Uganda considers draconian anti-gay bill

Legislators in Uganda, where gay sex is banned under penalty of life in prison, are considering a bill that would criminalize touching anyone in a gay way; funding or sponsoring gay organizations; broadcasting, publishing or marketing gay material; homosexual advocacy; and the failure by any person to report to police his or her awareness of the existence of a gay person within Uganda’s borders within 24 hours of learning that the homosexual exists. Penalties for the various crimes that would be created by the “Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009” range from three years to life in prison.

“This new draft bill includes a provision that could lead to the imprisonment for up to three years of anyone, including heterosexual people, who fails to report within 24 hours the identities of everyone they know who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, or who supports human rights for people who are,” said Human Rights Watch.

The bill also creates something called “aggravated homosexuality” and punishes it with the death penalty in the case of “repeat offenders” and people who are HIV-positive. It further targets gay Ugandans who get married abroad. They would be imprisoned for life upon return to Uganda.

The bill’s first sentence says: “The object of this Bill is to establish a comprehensive consolidated legislation to protect the traditional family by prohibiting (i) any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex; and (ii) the promotion or recognition of such sexual relations in public institutions and other places through or with the support of any Government entity in Uganda or any non governmental organization inside or outside the country.”

For the full text of the bizarre legislation, see tinyurl.com/hatebill. For information on how to help fight the bill, see tinyurl.com/iglhrc-ug. For Human Rights Watch’s analysis of the bill, see tinyurl.com/hrw-ug.

By Rex Wockner