Tag: Uganda

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President Obama denounces Uganda’s “Anti-Homosexuality Bill”

President Obama issued a statement today saying Uganda’s continuing steps to criminalize the LGBT community in that country is becoming more and more of a threat to the two country’s political relationship.

On Friday, a spokesman for the Ugandan president signaled that President Yoweri Museveni was likely to sign a bill that would punish the “the promotion or recognition” of same-sex relations with as much as life in prison.

As written, the law would dictate a 14 year prison sentence for first time “offenders.” Subsequent convictions could lead to life in prison.

President Obama issued this statement via press release:

“As a country and a people, the United States has consistently stood for the protection of fundamental freedoms and universal human rights. We believe that people everywhere should be treated equally, with dignity and respect, and that they should have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential, no matter who they are or whom they love.

“That is why I am so deeply disappointed that Uganda will shortly enact legislation that would criminalize homosexuality. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda, once law, will be more than an affront and a danger to the gay community in Uganda. It will be a step backward for all Ugandans and reflect poorly on Uganda’s commitment to protecting the human rights of its people. It also will mark a serious setback for all those around the world who share a commitment to freedom, justice and equal rights.

“As we have conveyed to President Museveni, enacting this legislation will complicate our valued relationship with Uganda. At a time when, tragically, we are seeing an increase in reports of violence and harassment targeting members of the LGBT community from Russia to Nigeria, I salute all those in Uganda and around the world who remain committed to respecting the human rights and fundamental human dignity of all persons.”

Through a series of tweets, national security adviser Susan Rice said she had spoken to the Ugandan president and shared President Obama’s concerns.

https://twitter.com/AmbassadorRice/status/435111586387095552
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President of Uganda to sign anti-homosexuality bill into law

The president of Uganda has indicated he will sign into law a bill which makes homosexuality punishable by life in prison.

From the AP:

Ofwono Opondo, a government spokesman, said in Twitter posts Friday that President Yoweri Museveni told lawmakers that he would do that after receiving a report from “medical experts” saying “homosexuality is not genetic but a social behavior.” Opondo did not say when the signing would happen.

Museveni previously had opposed the bill, saying it’s too harsh. Homosexuality, which Museveni has called abnormal, is a crime in Uganda.

The bill, approved by parliament in December, would legalize life imprisonment for some homosexual acts.

https://twitter.com/OfwonoOpondo/status/434372997194186752
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Uganda’s Parliament passes anti-gay legislation

Originally known as the ‘Kill The Gays’ bill, Uganda’s anti-gay legislation has passed in parliament.

The original bill included a death penalty for being gay, but that has been removed from the legislation’s language.  However,  people can still get life in prison for homosexuality.

In addition, the bill will make it illegal to ‘promote’ homosexuality and will also jail anyone who does not report homosexual activities to the police.

The president could sign the bill as soon as tomorrow.

The government is aware there will be an international outcry, which may lead to some countries suspending aid to the country.

More at GayStar News

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Anti-gay Pastor Scott Lively sued under international law for inciting persecution of gays

On Monday, January 7, lawyers representing Sexual Minorities Uganda will make oral arguments in a landmark case that aims to hold the American founder of Abiding Truth Ministries, anti-gay Scott Lively, responsible for inciting persecution of LGBT people in Uganda.  

SMUG v. Scott Lively was filed in federal district court in March 2012, and alleges that the Evangelical pastor’s efforts in Uganda to equate homosexuality with the Nazis, Rwandan genocide, pedophilia and more, violate international human rights law.

Many observers lay Uganda’s still pending “kill the gays” bill squarely at Scott Lively’s feet.

The case is the first of its kind, and relies on a 200-year-old law known as the Alien Tort Statute, which gives “survivors of egregious human rights abuses, wherever committed, the right to sue the perpetrators in the United States,” according to the Center for Justice and Accountability. 

(source)

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Anti-gay bill first on Uganda Parliament’s schedule today

Click pic to enlarge

JoeMyGod points out that first up on Ugandan Parliament’s Notice of Business today is the infamous “Anti-homosexuality Bill” which would make being gay an offense worthy of being imprisoned for life.

The Washington Blade reports that American diplomats have again expressed concern to the Uganda government over its pending Anti-Homosexuality Act.

Victoria Nuland, a State Department spokesperson, said during a daily briefing Monday that Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson met with high-profile leaders in Uganda “over the weekend” and raised concerns about the bill, which among other things would punish homosexual acts with life in prison.

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Uganda: Anti-gay “Kill The Gays” bill moves ahead in Parliamentary committee

Ugandan lawmakers are putting the so-called “kill the gays” bill on the fast track.
 
MetroWeekly reports that the bill passed a Parliamentary commitee today, sending it to the next level of votes.

Reports say the call for gay people to be executed has been removed from the hateful measure, there bill still includes a life imprisonment component: 

According to Uganda’s NTV network – as tweeted by Frank Mugisha (@frankmugisha), director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) – an unnamed member of the committee confirmed that a penalty of life imprisonment has remained in the bill in place of execution.

While sexual relations between members of the same sex are already illegal in Uganda, if the bill becomes law it will be among the world’s harshest against gay people. NTV reports that the bill should receive floor debate next week.

Religious leaders in Uganda have been pressuring politicians to pass the anti-gay law there and have asked Speaker Rebecca Kadaga to get the bill made into law as a “Christmas gift”

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Petition: Tell Ugandan President Museveni – Stop the “Kill the Gays” bill

This week, conservative lawmakers in the Ugandan parliament could pass a bill that would make being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender a crime that is punishable by death.

This gruesome legislation would strengthen an already brutal Ugandan criminal law against homosexuality by introducing the death penalty for “serial offenders.” People suspected of homosexual activity or individuals found to be HIV-positive could be tried and executed under the law.

The lives of hundreds of thousands of Ugandans are at stake. We must take action right now.

Tell Ugandan President Museveni: Stop the “Kill the Gays” bill. We’ll hand-deliver the signatures to Uganda’s embassy in Washington, D.C.

Click here to read more and sign petition.