A peaceful alternative to the National Prayer Breakfast took place in Berkeley and other cities Thursday, February 4. Called the American Prayer Hour, the interfaith event was held to pray for all nations, including Uganda, for peace and justice and dignity for LGBT people. The Ugandan government is considering a draconian bill that would call for harsh sentences for gays, including death for anyone who is HIV-positive and engages in gay sex. At right, the Reverend Debra Haffner, director of the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing, prays with Monica Cross, a student at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley and a transgender activist. The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry sponsored the local event. Similar prayer hours took place in Washington, D.C., site of the National Prayer Breakfast; Dallas, where NGLTF's Creating Change conference was being held; and Chicago. The National Prayer Breakfast is organized by the Fellowship Foundation, a conservative organization. At the event, President Barack Obama denounced the anti-gay Ugandan bill.