Africa: A Hotbed of Homophobia

The announcement by the U.S. Department of Defense that it will consider lifting a military policy that discriminates against gays and lesbians is a laudable move. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said this week that it was time to repeal the military’s 17-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

Yet in most countries of Africa, homosexuals have become even more endangered after several governments recently created laws to criminalize their sexual orientation. Political leaders in many African countries have made a deliberate attempt to ostracize people who engaged in same-sex relationships.

In West Africa, the Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh has threatened to behead any gay person found in his country. A report published in the BBC’s Focus on Africa Web site quotes Jammeh issuing a 24-hour ultimatum to all gays to get out of the Gambia or he would cut off their heads. The Gambia had become a safe haven for gay refugees fleeing persecution from the country’s neighbor, Senegal. Jammeh embarked on a countrywide anti-gay campaign, and the BBC reported that he told a political rally, “The Gambia is a country of believers where sinful and immoral practices such as homosexuality will not be tolerated.”

Full Story from KansasCity.com
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Uganda: Obama Issues Condemnation of Anti Gay Bill

U.S President Barack Obama has criticized the controversial anti-gay law which has been proposed to Uganda's legislature. Speaking at a national prayer breakfast in Washington, DC, on Thursday, Obama described the proposed law as "odious," according to a text posted to the White House website.

"We may disagree about gay marriage," he said, "but surely we can agree that it is unconscionable to target gays and lesbians for who they are."

A bill before the Ugandan parliament proposes that penalties for homosexuality should be increased, raising the sentence for "same gender sexual activity" to life imprisonment.

Full Story from AllAfrica.com
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Uganda: Citizens Speak Out Against Anti Gay Bill

A bill before the Ugandan Parliament that would increase the penalties for having gay sex enjoys wide public support in the African nation, but a few brave Ugandans are speaking out against the proposal. Bob Kabaziguruka from Kampala, the nation's largest city and its seat of government, is one of those people. In a letter published last week by the Kampala-based Observer, Kabaziguruka, who is not gay, urged lawmakers to reject the bill that would outlaw gay sex and includes a death provision for repeat offenders and people who are HIV-positive. “Personally, I believe Parliament is better off concentrating on issues such as the sorry state of our hospitals and other decaying institutions in the country rather than focusing on homosexuality and spreading homophobia,” he wrote. Full Story from On Top Magazine: http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=5114&MediaType=1&Category=24

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Uganda: President Urges Removal of Death Penalty Provision from Anti Gay Bill

Gay Ugandans likely won't face the death penalty after the president said he opposed the provision in proposed legislation, but an international gay rights group said Thursday even a watered-down bill would be repressive. President Yoweri Museveni has told colleagues he believes the bill is too harsh and has encouraged his ruling National Resistance Movement Party to overturn the death sentence provision, which would apply to sexually active gays living with HIV or in cases of same-sex rape according to a copy of the draft law. The proposed bill, though, says anyone convicted of a homosexual act - which includes touching someone of the same sex with the intent of committing a homosexual act - would face life imprisonment. It is unclear whether Museveni supports that provision or not. Gay rights activists say the bill, introduced in the fall of 2009, promotes hatred and could set back efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in the conservative East African country. Protests already have been held in London, New York and Washington. Full Story from WRAL.com: http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/world/story/6757695/

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Uganda: Role of US Evangelicals in Gay Marriage Death Penalty Law

Last March, three American evangelical Christians, whose teachings about “curing” homosexuals have been widely discredited in the United States, arrived here in Uganda’s capital to give a series of talks. The theme of the event, according to Stephen Langa, its Ugandan organizer, was “the gay agenda — that whole hidden and dark agenda” — and the threat homosexuals posed to Bible-based values and the traditional African family. For three days, according to participants and audio recordings, thousands of Ugandans, including police officers, teachers and national politicians, listened raptly to the Americans, who were presented as experts on homosexuality. The visitors discussed how to make gay people straight, how gay men often sodomized teenage boys and how “the gay movement is an evil institution” whose goal is “to defeat the marriage-based society and replace it with a culture of sexual promiscuity.” Now the three Americans are finding themselves on the defensive, saying they had no intention of helping stoke the kind of anger that could lead to what came next: a bill to impose a death sentence for homosexual behavior. Full Story from New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/world/africa/04uganda.html?hp

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GOP: It's OK to be Manhattan Declaration Anti Gay, Just Not Ugandan Death Bill Anti Gay

As reports emerge that Uganda's president has promised to veto the "kill the gays" bill, five GOP Congressman have spoken out against the legistlation: "Five Republican representatives – Chris Smith, Frank Wolf, Joe Pitts, Trent Franks and Anh 'Joseph' Cao – have written a letter to Ugandan President Yoweri Mouseveni pressing him to stop pending legislation that would severely criminalize homosexuality and sometimes impose the death penalty for homosexual acts. In the letter, which you can read in full here, the men say their religious faith requires them to oppose the legislation because it contradicts the 'foundational Christian belief in the inherent dignity and worth of all men and women.'" The letter invokes the anti-gay Manhattan Declaration: "As Members of Congress and as men of faith, we support the principles set forth in the declaration and are thankful for the principled position of these faith leaders on a host of issues, from the sanctity of life for the unborn and others, to religious freedom, to human dignity, to the belief that marriage is an institution between one man and one woman." Full Story from Towleroad.com: http://www.towleroad.com/2009/12/gop-reps-invoke-antigay-manhattan-declaration-in-condemnation-of-ugandan-kill-the-gays-bill.html

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Hilary Clinton on the Persecution of Gays

"Once rights are established, governments should be expected to resist the temptation to restrict freedom of expression when criticism arises, and to be vigilant in preventing law from becoming an instrument of oppression as bills like the one under consideration in Uganda would do to criminalize homosexuality.... Over this past year, we have elevated into our human rights dialogs and our public statements a very clear message about protecting the rights of the LGBT community worldwide. And we are particularly concerned about some of the specific cases that have come to our attention around the world. There have been organized efforts to kill and maim gays and lesbians in some countries that we have spoken out about, and also conveyed our very strong concerns about to their governments -- not that they were governmentally implemented, or that the government was even aware of them. But that the governments need to pay much more attention to the kinds of abuses that we've seen in Iraq, for example. Full Story from Metro Weekly: http://www.metroweekly.com/news/last_word/2009/12/hillary-clinton-says-concerns.html

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Uganda: Despite Reports, Death Penalty Still Part of Anti Gay Bill

"Learned behaviour can be unlearned," said David Bahati. "You can't tell me that people are born gays. It is foreign influence that is at work." Bahati has just presented his anti-homosexuality bill 2009 to Uganda's parliament. The bill, which will be debated within a fortnight and is expected to become law by February, will allow homosexuality to be punishable by death. "Most people have misunderstood the bill," Bahati told the Observer. "The section of the death penalty relates to defilement by an adult who is homosexual and this is consistent with the law on defilement which was passed in 2007. The whole intention is to prevent the recruitment of under-age children, which is going on in single-sex schools. We must stop the recruitment and secure the future of our children." There is wide support for Bahati's law which, while being an extreme piece of anti-gay legislation, is not unique. As far as gay rights are concerned, it would appear that much of Africa is going backwards. Nigeria has a similar bill waiting to reach its statute books and already allows the death penalty for homosexuality in northern states, as does Sudan. Burundi criminalised homosexuality in April this year, joining 37 other African nations where gay sex is already illegal. Egypt and Mali are creeping towards criminalisation, using morality laws against same-sex couples. Full Story from the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/13/death-penalty-uganda-homosexuals

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Uganda: Canadian PM Tells Uganda to Nix Anti Gay Bill

Uganda's president got an earful from Prime Minister Stephen Harper over the African nation's proposed law targeting gays. The Ugandan "anti-homosexuality bill" would imprison and even execute homosexuals. But the proposed law barely drew a mention at this weekend's Commonwealth summit in Trinidad and Tobago -- despite calls before the conference for the country's suspension from the organization. Harper said leaders generally don't talk about specific laws during the Commonwealth meetings. Full Story from The Winnipeg Sun: http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/world/2009/11/30/11976801-sun.html

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Uganda: "The Family" Involved in Effort to Criminalize Gays, Push Death Penalty for Homosexual Behavior

The C Street home housing the Christian power broker group The Family, where Nevada Sen. John Ensign and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford sought refuge and advice — is also notable for its involvement in another realm of anti-gay legislation: Uganda's bill criminalizing homosexuality. We already noted the religious right-wing's support of making Uganda a home base for homophobia, but now comes word that America's own Christian politicos are backing President Yoweri Museveni's campaign to make gay sex punishable by death. As Jeff Sharlot, author of the expose The Family, tells it, the bill's biggest supporter is a member of The Family. David Bahati, the lawmaker pushing for aggravated homosexuality crimes, "appears to be a core member of The Family. He works, he organizes their Ugandan National Prayer Breakfast and oversees a African sort of student leadership program designed to create future leaders for Africa, into which The Family has poured millions of dollars working through a very convoluted chain of linkages passing the money over to Uganda." Full Story from Queerty: http://www.queerty.com/shock-john-ensign-mark-sanfords-religious-family-is-backing-ugandas-gay-hate-20091127/

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US Diplomat Condemns Proposed Uganda Anti Gay Law

Diplomatic representatives from the USA and France are the latest to condemn a recently tabled anti-gay Bill in Uganda, which calls for the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality". Humanitarian groups have called the legislation "appalling". But there is deep concern about the number of religious figures inside and outside the country who have supported, condoned or failed to speak out on a measure which the US embassy in Kampala told news agency AFP yesterday (4 November 2009) "would mark a major setback in the promotion of human rights" if it became law. "If adopted, a bill further criminalising homosexuality would constitute a significant step backwards for the protection of human rights in Uganda," the embassy's public affairs officer Joann Lockard declared. "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." Full Story from Spero News: http://www.speroforum.com/a/22116/US-diplomat-condemns-antigay-law-in-Uganda

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Analysis of Proposed Anti-Gay Bill in Uganda

Given the various views that have accompanied the release of the ‘Bahati Bill’ on homosexuality, it is necessary to soberly assess what the Bill is really about. It is questionable how many of those that support the Bill have actually examined it beyond the words “anti-homosexuality.” In many respects we are like wood cutters standing at the edge of the woods, only seeing individual trees and not the forest (the bigger picture). But even those of us that vehemently oppose homosexuality should be asking ourselves a number of questions: Why bring a new law when homosexuality is already criminalised under existing ones? How will the Bill affect me personally? The fact is that out of the 18 clauses that make up this Bill, only six introduce new legal provisions, two of which are minor. The other 12 simply repeat what already exists on the law books. Most significant is the fact that the provisions of the other four substantive new clauses blatantly violate Uganda’s Constitution and many other regional and international instruments. And for those who think that the Bill is only directed against ‘the homosexuals,’ they should look again. Homosexuality is already an offence under the Penal Code of Uganda as is same-sex marriage, which is prohibited by the Constitution. The Bill expands the meaning of the Penal Code offence of having “carnal knowledge against the order of nature” and defines the term “homosexuality” in such a broad fashion as to include “touching another person with the intention of committing the act of homosexuality.” This is a provision highly prone to abuse and puts all citizens at great risk. Such a provision would make it very easy for a person to bring false accusations against their enemies simply to “destroy” their reputations. Just ask Pastor Kayanja! Full Story from the Daily Monitor: http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/opinions/Why_anti-gay_Bill_should_worry_us_93987.shtml

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Proposed Ugandan Law Would Give Lifetime Sentence for Touching Someone With Gay Intent

The nation of Uganda appears ready to relive the Idi Amin era of brutality. Jim Burroway has the details on this astonishingly vile piece of legislation under consideration, the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2009: The proposed bill would: * Reaffirm the lifetime sentence currently provided upon conviction of homosexuality, and extends the definition from sexual activity to merely "touch[ing] another person with the intention of committing the act of homosexuality." * Create a new category of "aggravated homosexuality" which provides for the death penalty for "repeat offenders" and for cases where the individual is HIV-positive. Full Story from ScienceBlogs: http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2009/10/uganda_considers_barbaric_anti.php

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US Christian Right Wing Pushing for Criminalization of Homosexuality in Uganda

On 14 October 2009 the Hon. David Bahati (MP, Ndorwa County West, Kabale) tabled a private-members bill before the Ugandan parliament titled the 'Anti-Homosexuality Bill'. When it was tabled, the Minister for Ethics and Integrity Dr James Nsaba Butoro made a strong statement in support of the bill and for the greater sanction of individuals and organisations supporting homosexuality. The bill is aimed at increasing and expanding penalties for 'homosexual acts' and for all institutions (including NGOs, donors and private companies) who defend the rights of people who engage in sexual relations with people of the same gender. The bill also calls for Uganda to withdraw from all international treaties and conventions which support the rights of lesbians, gays and bisexuals, introduces extradition arrangements for Ugandan citizens who perform 'homosexual acts' abroad, and includes legal penalties for people who fail to report alleged homosexual acts or individuals and institutions that promote homosexuality or same-sex marriage to the authorities. The death penalty is mandated for HIV-positive people who engage in sex with people of the same gender. The tabling of the bill has been accompanied by threats against any Ugandan media organisation that allows LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) Ugandans to air their views or publish press statements. Full Story from All Africa: http://allafrica.com/stories/200910161126.html

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Rights Groups Fighting Proposed Homophobic Legislation in Uganda

A coalition of 17 local and international human rights groups have joined together to fight wide-ranging anti-homosexual legislation introduced this week in Uganda’s parliament. The coalition says restrictions move beyond bedroom conduct to challenge basic freedoms of expression and assembly and place barriers against the promotion of HIV/AIDS prevention projects. Executive director Cary Alan Johnson of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) says the law’s discriminative and harsh punitive features represent a last-ditch effort by anti-gay and evangelical groups to restrict personal freedoms in Uganda and in other African countries, and he hopes the rights groups can prevent the bill’s passage. “Over the course of the last year, there’s been an increasing pattern of homophobic discourse at play in Uganda, including a conference that occurred several months ago, in which a number of US evangelical leaders came to Uganda to promote reparative therapy and other types of human rights violations against Ugandan LGBT people…and our feeling is that the bill is targeting not just LGBT people, but freedom of expression and a broad level of political discourse in general,” he noted. Full Story from VOA News: http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2009-10-16-voa5.cfm

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