Well isn’t this novel: American officials are denouncing Uganda’s move to possibly make homosexuality a crime that’s punishable by death.
Says the United States’ public affairs officer Joann Lockard at the Kampala, Uganda, embassy: “If adopted, a bill further criminalising homosexuality would constitute a significant step backwards for the protection of human rights in Uganda. We urge states to take all necessary measures to ensure that sexual orientation or gender identity may under no circumstances be the basis for criminal penalties, in particular executions, arrests, or detention.”
Not that Uganda is taking our advice. Ugandan Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo, who’s previously rebuffed international intervention on the matter, told reporters yesterday: “They have come to me in great numbers and we are discussing it diplomatically but we are also telling them to mind their own business. They have no mandate whatsoever to come and say: ‘Your values are wrong, mine are right.'” Read: Step off, Westerners.
Scott Berwitz
Are you aware of how many Americans – including many Queerty readers – would agree with Buturo – that we have no business pushing our values on them? Such is the fatality of the moral relativism argument. Gay people killed by state mandate because of their homosexuality. But don’t dare say our way (read: the Western way) is better.
Keith Kimmel
Well, I am sure that secretly, several elected officals here in my home state of Oklahoma drolled as they thought “Gawd, if only we could do such a thing here…”
Merv
“But don’t dare say our way (read: the Western way) is better.”
Huh? You do realize that most of these third-world anti-gay attitudes had their genesis during the era of Western colonialism, don’t you? In the US, being gay could get you sent to prison for 20 years as recently as 2003. To say the Western way is not anti-gay is to ignore a thousand years of history in favor of just five to thirty years which may yet turn out to be an anomaly.
WiseUp
That’s the trouble, Scott. The moral relativists are quick to tell us not to be arrogant and colonialist and impose our Western values on others, but when it comes to other cultures murdering homosexuals…suddenly the moral relativists are stumped.
terrwill
Ugandan Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo: How about if the US says take your homophic hateful disgusting ass and take this request and ram it up your ass?????
http://www.guardian.co.uk/katine/2009/oct/26/us-aid-to-uganda
Once again the Gays are relegated to the worlds accepted punching bags. If these subhuman animals wanted to make such a law to be applied to any other group except the Gays you can bet there would be a huge movement to prevent the US FROM GIVING THESE ANIMALS A QUARTER BILLION DOLLARS IN US DOLLARS
Scott Berwitz
WiseUp…totally, totally agreed. Civil rights issues seem only to exist for moral relativists with America. When civil rights are trampled upon – much more severely and much more frequently by ANOTHER country – it’s a mad dash to figure out how it can be traced back to America.
Merv – I suggest you read up on Sharia law or listen to the Islamist leaders how they feel about homosexuality. Do you have any idea what fundamental Islam says and feels about homosexuality? That you trace this back to Western colonialism would be laughable if it weren’t so tragic.
Colin
You guys did see the part where it’s a Western religious organization that’s started this? That’s what happens when you “push Western values” other cultures.
Zeke Krahlinl
New Declaration of Independence
http://www.gay-bible.org/write/4_newdec.htm