Death Penalty and Life Imprisonment Dropped From Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill (Phew!)
December 10, 2009
Or in other words, the bill has been downgraded from a HUMAN RIGHTS EMERGENCY!!! to simply a Human Rights Emergency!
The bulk of the bill is unchanged so it’s still horrifying and terrible, and in a way is this is an ominous sign because now it’s pretty much certain to pass with widespread support from religious leaders who opposed it because of those harshest of provisions.
Although it no longer proposes to execute people for who they are, it would still imprison people for who they are. And still in the bill: 3 years in prison for not snitching on gays you know.
Today’s news is good, but the situation is still very, very bad.
(via Bloomberg)
Tags: Bigotry, Gay rights, Hate crime, Homophobia, Human rights, Morality, Religious extremism, Snitching, Uganda
I agree with you on all of this, but why is this getting so much publicity and so quickly while there is still a MAJOR crisis in Sudan & Darfur?
Short answer: a BUNCH of high-profile American anti-gay religious and political leaders are very involved with Uganda and its leadership, which makes them more accountable for what happens there compared to Sudan, where direct American influence is minimal.
Great blog!