From the DW:
“Uganda introduces 'Kill the
Gays' bill”
Ugandan lawmakers have
re-introduced a bill that could impose the death penalty for gay sex acts. The
proposed bill will also criminalize the "promotion and recruitment"
of homosexuality. A bill that would mean harsh penalties for gay sex in Uganda
was introduced to the national assembly on Friday, five years after a similar
bill failed to garner enough support to become law. The proposal has been
called the "Kill the Gays" bill — as it would introduce the death
penalty for gay sex acts. The state minister for ethics and integrity, Simon
Lodoko, said it is not good enough that the current penal code "only
criminalizes the act," adding that it needs to punish anyone "even
involved in the promotion and recruitment" of homosexuality. "Homosexuality
is not natural to Ugandans," he said in a statement. "But there has
been a massive recruitment by gay people in schools, and especially among the
youth, where they are promoting the falsehood that people are born like
that." "Those that do grave acts will be given the death
penalty," he said. Lodoko believes the legislation will successfully pass,
saying that anti-gay lawmakers have "remobilized" in the parliament.
'Ugandans are really tired'
LGBT+ people in Uganda have long
been on the receiving end of legal and cultural discrimination. But after the
initial bill was thrown out in 2014 there was hope among activists that this
could be the end for such legislation. Ugandan gay rights activist Dr. Frank
Mugisha said the Ugandan LGBT+ community would fight the bill. "Once they
bring the bill we will fight it the same way we fought the other one," he
told the Associated Press. "Ugandans are really tired. This is not an
issue for Ugandans now." Lawmakers backing the bill want to see it become
law by the end of the year. The original law was only invalidated on a
technicality, as the parliament lacked a quorum. According to Human Rights
Watch, 32 African nations have laws criminalizing homosexuality. Anti-gay laws
are often leftovers from the colonial era, one reason gay rights activists have
fought vigorously to have the laws removed.
^ It is sad to see a country return
to the Dark Ages instead of the 21st Century. Instead of killing Gays Uganda should kill this bill. Hopefully, this bill
will not pass and Uganda can rejoin the list of modern and civilized countries.
^
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