Decision approaches in Uganda
The Ugandan Parliament now looks likely to pass the draconian anti-homosexuality law mentioned earlier here and elsewhere. According to Avaaz.org:
The bill proposes life imprisonment for anyone convicted of having same-sex relations and imposes the death penalty for “serial offenders”. NGOs working to prevent the spread of HIV could be imprisoned for up to 7 years for “promoting homosexu-ality”. Even members of the public face up to three years in jail if they fail to report homosexual activity to the police within 24 hours!
It is still possible that international condemnation could deter the Ugandan government from passing this. Avaaz's petition is here.
Thanks to DemWit for the information.
The bill proposes life imprisonment for anyone convicted of having same-sex relations and imposes the death penalty for “serial offenders”. NGOs working to prevent the spread of HIV could be imprisoned for up to 7 years for “promoting homosexu-ality”. Even members of the public face up to three years in jail if they fail to report homosexual activity to the police within 24 hours!
It is still possible that international condemnation could deter the Ugandan government from passing this. Avaaz's petition is here.
Thanks to DemWit for the information.
posted by Infidel753 at 5:15 AM
6 Comments:
This legislation is because of Jesus. The Jumpers went to Uganda and encouraged this "Draconian" legislation. American Bible Bangers are partly responsible for this horror.
There has always been a virulent strain of homophobia in sub-Saharan Africa. I think the media attention to the American fundamentalists who visited uganda probably exaggerates their role; they certainly contributed to the problem, though.
That the U.S. fundies had any role in this is extremely shameful. All Congress members in The Family should have to answer for their support of such a hateful homophobic group.
@Infidel753 is correct, as evidenced by this letter from the Uganda National Pastors' Council:
http://www.martinssempa.com/warren-response.html
Their reaction to a request by Rick Warren asking them to speak out against the bill is reminiscent of how a den of rattlesnakes would respond to being poked with a stick.
@MadMike is also correct, Jesus/the xtian god *is* a big part of this, but the fundies most responsible for that involvement would be the original missionaries who introduced new ways to hate into that (already hateful) culture in the first place. The current crop of fundies is still every bit as reprehensible, they just don't get to take all the credit.
The whole situation makes me physically ill.
Stimpson: It's interesting that even Rick Warren is backing away from this now. Such people preach bigotry, but seeing the consequences of it in such straightforward form makes them uncomfortable.
GL: I see your point about "new ways to hate". Sub-Saharan African culture has probably always been violently hostile to homosexuality, but that letter is as full of distortions, twisted logic, half-truths, and doubletalk as anything you'd expect to see from the Vatican itself. It shows the influence of sophisticated bigots.
What a great resource!
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