UGANDANS SPEAK OUT AGAINST ANTI-HOMOSEXUAL DEATH PENALTY BILL

Source: Kelvin Lynch (examiner.com)

UGANDA – 09 November 2009: The people of Uganda are letting the government  know they do not support an anti-homosexuality measure known as the “Bahati Bill,”  Named for its author, MP David Bahati, it is one of the most vile, disgusting diatribes ever written against the LGBT community, and  has been condemned by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

The bill is particularly disturbing, declaring that homosexuality is a “creeping evil” and is not a human right.  Interestingly enough, the Ugandan goverment came to this conclusion after a speech be U.S. Rev. Rick Warren, who told them homosexuality isn't a human right. 

The bill says, ‘The fact that the moral fabric in America and Europe has been put under siege ... should not suggest that we should follow suit.”  However, Bahati ridiculously insists his bill is not an act of hate towards LGBT people in Uganda.

Bahati, in theObserver, acknowledged that the government of Uganda has been “under attack” from younger citizens of the country because of the bill, but older Ugandans and members of clergy tend to support the bill because it protects the “traditional family” (sound familiar?).

The comments and an op-ed piece in the Observer attacking the Bahati Bill provide the most insight into the will of Uganda's people regarding this bill. Anonymous writers (understandably so) have commented that the bill seems to be "putting homosexuality at the same level as murder, bestiality, and treason, which is preposterous." One writer calls Bahati’s approach to homosexuality "largely radical ... and seems to be informed by personal aversion towards gay sex. It’s particularly disturbing when the Bill seeks to make every citizen spy on the other and thereby intrude into other people’s privacy."

He wants everyone who gets to know about an individual’s homosexual orientation, including his or her parents, other family members, medical workers, religious leaders and school authorities, to report to the Police.  Having a different moral view is not good enough reason for Parliament to enact laws that are unconstitutional and violate people’s rights to privacy, freedom of speech and expression.

Furthermore, the writer laments that the only form of punishment for so-called "aggravated homosexuality" in Uganda is the death penalty under the bill. If passed, any person in Uganda commits aggravated homosexuality when the "victim" is a person with a disability or below the age of 18, or when the offender is HIV-positive.

Another commentator said, "being gay should not be said in the same breath with bestiality, prostitution, murder, rape pedophilia and others. Those are crimes, but being gay is not a choice and not a crime. We should be discussing the current discriminatory law that makes homosexuality a crime."

One commenter said, “I am not entering debate the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which is complex. Just highlighting bits that need re-thinking. One such bit is the reference to the 'traditional family'. That is a simplification, as the conception of family differs even in Uganda: single parent family, polygamous family, monogamous family, extended family etc.

Correct reasoning also comes in here. Whether you are for the Bill or not, you would probably admit that the family is not under threat or faced with extinction because of certain categories of unmarried people, of whom they are many in Uganda.

According to the Church Times, the bill has been denounced by Amnesty International and other human-rights organizations as “illegal, immoral, ominous, and unnecessary”.  However, Anglican church officials have remained largely silent.

Uganda’s Ethics and Integrity Minister, Nsaba Buturo, is reported to be a member of the Church of the Province of Uganda. He is quoted at a press conference introducing the Bill as saying the legislation would make Uganda a leader in countering gay culture in Africa. “On the issue of homosexuality, let them forget about [human rights]. The govern­ment has started biting,” he said.

The official Church of Uganda, which is Anglican, says it is still studying the bill, and has yet to issue an official position.  However, the prospects for gay and lesbians in Uganda don't look good. 

Although the church does not support the death penalty for homosexuality,   Rev. Canon Aaron Mwesigye , head of the church, says homosexuality is "much more widespread than we originally thought," and that "homosexual behavior is immoral and should not be promoted, supported, or condoned in any way."  He goes on to say that "we cannot support same-sex unions or condone the ordination of homosexuals," a response to the trend in the United States.