Uganda on the anti-homosexuality world stage.

The material on the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill and the Anglican Church there is actually a part of the Final Project that I am doing which involves anti-homosexuality laws around the world. So first of all, I’d like to provide a little background information. The Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill, put forward by David Bahati, a Ugandan parliament member, would broaden the criminalization of homosexuality if enacted by introducing the death penalty for people who have previous convictions of being homosexual, are HIV-positive and participated in sexual acts, or engage in same sex acts with people less than 18 years of age. Also, life terms in jail, public humiliation and suffering would be supported by the law. The bill also includes provisions for Ugandans who engage in same-sex sexual relations outside of Uganda, asserting that they may be extradited for punishment back to Uganda, and includes penalties for individuals, companies, media organizations, and/or non-governmental organizations that support LGBT rights! Despite this, a prominent member of the Ugandan Anglican Church, Canon Gideon Byamugisha, has still joined international condemnation of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, saying it “will breed violence and intolerance”. He also warns that it will be little short of "genocide", a statement which is completely true by the way! The good news, though, is that international outrage has led to voting delays on the issue. This is not necessarily down to because the Ugandans have realized that it's an immoral law, but more due to the fact that nation-states such as Sweden and Germany have threatened to down-size or even stop their foreign investments should the law be passed. This is an aspect of the story which is covered to a lesser extent in the NPR story. This quote from the NPR story may explain the situation most aptly: “… Prison terms for Ugandans who fail to report a homosexual within 24 hours; lifelong prison sentences for a single homosexual act; and the death sentence for a range of acts, including having gay sex while HIV-positive, having gay sex with a disabled person or being classified as a "serial offender" — that is, someone who has gay sex more than once.” The personal experiences that we are introduced to by the NPR story are also very powerful and tell of lives lived in fear: an awful concept for those who support lesbians, gays, and the other groups. The fact that almost every important religious community has voiced their opposition to this Bill is a spot of good news. That combined with the fact that Uganda is a more Christian nation-state than other African states which are often Islamic and are anti-homosexual on the basis of religious Sharia law similarly bodes well for the fight here. In the end though, God willing, proponents of LGBT rights will win out over the at best insensitive proposed law. Uganda can be an example for the rest of Africa on homosexuality, hopefully they will choose to be the right kind of example. People like Byamugisha are working to this end and I salute them.