Amid riots of rising gas and food prices and brutal government crackdowns on dissent, forces behind Uganda’s infamous “Kill The Gays” bill have pushed for parliamentary hearings today with a possible final vote before next Wednesday if the bill makes it out of committee.
The Uganda native blogger at Gay Uganda believes the government has fast-tracked the bill as an attempt to distract Ugandan citizens from their worsening domestic situation and to unite the public against gays as a common enemy. He expects the bill to easily pass through parliament and urges every person and human rights organization interested in stopping it to condemn it in the harshest terms. And just in case you don’t remember how horrific the bill is, here’s a reminder:
The Anti-Homosexuality Bill, if passed in its current form, would impose the death penalty for those who are HIV-positive, “repeat offenders,” or those whose partner is deemed “disabled” regardless of whether the relationship was consensual. It would also impose a lifetime sentences for other cases. The bill would lower the bar for conviction, making the mere “touching” for the perceived purpose of homosexual relations a criminal offense. It threatens teachers, doctors, friends, and family members with three years imprisonment if they don’t report anyone they suspected of being gay to police within twenty-four hours. It also would broadly criminalize all advocacy of homosexuality including, conceivably, lawyers defending accused gay people in court or parliamentarians proposing changes to the law. It even threatens landlords under a “brothel” provision if they knowingly rent to gay people.
Though the bill’s sponsor have said they’ll drop the death penalty, life imprisonment in a Ugandan jail is arguably worse. We also wonder if the Palm Springs guy with the “Leviticus 20:13/Ever Read it?” t-shirt will attend the parliamentary hearings. Surely he supports keeping the death penalty clause in there.
Image via Towleroad
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paulcanning
GayUganda calls first and foremost for international protest against the GENERAL repression of human rights going on in Uganda.
There does not appear to be ANY international NGO offering a way for people to register their support for the brave people braving bullets on the streets of Kampala in peaceful protests.
Javier
Why do you have picture of American Pastor Carlton Pearson as the click on for this story?
Brent
It worked for Karl Rove in 2004.
mike
I’ve noticed a trend in queerty, whenever posts appear from LGBTI people being gagged and suppressed in other countries, apart from the US, not more than 10 comments appear! Whereas posts on gossip, celebrities, glamour, youth and beauty and other stuff that wouldn’t affect your life whatsoever receive numerous hits! Is it that gays are comfortable where they are right now, believing that gay rights issues have come a long way just because they are in a relatively gay accepting country? Believe me, there’s still a long way to go for the whole world and just because you may be loved in your country doesn’t mean everyone feels that way about you!
DNK
This is utterly deplorable and I don’t know why I haven’t heard much of this on the news. Homosexuals being killed is only a bonus for them, being able to jail/kill anyone you want, for effectively no reason, is not a law a democracy has, but a bloodthirsty dictatorship. Unfortunately their leaders, people and children are very supportive of it, so. I don’t even know what the corrective action would be. :/