However, the gay community in Uganda is facing an even more extreme form of government-imposed prejudice. Located in east Africa, next to Kenya and the Congo, the parliament of Uganda is currently debating a bill that would make homosexuality a crime punishable by death. If it becomes enacted homosexuals who: have committed other crimes, have HIV, or engage in sexual relations with a minor are subject to the death penalty.
This article from the New York Times, explains the origins of the bill and its connections to America. After three Americans (a missionary who wrote an anti-gay book, a “former gay” man who turned himself straight, and a member of Exodus International) traveled to Uganda to give talks about the dangers of homosexuality, already strong homophobia became even more prevalent, making way for this bill.
The American government has threatened to lessen the amount of aid given to Uganda if the bill is enacted; yet, many question whether our government has the right to do this, given its history of prejudice to towards the LGBT community. Due to international uproar, several drafts of the bill have been created, to lessen protests and negative publicity on the country.
I would encourage you to read the actual bill. I, personally, found the section where they define homosexuality and terms interesting, it really reinforces the idea of sexuality being a construct.
The bill has also created a sort of ‘witch hunt’ for homosexuals, which can be seen in the following articles from Ugandan newspapers.
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In my opinion it is important to read and understand the bill because it not only targets homosexuals, but also their allies and associates. It would make it difficult for people to publicly support the LGBT community in their country. Sexuality, no matter if someone is gay, straight, or anything else, is a large aspect of one’s identity. With this in mind, I hope this bill does not get passed because it attacks who someone fundamentally is with no regard to their actual character.
The Uganda bill has been a cause celebre in gay rights circle for over a year. It is doubtful that they really intend to pass the legislation (the country would lose massive amounts of foreign aid from Europe, other Western countries and hopefully the US) but to stake out a hard-code position against homosexuality, even for the African continent, where opposition to hhomosexuality is de rigeur.
ReplyDeleteIf this bill were to pass, Uganda would join Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and others as nations that punish homosexuality with death. The death penalty against homosexuality is a backwards way of thinking which is why Uganda appropriately earns its mark as a "Third World Country." This mode of thinking is why their society is not progressing and will not be among the elite countries. This is especially true if they are going to lose massive amounts of foreign aid from the UN and other Western Civilizations.
ReplyDeleteI saw this post and immediately thought of this video -->
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euXQbZDwV0w
I understand that everyone is entitled to their opinions, but killing someone because they choose to have different sexual practices is incredible. The way that homosexuals are marginalized and hunted down, put in "black lists" and killed seems extreme to the nth power.