest and most diverse groups opposing genocide in Uganda — without explanation.

The group disappeared sometime Friday and, despite numerous inquiries by members, has not been restored to service.

In the description for a new group formed to demand restoration of service, conservative Christian professor Warren Throckmorton says:

On Friday, January 29 Facebook removed the group Speak Out Against Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009. There was no warning or explanation. Multiple inquiries have been made by many members of the group with no replies as yet.

Whatever the reason, please join this group if you would like to see the group returned. The group was the original effort to bring together a diverse group of people to speak out against the bill.

The URL of the Speak Out group is www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=198541255168 and had over 15,000 members when it was removed. Please write Facebook and ask for an explanation and for the group to be reinstated.

The original group was created by Throckmorton and by Andrew Marin, author of Love Is An Orientation, with voluntary support from Exodus co-founder Michael Bussee, who is now an openly gay man.

The group faced opposition from multiple directions: Conservative U.S. “Christians” including Peter LaBarbera who favor the mass execution of LGBT people, and LGBT activists who felt that Throckmorton was using a legitimate human-rights issue to confer legitimacy upon his program of “sexual identity therapy.”

Facebook still features many anti-genocide groups, including several created by equality activist Lisa Talmadge. A quick search suggests that Facebook may have cracked down on a multitude of pro-genocide groups — I found only a couple of survivors this morning.

The Only One Mommy Facebook group was created by Liberty Counsel attorney Rena Lindevaldsen and ex-gay activist Debbie Thurman to affirm the illegal activities of ex-gay activist Lisa Miller against daughter Isabella Miller-Jenkins and former partner Janet Jenkins.

Since 2004, with the help of Liberty Counsel, Miller has violated repeated court orders in Vermont and Virginia to respect Isabella’s visitation rights with Jenkins. And since Jan. 1, Miller has violated another court order requiring her to transfer custody to Jenkins. Instead, Miller abducted Isabella and went into hiding — presumably somewhere among fundamentalist churches that are allied with the Liberty Counsel.

The Facebook group’s activities in support of this kidnapping are now a legal liability — as is the Facebook group’s efforts to silence dissenters who care for the welfare of Isabella and Jenkins, not just Lisa and the Liberty Counsel.

So now Thurman has announced the hurried closure of this public group and the creation of a new, secret, invitation-only group. In a message to group members today, Thurman said:

Dear Folks,

I am letting you know about a major change. Only One Mommy is going defunct ASAP and will be replaced by a new group (still to be named) that will be created by Linda Wall. We want all members to know about the change so you can have the option of sending Linda a message (her FB profile is under Linda Marie Wall) to join the new group ASAP, if you wish to.

Linda Wall is the leader of Lighthouse Policy, a Virginia antigay fundamentalist project which rejects morality, freedom, civility, and religious freedom in favor of a Christian Right war against infidels, abortion, and homosexuality. Her project affirms the abduction and justifies it with Miller’s court-disproven defamations against Jenkins. Please contact Ms. Wall and politely challenge her efforts to aid and abet child abduction — and please consider reporting this activity on behalf of kidnapping to Facebook.

Truth Wins Out upholds the U.S. First Amendment right of private individuals and organizations to express viewpoints that others may find offensive. This freedom does not extend to defamation, nor does it extend to the promotion and commission of illegal and violent activities against other people. Nor does this freedom require private institutions such as Facebook to violate their own principles and host content that violates their policies or that is contrary to their mission.

The following is an opinion written by Christina Engela and Cobus Fourie of South Africa Gay & Lesbian Alliance against Defamation, which has played a leading role in resisting the current evangelical campaign to exterminate sexually active LGBT and HIV-positive Ugandans.

There is an immensely troubling trend of tolerance towards violent hate speech and defamation creeping into the ethos of Facebook’s abuse department.

In many instances the Abuse Department does not take into account the company’s own terms of use and bill of rights and responsibilities in favour of emetic moral relativism.

I have sent emails to the abuse@facebook.com address about the vile hate speech and defamation and violation of Facebook’s own policies regarding the following two platforms which promote genocide in Uganda. I have received no feedback at all in more than two weeks.

The problematic platforms are:

We are Ugandans and we do not support Gay

and

Speak Loud for Family: Support anti-homosexuality bill ‘09

and there might be many more. (Read More)

Two Facebook groups have been created by U.S. and Ugandan evangelicals to espouse antigay violence and promote legislation requiring the execution of Ugandan same-sex-attracted persons.

They are:

Speak Loud for Family: Support anti-homosexuality bill ‘09

We are Ugandans and we do not support Gay

Acting on behalf of the LGBT Ugandans who must already remain in hiding, and who face execution starting in January 2010, Facebook members who favor equality and human rights have — since last week — reported the groups, and individual members who espouse violence.

Thus far, Facebook has taken no action. Please continue to report these groups and individual members who espouse violence or execution. If no action is taken, please write to abuse@facebook.com.

Truth Wins Out invites you to follow us via Twitter and Facebook.

On Facebook, we accept Facebook Fans and Facebook cause supporters.

If you support our mission and our actions to stop ex-gay scams, misinformation, and vigilantism, then please donate.

Thank you for your support and your participation.

What standards of accountability has Exodus International refused to enact, over the years, to prevent abuse of patient welfare, human rights, science, and religion?

Facebookers, please nominate suggestions here.

It is Exodus International’s ongoing refusal to conduct itself in an accountable, healthy, honest, moral, and non-abusive fashion which leads me to believe that Exodus International should be shut down.