Putting the Kill Gays bill in perspective

Timothy Kincaid

December 27th, 2009

Joachim Buwembo, writing in the East African, claims to have no opinions about homosexuality. He’s never given it enough thought to have an opinion. However, he is very capable of clarifying what the Kill Gays bill says about the priorities of the Uganda government.

Of course a penalty, whether light or maximum, presupposes a crime.

The gravity of the prescribed penalty also indicates the seriousness of the offence in relation to other offences.

So according to the framers of the Bill, a girl who prefers a girl is more dangerous to the society than officials who robbed millions of dollars meant to treat aids, malaria and tuberculosis patients in 2004. Only four of the over 100 suspects were sent to jail with light sentences.

And we are yet to see a conviction of any of the few men who stole most of the $200 million meant for the 2007 Kampala Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting, turning ‘Chogm\’ into a vulgar world in Uganda.

Amidst all the nonsensical hype about “foreign homosexuals paying children to be gay”, his dispassionate voice stands out.

If parliament discusses whether people should be killed, we need to be convinced that indeed these people are worse than the killers who rob medical funds and send thousands to early graves.

But I doubt that the supporters of the bill are much interested in reason or perspective.

Joe in California

December 27th, 2009

I seriously think we should have all governments, Canadian, American, European Union, etc, stop all financial aid to Uganda. Money talks! Period! Point Final! Look out Jamaica, cuz you’re next!

John

December 27th, 2009

A more disturbing question is if aide money helps at all. The more I hear from people on the ground in Africa, the more convinced I am that almost none of the money is going to any worthwhile purpose. Every official has new cars, children in overseas schools, big houses and yet there is not a penny for clean water.

More and more, I think that aide money is really only figleaf covering up the bribing of third world officials who we know are going to steal every penny they can.

David C.

December 27th, 2009

But I doubt that the supporters of the bill are much interested in reason or perspective.

Nor are they particularly interested in being exposed as racketeers profiting from shortstopping international aid and development funds that should be going to the people of the Uganda.

By now it should be transparently obvious that these “leaders” are only interested in themselves, their fantasies about gay people’s harm to society a cover for their own abject depravity.

Lynn David

December 27th, 2009

Perhaps it is an odd thing to say (especially coming from an atheist). But the more Christian thing might be to shut off all aid via governments. It would seem that the aid to such countries that comes via those Christian ministries on the ground and other hands-on groups in Africa might be the only ones that are doing any good.

John

December 28th, 2009

And yet “Christian” money being channeled through the likes of Ssempa probably isn’t doing much good either.

I would hope there is a way to actually help people on the ground that need help, but it doesn’t appear that we have yet to figure out how.

Ben Mathis

December 28th, 2009

I’d love to see this logic applied stateside as well. So many petty criminals going to jail for decades for minor crimes, when the big money crimes get minor sentences if anything.

Dan

December 30th, 2009

Thanks for this, and all your work on Uganda, and elsewhere. We had a piece that references this piece, and so I thought I’d share it with you: “Uganda is … a jambula tree grows in Kampala” (part of the `Uganda is … ‘ series): http://www.womeninandbeyond.org/?p=597.

Thanks again.

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