Box Turtle Bulletin

Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill Officially Scheduled for a Vote (UPDATE: AP Story Is Incorrect!)

[UPDATE: 1:10 EDT: Parliament has recessed for the day, and has scheduled another session for Friday. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill will be scheduled for Friday. Please see this post for more information.]

[UPDATE: 11:15 EDT: The Washington Post’s version of the AP report has been corrected (at least to one extent) to identify the MP as John Arumadri, whose name is listed on Uganda Parliament’s list of MP’s. However, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was added to Parliament’s Order paper sometime between Warren Throckmorton’s post earlier this morning and now. At some point during the day, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was added to the agenda. Was it added after the AP report went out? At this point, I an disinclined to believe the AP report without further confirmation.]

[UPDATE: 10:40 EDT: The AP report is in error. The Bill is on the agenda. Apparently, it was added sometime in the past few hours. When Warren Throckmorton posted his announcement that the bill was not on the agenda earlier this morning, the link to the Parliament’s Order’s paper was different. That link now goes to a blank page requiring a login. The new Order Paper is posted at a different URL. Despite the erroneous AP report that appears to cite a non-existent Parliament member, the bill is still scheduled for a vote.]

[UPDATE: 10:12 EDT: The AP reports that the bill is not on the agenda. The report cites an MP John Alimadi, saying that “the bill may have been dropped from the agenda because of a worldwide outcry against it.” However, Uganda Parliament’s list of MP’s does not include anybody by that name. We have seen erroneous reporting about the bill in the mainstream press before. Skepticism is warranted until we learn further details from someone who verifiably exists.]

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill is now officially scheduled to for a vote in Uganda’s Parliament. It is listed as the last item before adjournment in today’s published Order Paper. Pushing through seven bills in one day would be a remarkable feat for a body that typically works at a snail’s pace.

For comparison purposes, yesterday’s order paper called for a third reading for the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (Amendment Bill , and a second and third reading for the Companies Bill and the Marriage and Divorce Bill. Only the first item was acted upon. Today, the remaining two bills return for their second and third reading along with three others: the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Bill (which itself has also been contentious), the Ugandan National Meteorological Authority Bill, and the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Kampala is seven hours ahead of the Eastern seaboard and ten hours ahead of the Pacific Coast. We hope to learn what happens later this afternoon.

The Daily Agenda for Wednesday, May 11

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni

TODAY’S AGENDA:
Uganda Parliament Considers Anti-Homosexuality Bill: With the nation racked with a month of riots and demonstrations, opposition leaders being physically assaulted and arrested, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni now proposes major changes to the Uganda constitution to “deny bail for murder, rape, treason, defilement and riot suspects as well as economic saboteurs until they serve a mandatory 180 days on remand.” That, in effect, would mandate six month’s imprisonment just on an arrest and charge, whether the charge is trumped up or not. The “economic sabateurs” provision is particularly ominous. Daily Monitor, Uganda’s largest independent newspaper, sees that clause as a direct attack on press freedoms and dissent. Anything Museveni doesn’t like can be portrayed as “economic sabotage” if he declares that it makes Uganda look bad to the world. Museveni’s ruling party controls two-thirds of Parliament. If Museveni wants a change to the constitution, he can get a change to the constitution.

And so against that broader backdrop, today is the day of reckoning. Uganda’s Parliament has decided, at the very possible last minute, to suddenly fast-track the draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill to a vote. This is significant, because as longtime observers of Uganda know, this is highly unusual. Nothing happens quickly in Uganda. If the bill comes up for a vote in Parliament today as scheduled, it will certainly pass. Just so we are clear about what the bill does, let’s review. In its current form it would:

• Expand the definitions for homosexual acts, making conviction easier. Current law requires evidence of penetration. The new law would expand the definition of homosexual activity to”touch(ing) another person with the intention of committing the act of homosexuality.” Touching itself is defined as “touching—(a) with any part of the body; (b) with anything else; (c) through anything; and in particular includes touching amounting to penetration of any sexual organ. anus or mouth.”
• Affirm Uganda’s lifetime imprisonment for those convicted of homosexuality.
• Define a new crime of “aggravated homosexuality” for those who engage in sex with someone under the age of 18, who are HIV-positive, who is a “repeat offender” (so broadly defined as to include anyone who has had a relationship with more than one person, or who had sex with the same person more than once), or who had sex with a disabled person (consensual or not). The penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” is death by hanging.
• Require anyone arrested on suspicion of homosexuality to undergo HIV testing to determine the individual’s qualification for prosecution of “aggravated homosexuality.”
• Criminalize “attempted homosexuality” with imprisonment for seven years.
• Criminalize “promoting” homosexuality with fines and imprisonment for between five and seven years. This overly-broad provision would criminalize all speech and peaceful assembly for those who advocate on behalf of LGBT citizens in Uganda . It would also criminalize any attempt to repeal or modify the law in the future, as those moves could also be seen as “promoting” homosexuality.
• Criminalize “aiding and abetting homosexuality” with seven years imprisonment. This provision could be used against anyone extending counseling, medical care, or otherwise providing aide gay people.
• Criminalize the act of obtaining a same-sex marriage abroad with lifetime imprisonment.
• Add a clause which forces friends or family members to report LGBT persons to police within 24-hours of learning about that individual’s homosexuality or face fines or imprisonment for up to three years.
• Penalize people who run “brothels” with five to seven years imprisonment for renting to LGBT people. However, it defines a brothel as “a house, room, set of rooms or place of any kind for the purposes of homosexuality” instead of the more normal definition of a place where commercial sex work takes place. Anyone’s bedroom would be a “brothel” under this definition, placing landlords and hotel owners in jeopardy for renting to LGBT people.
• Add an extra-territorial and extradition provisions, allowing Uganda to prosecute LGBT Ugandans living abroad.
• Void all international treaties, agreements and human rights obligations which conflict with this bill.

There is talk that if the bill comes up for a vote, there will be proposals to remove the death penalty and the clause criminalizing “attempted homosexuality.” The maximum lifetime penalty may be reduced, but it is unknown what the new penalty would be. But as you can see, what remains is incredibly far-reaching, with at least six clauses directly violating Uganda’s constitution — for what that’s worth. The U.S. State Department and the U.K Foreign Office have denounced the bill, and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) warns that Uganda risks losing U.S. foreign aid. When it comes to human rights, LGBT people are once again assuming the too-familiar role of canaries in the coalmine.

DADT Repeal Repeal Attempt: Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) is expected to introduce an amendment aimed at derailing the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” today to the 2012 Defense Authorization Bill during a meeting of the House Armed Services Committee. Hunter’s amendment would expand the certification requirements to include all four military service chiefs. The current repeal law only requires certification from the President, the Defense Secretary and the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the military is fully prepared for the law’s repeal. It is feared this amendment would give Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos, who has opposed DADT repeal in the passed, virtual veto power for the entire repeal — an unprecedented abrogation of political power to a military leader. Hunter’s amendment could be only one of several amendments that could be introduced to derail DADT’s repeal. Others may rescind the repeal altogether.

See Newt Run: Former House speaker Newt Gingrich is expected to announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President today. Gingrich has been laying the groundwork by avidly courting the religious right over the past few years. Last year he spoke at the Family “Research” Council’s Voter Values Summit. At about that same time, he funneled $150,000 to the campaign to remove three sitting Iowa Supreme Court justices over their ruling in favor of marriage equality. More recently, he said that President Barack Obama should be impeached over his refusal to defend DOMA except under heightened scrutiny, and he promised to “slow down” gay rights progress during an appearance on Bryan Fischer’s radio program. A spokesman said Gingrich will make his announcement by Facebook and Twitter, and he will be interviewed on Fox News later tonight. Gingrich is set to speak at the Georgia Republican Party Convention on Friday.

“Mayday for Marriage” RV Tour: The Family Research Foundation’s RV is touring the state with their message against marriage equality. Today, your grumpy uncle’s RV makes two appearances today:

• 12:00 p.m., in Halfmoon, NY, just north of Albany, at state Sen. Roy McDonald’s Satellite Office (2 Halfmoon Town Plaza, Halfmoon)
• 3:30 p.m. in Utica, NY, at State Sen. Joe Griffo’s District Office (207 Genesee St., Room 408, Utica)

FRF says they “urge concerned citizens to attend these events and remind their elected officials that base voters care deeply about this issue.” If you’re a concerned citizen, consider yourself invited.

Panel Discussion on Bullying: Kentucky state Rep. Mary Lou Marzian (D-Louisville), sponsor of a House bill to expand school anti-bullying protections to include gender identity and sexual orientation, joins a panel discussion on bullying with Louisville youth advocates this evening. The panel takes place tonight beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Carmichael’s Bookstore, 2020 Frankfort Ave. The event is free, but get there early because seating is limited. A portion of local sales of Dan Savage and Terry Miller’s book, It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living will go to the Fairness Campaign (Savage and Miller are donating all other proceeds from their book to LGBT youth charities).

AIDS Walks This Weekend: Minneapolis, MN; New York, NY; and Stockton, CA.

Pride Celebrations This Weekend: Brussels, Belgium; Charleston, SC; Houston TX (Black Pride); Maspalomas, Canary Islands; and Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:
Billy Bean: 1964. The former outfielder and left-handed hitter for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres made headlines in 1999 when he became only the second baseball player to publicly come out, three years after his retirement from baseball. It was a long struggle to get there. As a closeted pro athlete, he struggled to juggle his secret and his career. He divorced his wife in 1993 and secretly moved in with his first lover. When his lover died of AIDS, Bean didn’t attend the funeral because he was too frightened that his secret would be revealed. “Why was it so impossible to think that a baseball player could grieve for a man?” he later reflected. “That was a terrible, terrible decision I made.” His 2003 book, Going the Other Way: Lessons from a Life In and Out of Major League Baseball, chronicles the ups and downs of his life as a gay man and baseball player. He is currently a real estate agent in Miami.

If you know of something that belongs on the agenda, please send it here.

Archbishop of Canterbury: Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill Is Unsupportable

The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has issued this short statement on Uganda’s pending Anti-Homosexuality Bill:

Overall, the proposed legislation is of shocking severity and I can’t see how it could be supported by any Anglican who is committed to what the Communion has said in recent decades. Apart from invoking the death penalty, it makes pastoral care impossible – it seeks to turn pastors into informers.

State Dept Calls Uganda Bill “A Significant Step Backwards”; Barney Frank Recommends Cutting Aid

The U.S. State Department is paying close attention to the Ugandan Parliament’s moves to bring the Anti-Homosexuality Bill to a vote. The following on-the-record comments from Hilary Renner, spokesperson for the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, were sent to BTB and other outlets in response to requests for comment:

The Department of State opposes the draft Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which we view as manifestly inconsistent with international human rights obligations. We continue to monitor activity surrounding the proposed legislation, including the public debate.

President Obama, Secretary Clinton, Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson, and U.S. Ambassador to Uganda Jerry Lanier have all spoken out in opposition to the bill. These public statements underscore the U.S. government’s strong support of the rights of the LGBT community in Uganda and throughout the world.

We are not alone in our calls to stop this bill. Many from the international community have also expressed shared concern about the draft bill. And Uganda’s own Human Rights Commission issued a report in October 2010 calling the bill unconstitutional and inconsistent with international law. Many civil society groups in Uganda have advocated against this legislation, and we continue to support those efforts.

We urge Ugandan lawmakers to reject this bill and, instead, to safeguard the human rights of all Ugandans and ensure that neither sexual orientation nor gender identity provides a legal basis for discrimination or persecution.

The White House, the Department of State, and our Embassy in Kampala have been very active in speaking up, both privately and publicly, against the bill and promoting the protection of human rights for LGBT individuals in Uganda.

Public statements by President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and Bureau of African Affairs Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson have urged Uganda to safeguard the human rights of all Ugandans, regardless of sexual orientation.

We meet regularly with human rights advocates and representatives of LGBT groups to solicit their advice on how we can best support the protection of human rights in Uganda.

We continue to monitor the situation closely and are reviewing how we would respond to the passage of this legislation.

Stating our views about the draft Anti-Homosexuality Bill does not amount to meddling in Uganda’s parliamentary affairs. Our statements are grounded in international human rights law and the obligations that it entails for all states, including Uganda and the United States.

If adopted, a bill further criminalizing homosexuality would constitute a significant step backwards for the protection of human rights in Uganda. Respect for human rights is key to Uganda’s long-term political stability and democratic development, as well as its public health and economic prosperity.

Human rights are also a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy. The White House, the Department of State, and our embassies and consulates overseas will continue to advocate for greater respect for the human rights of LGBT individuals, and we will continue to speak up when we are concerned about abuses, such as those that would be encouraged by or follow from the legislation proposed in Uganda.

Meanwhile, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) has issued a statement condemning Uganda’s moves against the LGBT community:

“I’m disturbed by the news that Uganda is considering going ahead with a measure that denies the humanity of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.”

“I was pleased when the Financial Services Committee overwhelmingly, in a bipartisan way, voted in favor of my amendment urging the Secretary of the Treasury to oppose any financial assistance from multilateral development institutions to countries that persecute people on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity or religious beliefs. In the discussion of the amendment I offered, I specifically mentioned the deeply troubling case of Uganda, which is now considering legislation to legally deprive people of these basic human rights.”

“If the bill before the Ugandan parliament becomes law, it must be the policy of the United States government to oppose any aid to Uganda from the World Bank, the African Development Bank, or any other international financial institution of which we are a member.”

With efforts underway to identify potential budget cuts to reduce the deficit, this move should be fairly easy.

Pink News reported earlier today that British Foreign Secretary William Hauge said that the UK is also urging Uganda not to pass the Anti-Homosexuality Bill:

to questions on Twitter, Mr Hague wrote: “We oppose this bill and will continue to raise our concerns with Ugandan government. We urge Ugandan MPs to reject it.” He continued: “Our embassy is lobbying Ugandan gov & the UK initiated a formal EU demarche [diplomatic move] to the Ugandan foreign minister on the bill.”

Human Rights Watch call issued a statement, calling Uganda’s recent moves  “deeply alarming that the Ugandan parliament is again considering this appalling bill, which flies in the face of human decency and violates international human rights law.”

And finally, Warren Throckmorton has confirmed that the report from Stephen Tashobya, Chair of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee, was completed and sent on to Parliament. A Parliament spokesperson confirmed that the report, which includes recommendations for modifications to the bill, will be made public tomorrow. Only one bill passed today, which pushes two other major pieces of legislation off until tomorrow. But the spokesperson speculated that Parliament may hold its session open late into the evening to complete its agenda

UGANDA PARLIAMENT MAY VOTE ON ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY BILL TOMORROW!

[Correction: The Ugandan Embassy is on 16th St, not 15th street as originally reported. The link to Google Maps was/is correct.]

[Update 12:00 EST: It should be noted that while there has been much discussion about dropping the death penalty or making other alterations to the bill, none of that has occurred yet. The time when that might occur — if one would believe that such modifications were to occur — would be during its second reading. As of today, the death penalty is still in the bill.]

[Update 1:15 EST: Warren Throckmorton has confirmed that the report from Stephen Tashobya, Chair of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee, was completed and sent on to Parliament. A Parliament spokesperson confirmed that the report, which includes recommendations for modifications to the bill, will be made public tomorrow. Only one bill passed today, which pushes two other major pieces of legislation off until tomorrow. But the spokesperson speculated that  Parliament may hold its session open late into the evening to complete its agenda.]

[Update: 1:35 EST: GetEqual has also added a dial-in campaign in addition to their scheduled protest: “GetEQUAL is calling on every American citizen to dial-in into the Ugandan Ambassador to the United States, Perezi K. Kamunanwire and inform him that every Ugandan life matters. Participants will begin calling the Ugandan Embassy at 10:00am today and continue until the vote. The call in number for the Ugandan Embassy is (202) 726-4758.]

[Update: 1:45 EST: From Pink News: “Foreign secretary William Hague says that the UK is continuing to urge Uganda not to pass a bill that could see gay people executed. Responding to questions on Twitter, Mr Hague wrote: “We oppose this bill and will continue to raise our concerns with Ugandan government. We urge Ugandan MPs to reject it.” He continued: “Our embassy is lobbying Ugandan gov & the UK initiated a formal EU demarche [diplomatic move] to the Ugandan foreign minister on the bill.”]

[Update: 1:55 EST: I will be on Michelangelo Signorile’s program on SiriusXM OutQ with guest host Mike Rogers to talk about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. I will be on shortly after 3:00 EST. If you’d like to listen online for free, you can register here. The channel is 108 on both Sirius and XM.]

The Ugandan Parliament has published in today’s order paper a notice of upcoming business:

NOTICE OF BUSINESS TO FOLLOW

1.                  BILLS SECOND READING

I)                THE HIV AND AIDS PREVENTION AND CONTROL BILL, 2010

II)              THE ANTI HOMOSEXUALITY BILL, 2009

There are two ways to read this. The bill’s listed under “business to follow” do not always come up for immediate consideration. I’ve watched some bills remain under this notice for weeks on end.

On the other hand, Wednesday May 11 is a very significant day, and the vote can be an important diversion. Not only is it the last scheduled day of final scheduled session of the 8th Parliament, but it also happens to coincide with the day in which the opposition leader, Dr. Kizza Besigye, plans to return from Nairobi, Kenya, where he had been treated for injuries sustained when he was attacked by security forces during a peaceful protest. Police smashed the window of a car he was riding in and sprayed pepper spray and tear gas. Besigye was blinded and received multiple injuries. When he attempted to go to neighboring Kenya for treatment, the Ugandan government delayed his flight from Entebbe airport for nearly two hours. Thousands have been injured in rioting that has taken place in multiple cities across the country, as unrest has spread over rising fuel and food prices, as well as ongoing widespread corruption within the government. Human rights advocates have condemned the government’s violent response to peaceful protests.

Clearly, passing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which is very popular among ordinary Ugandans, would be a cynical diversionary ploy on the part of the government.

There is another political factor one must consider. Parliament Speaker Edward Ssekandi is fighting to retain his position as Speaker in the next Parliament. According to this New Vision article, MP David Bahati, the sponsor of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, appears to be involved, either directly or behind the scenes, in the Speaker selection process. He may be using that leverage to force the speaker to fast-track the bill for a vote.

If the bill does come up for a second reading, that is when amendments to the bill may be offered. A third reading can quickly follow a second reading, at which time the bill would be passed and sent to the President. The president can assent to the bill or return it to Parliament for changes. According to one Parliament member, the President has not returned a bill to Parliament during his term.

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill, if passed in its current form, would impose the death penalty for those who are HIV-positive, who is a “repeat offender,” or whose partner is deemed “disabled” regardless of whether the relationship was consensual. It would also impose a lifetime sentence for other cases. The bill would lower the bar for conviction, making mere “touching” for the perceived purpose of homosexual relations a criminal offense. It threatens teachers, doctors, friends, and family members with three years imprisonment if they didn’t report anyone they suspected of being gay to police within twenty-four hours. It also would broadly criminalize all advocacy of homosexuality including, conceivably, lawyers defending accused gay people in court or parliamentarians proposing changes to the law. It even threatens landlords under a “brothel” provision if they knowingly rent to gay people.

GetEqual has announced a protest for this afternoon from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Ugandan Embassy, 5911 16th Street NW in Washington, D.C. (map). Says GetEqual: “Please bring signs, banners, and your best protest chants Tuesday afternoon to the Ugandan Embassy as we let Uganda know that we stand in solidarity LGBT Ugandans, their families and friends, and we will not sit idly by while Members of Parliament debate whether to imprison or kill them.”

If you can’t make it to the protest in person, you can call, write, and/or fax the Ugandan Ambassador to the United States. Please be polite, but firm. The contact information is:

His Excellency Professor Perezi K. Kamunanwire
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Tel: (202) 726 4758
Fax: (202) 726 1727
pkamunanwire@ugandaembassyus.org

Also, there’s an AllOut petition you can sign online. It now has over 250,000 signatures and is addressed to President Museveni. There is another petition at Avaaz.org with over 650,ooo signatures. Sign both of them. The second one has some incorrect information listed — the bill was never “stopped.” Also, the bill is not dead “If we block the vote for two more days until Parliament.” The bill doesn’t officially die until the 8th Parliament expires on May 18. It could be called back into special session before then.

You can keep up with ongoing developments on this facebook page and on Warren Throckmorton’s blog. We will do what we can here as well.

The Daily Agenda for Tuesday, May 10

UPDATE: The GetEqual protest at the Uganda Embassy is TODAY. See updated info below.

Stephen Tashobya

TODAY’S AGENDA:
Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” Bill Is In The Balance: Stephen Tashobya, chairman of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee for Uganda’s Parliament, must be feeling the weight of the world on him right now. Yesterday, his committee heard testimony from supporters and opponents of the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The fate of the bill now rests in Tashobya’s hands, as well as those of the Speaker of Parliament, Edward Ssekandi. If the committee’s report on the bill is completed and presented to Parliament, Ssekandi could then call the bill for a second and third reading, with passage taking place on the third reading. According to the current schedule, all of this has to occur before the end of the day on Wednesday when the 8th Parliament’s session is scheduled to end.

If Tashobya’s report does not make it into Ssekandi’s hands by Wednesday morning, the likelihood that the bill will be voted in would be significantly lessened. But constitutionally, the 8th Parliament remains in effect until May 18th. Ssekandi could conceivably call Parliament back for a special session. But time is already running out for that. Thursday is a special national holiday as President Yoweri Museveni is sworn in to begin his twenty-sixth year as President. Swearing in of MP’s for the 9th Parliament occurs over three days from the 16th through the 18th, with the next Parliament beginning its term on the 18th. That effectively would leave Friday the 13th as a potential day for a special session.

Protesters at the Ugandan Embassy in November 2009, following the introduction of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Protest At Uganda Embassy: GetEqual has announced a protest for this afternoon from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Ugandan Embassy, 5911 15th 16th Street NW in Washington, D.C. (map). Says GetEqual: “Please bring signs, banners, and your best protest chants Tuesday afternoon to the Ugandan Embassy as we let Uganda know that we stand in solidarity LGBT Ugandans, their families and friends, and we will not sit idly by while Members of Parliament debate whether to imprison or kill them.”

If you can’t make it to the protest in person, you can call, write, and/or fax the Ugandan Ambassador to the United States. Please be polite, but firm. The contact information is:

His Excellency Professor Perezi K. Kamunanwire
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Tel: (202) 726 4758
Fax: (202) 726 1727
pkamunanwire@ugandaembassyus.org

Also, there’s an AllOut petition you can sign online.

Exodus In Morgantown: Exodus International travels to Morgantown, West Virginia today to conduct an “equipping event” at Christian and Missionary Alliance Church. The event is a sort of a miniature “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference, but tailored specifically for pastors, ministerial leaders and seminary students. The event is today from 8:30 a.m. to 2:oo p.m.

Truth Wins Out’s Wayne Besen will also be in Morgantown, joining Fairness West Virginia for “Fairness in Faith: Fighting the Ex-Gay Myth and Propaganda Machine,” from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on West Virginia University’s campus in the Mountainlair Greenbrier Room. The event is being held in conjunction with First Presbyterian Church of Morgantown’s companion event, “Let My People Go: A Liberating Faith for People of All Sexual Orientations,” will be held at the church at 456 Spruce Street in Morgantown. A light supper will be served at 5:30. The prizewinning film “For the Bible Tells Me So,” which explores issues of sexuality and faith, will be screened at 6:30 with a discussion to follow. For more information, please call (304) 712-9805 or send an email to Bradley@fairnesswv.org.

Lisa Miller (left) and Janet Jenkins (right)

Lisa Miller Case: Timothy David Miller returns to court today for a probable cause hearing in Burlington, Vermont. He was arrested on charges that he helped Lisa Miller kidnap nine-year-old Isabella Miller-Jenkins and leave the country in defiance of a judge’s order that she turn over custody to Janet Jenkins. Jenkins and Lisa Miller had been in a civil union when they had their daughter, Isabella, but the union fell apart when Miller decided to leave and renounce her homosexuality. Miller initially had custody of Isabella, but refused Jenkins’s visitation rights. Jenkins was awarded custody in 2009, but by then Miller had already fled the country. Timothy David Miller (no apparent relation) allegedly purchased the airline tickets to Nicaragua and arranged for a place for them to stay. A federal arrest warrant has been issued for Lisa Miller who remains at large, and the girl is listed as missing by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Becoming Chaz: This much talked-about documentary chronicles Chaz Bono’s transition from the golden-haired “Chastity” of The Sonny and Cher Show. Beginning with his hormone shots and through his surgeries, the documentary reveals that the transition is not just one of physical changes, but of his heart and soul as well. The documentary premiered last January at the Sundance Film Festival, and will air tonight on OWN at 9: p.m. (EST/PST). It will be flowed with a live discussion hosted by Rosie O’Donnell, with the audience and viewer invited to a conversation with Chaz, his family and filmmakers. You can see the trailer for Becoming Chaz here.

TODAY IN HISTORY:
Book Burning in Berlin: 1933. After having raided the Institute for Sexual Research and looted its vast library and archives (See the May 6 Daily Agenda), the German Student Association (Deutsche Studentenschaft) proclaimed a nationwide “Action against the Un-German Spirit”, which culminating in the “cleansing” (“Säuberung”) by fire on May 10, 1033 of an estimated 25,000 volumes of “un-German” books. Book burnings took place throughout Germany, and the bulk of the books burned in Berlin came form the ISR. About 40,000 people watched in the Opernplatz as propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels declared “No to decadence and moral corruption!” LGBT advocacy, which had developed as a strong scientific and social institution in Germany over the past several decades, was shut down virtually overnight.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:
Scott Brison: 1967. Brison is chief economic spokesman for Canada’s Liberal Party, representing the riding of Kings-Hants, Nova Scotia in Parliament. But hie entered politics as a Progressive Conservative in 1997. He came out as gay in 2002, saying that he is “not a gay politician, but a politician who happens to be gay.” While he was the fourth sitting Member of Parliament to come out, he was the first openly gay MP for the Progressive Conservative Party. In 2003, he crossed the aisle and joined the Liberal Party after the PC merged with the Canadian Alliance to form the new Conservative Party. In 2004, he became the first openly gay cabinet minister when Prime Minister Paul Martin appointed him Minister of Public Works. On August 18, 2007, Brison married his partner, Maxime Saint-Pierre in Cheverie, Nova Scotia.

Michele Van Gorp: 1977. Born in Warren Michigan, Michele Van Gorp played women’s collegiate basketball at Purdue University for her freshman and sophomore years, then transferred to Duke University, where she led Duke to the school’s firs NCAA final. She was drafted into the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Van Gorp was the only open lesbian in the WNBA from 2002 (when Sue Wicks retired) until 2005, when Sheryl Swoopes and Latasha Byears came out. Van Gorp retired from the WNBA in 2005 following injuries, and she is now coaching in France.

If you know of something that belongs on the agenda, please send it here.

Ugandan Human Rights Coalition Denounces “Kill the Gays” Bill

[The following statement has been released by Uganda’s Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law. The Coalition is made up of 23 Ugandan and East African NGO’s focusing on human rights, HIV/AIDS, labor rights, and women’s and refugee issues. The statement reiterates comments made earlier today in testimony before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee concerning the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The statement references some of the political turmoil that has engulfed Uganda for nearly a month, as well as important court cases that are directly relevant to LGBT rights. One of those cases involved the late David Kato and others whose photos were published in the tabloid Rolling Stone (no relation to the U.S. publication by the same name) under the headline of “Hang Them!”  The court ruled that Rolling Stone had violated the plaintiff’s rights three weeks before Kato was murdered. The statement below echos many of the themes heard in the posted audio clip from today’s testimony.]

Is Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” Bill being used to blind the World?

Press statement for release on Monday 9th May 2011.

Just days after opposition leader Colonel Kizza Besigye was deliberately blinded with pepper spray while on his way to work, the internationally reviled Anti-Homosexuality Bill was brought back to Parliament for public hearings in preparation for the second reading. Speculation is rife that the Bill, once believed to have been permanently shelved by Cabinet in light of its many absurdities, is being used to blind the world to everything else that is going on in Uganda right now. Alternatively that re-opening the discussion about a backwards looking and harmful proposal is symptomatic of a more general problem of weak governance. 

Whatever the case may be, Uganda is struggling to come to terms with rampant inflation, teargas and mass arrests on an unprecedented scale: As civil society protests the draconian crack-down on protesters and opposition, it is clear that if the hate-filled Kill the Gays Bill is passed, it will finish the process of burying alive not just the sexual minorities of Uganda, but also all those who support the principles of constitutionalism, human rights for all, inclusivity, and democratic governance. 

The essence of our submission to the Legal & Parliamentary Affairs Committee of the Ugandan Parliament, as made on Monday 9th May 2011, is therefore as follows: 

From a LEGAL PERSPECTIVE, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill is: 

1) Unconstitutional because it violates the rights to privacy, freedom from discrimination, equal protection for all, and protection of minorities. These rights as they relate to sexual minorities have already been established in Uganda’s High Court in the cases of Victor Mukasa & Another vs. Attorney General (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No 24 of 2006), and Kasha Jacqueline, Pepe Onziema & David Kato v. Giles Muhame and The Rolling Stone Publications Ltd (2011). 

Six of the eighteen substantive provisions of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 are UNCONSTITUTIONAL. This implies that parliament can only pass them after amending the constitution. 

2) Disproportionate because it elevates the crimes provided for to the same levels as those of terrorism, treason and misprison of treason. The Bill therefore proposes that consensual sex between adults is as dangers to the people of Uganda as the placing of a bomb in a crowded nightspot! 

3) Redundant because it replicates existing provisions. Most importantly: 

The new provisions of the Bill if passed into law would be are largely incapable of implementation. Most importantly: 

Twelve of the eighteen substantive provisions are REDUNDANT. This is because they either replicate existing law or they are incapable of being practically implemented. In essence, this makes the whole bill a waste of time, for without a constitutional Amendment, it would be useless to pass a Bill whose provisions are either unconstitutional or redundant. 

From a MEDICAL PERSPECTIVE the Bill is based on false science, myths and discredited theories with regard to:

• Sexuality, sexual orientation and homosexuality
• The possibility of changing sexual orientation 

If adopted, the Bill would force Medical professionals to inform on their homosexual clients, thereby breaking the two most fundamental tenets of their profession, namely the Hippocratic Oath and the commitment to total client confidentiality. 

From a PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVE the Bill, if passed into law, would be a direct attack on Uganda’s already weak efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, as it would criminalise outreach, education and information at a time when new infections are on the rise and more people need to be placed on ARV treatment. It is generally understood that stigmatisation of vulnerable and at-risk groups is one of the biggest obstacles to HIV prevention; this Bill simply worsens the stigma and makes it impossible for health workers to do their jobs. The Bill, if passed into law, will thus become a further hindrance to Uganda’s attainment of the Millenium Development Goals. From a mental health perspective, the Bill is bound to produce an increase in depression and suicides by persons who feel they have no choice but to suppress their sexuality. 

From a GOVERNANCE PERSPECTIVE the Bill is repugnant in that it criminalises a range of civil society activities, and thereby circumscribes their capacity to intervene effectively. It undermines civil society’s freedom of expression through banning the ‘promotion’ of sexual health and sexual rights messages. It also asserts a single model of family rather than recognising the diversity of traditional and modern structures already existent in Uganda. As such it stifles the majority of Uganda’s heterosexual citizens, alongside their homosexual brothers and sisters. 

From a POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE the Kill the Gays Bill, and the wider homophobic discourse which it is derived from, and which it seeks to exacerbate, is being used to divert the attention of ordinary Ugandans from more immediately pressing issues. 

CAN THE BILL BE AMENDED? 

The Coalition has been reliably informed that attempts have been made to find a ‘win win situation’ which protects both National and International interests by amending those portions of the Bill which are most offensive to international best practice. We also hear that Honorable Bahati, has proposed a number of amendments to his original Bill. 

As a Coalition we do not believe that there is any conflict between national and international perspectives on the failings of the original Bill, nor do we believe that amendments in any way offer an acceptable way forward; while the wording may change, the intention of an Anti-Homosexuality Bill will remain the same: to Kill the Gays. We therefore reject the original Bill, together with any attempts to amend it, in their entirety. 

HAS THE PROCESS BEEN SUFFICIENTLY TRANSPARENT? 

We also protest the manner in which, since the tabling of the Bill in 2009, attempts have been made to exclude the voices of civil society actors from the debates about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Laws, unlike sex between consenting adults, should be done in public, not behind closed doors. We therefore thank the Legal & Parliamentary Affairs Committee for hearing our submissions on Monday 9th May 2011. 

POSITION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE WAY FORWARD 

1. We call unanimously for the complete withdrawal of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, whether in its original or amended form. 

2. We urge the incoming Parliament to pursue urgent legal reform to introduce clear legal recognition of the distinction between consensual and non-consensual sex between adults, whatever their gender. Specifically: 

• The existing definition of rape must be modified to recognise male victims for purposes of comprehensively criminalising non-consensual sex
• The Penal Code must be amended in order to decriminalise consensual same-sex relations. 

3. We call for a broader, more informed and ongoing dialogue on sexual health and sexual rights, between a broad range of stakeholders, including but not limited to: Government, religious leaders, traditional leaders, human rights activists, feminists, journalists, public health workers, sexual majorities and minorities, to minimise the manipulation of sexuality for political purposes, and to maximise human rights, public health and good governance for all. 

For further information on the work of the Coalition, please go to www.ugandans4rights.org or write to us on info@ugandans4rights.org.

Hearings Continue In Uganda’s Parliament on Anti-Homosexuality Bill

[Update: Paul Canning alerted me to this 30-minute audio snippet from today’s hearing. Beginning at the two-minute mark, the speaker describes how the bill is based upon false premises and is not supported by science:]

Warren Throckmorton has his ear to the ground on the rapidly developing situation in Uganda, where Parliament may be set to pass the draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill into law. He reported that  the Human Rights Commission, Sexual Minorities Uganda and the Coalition on Human Rights all testified against the bill during hearings today. The Associated Press reports that pastor Martin Ssempa testified again this morning, calling for the death penalty to be removed and replaced with seven year’s imprisonment. This is a remarkable backtracking from supporting lifetime imprisonment previously. Ssempa went on to call for the bill’s passage “because homosexuality is killing our society.”

LGBT Advocate and retired Anglican Bishop Christopher Senyonjo also testified against the bill. He warned the committee that the bill would not make gay people suddenly disappear, but would instead turn Uganda into a police state. He also warned that the bill would result in an increase in the spread of HIV/AIDS because gay Ugandans would fear seeking treatment.

The AP also reported on the bill’s future:

Stephen Tashobya, the head of the parliament committee, said it is time legislators give the bill priority. He said a report on the bill would be ready by Tuesday and could be presented to parliament by the end of the week.

“Due to public demand the committee has decided to deal with bill,” Tashobya said. “The bill has generated a lot of interest from members of the public and members of parliament and that is why we spared some time deal with before this parliament ends.”

Parliament is due to end on May 11, although Parliament itself doesn’t constitutionally expire until the 18th. It’s not clear whether there is enough time for the bill to make it to the floor before the 11th, but Frank Mugisha of Sexual Minorities Uganda said that if Parliament does take up the bill, it will be almost certainly be passed. Warren Throckmorton, who is constantly updating this thread with new information as he finds it, comments on the bill’s prognosis:

Tashobya is quoted as saying he would have the report completed by tomorrow. However, he just told me a few minutes ago that he cannot promise to complete the report by tomorrow. He did say that he would complete the report before the end of Parliament which is the 18th of May. When I asked him how the Parliament could vote on a bill in this manner, he said that the Speaker (Edward Ssekandi) makes those decisions. Theoretically, the Speaker could call Parliament into session anytime before May 18 for a vote on any left over bills.

According to Tashobya, the Company bill did not pass today, and the Procurement bill was pushed to tomorrow, thus making it even more difficult for any new bills to come to the floor before Speaker Ssekandi’s end of official business date of May 11. The AHB coming to the floor appears to hinge on the completion of the committee report by Mr. Tashobya  sometime tomorrow and the Speaker’s willingness to bring it to the floor on Wednesday. If this does not happen, the Speaker would have to call the MPs together sometime during the festivities of the Presidential inauguration and the swearing in of the new Parliament on the 18th.

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill, if passed in its current form, would impose the death penalty for those who are HIV-positive, who is a “repeat offender,” or whose partner is deemed “disabled” regardless of whether the relationship was consensual. It would also impose a lifetime sentence for other cases. Those provisions may be modified, although that still remains uncertain.

Even with those proposed modifications, the bill would still remain a potent threat to human rights. The bill would lower the bar for conviction, making mere “touching” for the perceived purpose of homosexual relations a criminal offense. It threatens teachers, doctors, friends, and family members with three years imprisonment if they didn’t report anyone they suspected of being gay to police within twenty-four hours. It also would broadly criminalize all advocacy of homosexuality including, conceivably, lawyers defending accused gay people in court or parliamentarians proposing changes to the law. It even threatens landlords under a “brothel” provision if they knowingly rent to gay people.

There is an AllOut petition which is now at about 40,000 signatures with a goal of 100,000 signatures by tomorrow. This will be presented at Parliament by Bishop Senyonjo tomorrow.

The Daily Agenda for Monday, May 9

I received an email on Friday:

I like the history bits you’ve beet putting on the blog. In order to be equitable to the trans community, here’s a little timeline I’ve developed over the years.

That was from Marlene Bomer, guest lecturer on gender and sexuality at Bowling Green State University and host of TransTalk. Attached was a “little timeline” — 64-pages! — of transgender and gender-bending history going back to 500 BCE. Two of today’s moments in history (Dana International and Harvey Fierstein) came straight from her timelime. I’m deeply grateful to Marlene for her important contribution to The Daily Agenda.

TODAY’S AGENDA:
Uganda’s Parliament Fiddles While The Country Burns: Uganda is in a massive upheaval right now. Middle class Ugandans are joining the poor and opposition leaders in protesting by launching a “walk to work” campaign. Incredibly, government forces have responded as though peacefully walking to work were illegal, violently breaking up groups walking together and imprisoning opposition leaders. Kizza Besigye, President Yoweri Museveni’s main opponent in last February’s election, had to flee to Kenya for medical treatment after police attacked his vehicle and threw a live teargas canister inside through a smashed window. With that, what started as a peaceful campaign turned to full-blown rioting across the country. Thousands of ordinary Ugandans have been injured since mid-April, and several killed. Uganda’s deteriorating economy has been traced to rising fuel prices exacerbate by to a falling Shilling brought on by massive government spending and corruption to curry favor in February’s elections, and the unbudgeted purchasing of six Russian SU-30 MK2 fighter jets for US$600 million. Uganda’s foreign reserves are dangerously low and the country is facing IMF deadlines in June to get its financial house in order. That’s just a month away.

L-R: Unidentified, American holocaust revisionist Scott Lively, International Healing Foundation's Caleb Brundidge, Exodus International boardmember Don Schmierer, Family Life Network's Stephen Langa, during the March 2009 anti-gay conference in Uganda.

So what is Parliament doing about all of this? According to reports last Friday, the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee is set to resume hearings today on the notorious Anti-Homosexuality Bill. According to this web site, Pastors Martin Ssempa and Stephen Langa testified before the committee last Friday. Langa is head of the Family Life Network, and was responsible for organizing the infamous three-day conference in March 2009 featuring three American anti-gay activists, which kicked off the campaign that led to the bill’s introduction. Ssempa hired George Oundo to pose as an “ex-gay” in support of the bill in mid-April. It’s unclear whether Ssempa will hire more “witnesses” for today’s hearing.  Also expected to testify are representatives from the Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law. If the bill makes it out of committee, it will almost assuredly pass if it is brought up for a vote in Parliament before the session ends on Wednesday.

Edie Windsor (Photo: Michael Key/Washington Blade)

Windsor v. US: Parties in the case of Windsor v United States will meet today in conference before New York Federal District Judge Magistrate James Francis to discuss proposals for a schedule for briefing and discovery for the case. The judge may decide on a schedule based on those proposals. The ACLU is representing Edie Windsor, who had to pay $350,000 in estate taxes because of DOMA when her spouse, Thea Spyer, died in 2009. The two had been together for 44 years and married in Canada in 2007.

After the Justice Department said that they would not be able to defend DOMA under heightened scrutiny, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) hired former U.S. solicitor general Paul Clement to defend DOMA. Windsor, the ACLU, Clement, and Justice Department officials are all expected to appear for today’s conference at the Southern District of New York Courthouse.

New York Lobbying Day: LGBT advocates will gather in Albany to lobby state senators who are undecided or who have not yet announced a position on marriage equality. Representatives from Empire State Pride Agenda, HRC, Marriage Equality New York, Log Cabin Republicans, Freedom to Marry and Queer Rising will participate in the lobbying efforts. A vote count by Gay City News shows that 26 Senators out of 62 support marriage equality, six short of the 32 needed.

Rally at Albany: Part of Monday’s lobbying efforst include a massive lunchtime rally at West Capitol Park beginning at 1:00 p.m. Speakers include Miss New York Claire Buffie, Rev. Stacey Latimer, Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward and Dru Levasseur, a Lambda Legal Transgender Rights Attorney.

"The Tyburn Tree" west of London. It was located near the present-day Marble Arch at Hyde Park

TODAY IN HISTORY:
Hanged for Sodomy: 1726. In July of 1725, Gabriel Lawrence, 43 and “a Papist” — that alone was also a crime in 18th century England — was indicted “for committing, with Thomas Newton, aged 30 years, the heinous and detestable sin of Sodomy, not to be named among Christians.” They were arrested at the famous “molly house” of Margaret Clap, a “place of rendezvous for Sodomites.” Newton described the place: “For the more convenient establishment of her customers, she had provided beds in every room of the house.” Newton testified against Lawrence, taking upon himself the role of innocent “victim” even though he, too, was at the molly house and arrested.

Newton claimed that he didn’t know that Claps’s establishment was a molly house. He must have been pretty dumb, because he apparently spent a lot of time there. He not only testified against Lawrence, but also against two others at the house: William Griffin, 43, and Thomas Wright, 32, who “often fetched me to oblige company that way.” All three defendants were found guilty and sentenced to death. On May 9, 1726, Lawrence, Griffin, and Wright were hanged at the infamous gallows known as “the Tyburn Tree.” In exchange for his testimony, Lawrence was granted immunity from prosecution.

[From Ian McCormick’s Secret Sexualities: A Sourcebook of 17th and 18th Century Writings]

Ignorance Is Bliss: 1871. Dressed as Lady Stella Clinton and Miss Fanny Winifred Park, Ernest Boulton, 22, and Frederick William Park, 23 attended a performance at the Strand Theatre in London and were arrested by police. A search of their homes turned up more than a dozen dresses, petticoats, bodices and bonnets. Their landlady described their dresses as very extreme. They were charged with conspiracy to commit sodomy.

The two defendants appeared in court in drag. The whole thing was baffling to the Attorney General, who, testified on May 9, 1871, that the lack of detailed British knowledge on the topic as one of the country’s virtues. He thought it “fortunate [that] there is little learning or knowledge upon this subject in this country; there are other countries in which I am told learned treatises are written as to the appearance to be expected in such cases. Fortunately Doctors in England know very little about these matters.” Ignorance reigned, and it was to Boulton and Park’s benefit. Sure, they dressed funny, engaged in “disgraceful behaviour,” and wrote piles of letters describing their exploits — an entire day was spent reading them into the record — but none of that counted as evidence of a conspiracy to commit sodomy. And since wearing dresses itself wasn’t against the law, the jury found them not guilty.

Harvey Fierstein’s Debut: 1971. Pork, Andy Warhol’s only play, debuted on a New York off-Broadway stage. One of the cast members was a sixteen-year-old (or eighteen-year-old, his birth year seems to vary) drag queen by the name of Harvey Fierstein.

Dana Goes International: 1998. The music world is shocked when judges at that year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Birmingham, England choose openly MtF Dana International (born Yaron Cohen in Tel Aviv, Israel) as their champion. Ultra-Orthodox Jews and Israeli conservatives were shocked and demanded that next year’s telecast not be held in the winning country, as tradition holds, due to the “shame” of her being transsexual. Dana countered, “My victory proves God is on my side. I want to send my critics a message of forgiveness and say to them: try to accept me and the kind of life I lead. I am what I am and this does not mean I don’t believe in God, and I am part of the Jewish Nation.”

Lightning may strike again. Dana International won the Israeli national Eurovision competition again, this time with her song “Ding Dong.” So thirteen years later, she will once again represent Israel at the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf, Germany this week.

BIRTHDAYS:
Alan Bennett: 1934. The English performer and playwright is best known for The Madness of George III and the film adaptation, The Madness of King George. He received an Academy Award nomination for the screenplay. In August 1960, he achieved instant fame as a comedy actor at the Edinburgh Festival by appearing in a satirical review with Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller and Peter Cook. His first play, Forty Years On, debuted in 1968. His critically acclaimed The History Boys won three Lawrence Olivier Awards in 2005 and Six Tony Awards on Broadway in 2006. His memoir, Untold Stories, appeared in 2005. He thought it would be published posthumously because he was undergoing treatment for cancer when he wrote it. The cancer went into remission, but the book went ahead anyway. In the biographical sketches, Bennett wrote openly for the first time about his homosexuality, although he said that he was “reluctant to be enrolled in the ranks of gay martyrdom, reluctant, if the truth be told, to be enrolled in any ranks whatsoever.”

If you know of something that belongs on the agenda, please send it here.

Uganda’s “Kill The Gays” Bill May Be Fast Tracked For A Vote

That’s what the blogger GayUganda is hearing, that the draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill may be getting its hearing before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Uganda’s Parliament:

Now, the anti-Homosexuality Bill is at present being discussed in the parliament of Uganda. Just today, as I write. Yes, today, Friday the 6^th of May 2011. Committee hearings are reportedly going ahead.

Now, remember that this is the lame duck session of parliament. And, remember that it is supposed to end soon, on 11 May 2011.

If the bill makes it out of the committee today, it could conceivably receive its final vote next week before Parliament ends on Wednesday.

[Update: Warren Throckmorton spoke with M.P. David Bahati, the bill’s sponsor, and Charles Tuhaise, a researcher for parliament’s research office. They confirmed that hearings did begin on the bill today, and will likely wrap up on Monday, and will include testimony from the NGO Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law. Also expected to testify are Pastors Martin Ssempa and Steven Langa. It was Langa who first organized the infamous Kampala conference featuring three American anti-gay activists in March 2009 which kicked the entire anti-gay campaign which culminated with this bill. Bahati was keen to point out that while Parliament may wide up its business next week, it won’t officially end until May 19.]

Uganda has been rocked in recent weeks with rioting and demonstrations against rising gas prices. The government has been responding with extraordinarily violent crackdown on dissent. One opposition leader was seriously injured and fled to neighboring Kenya for treatment. The disturbances even spilled onto the floor of Parliament, which had to suspend its session temporarily on Tuesday. GayUganda believes that forces behind the bill see as an opportunistic diversion for the violence that is racking the country:

So, it is a DIVERSION. The government needs a heady diversion for the country. For the outraged citizens of Uganda.

So, and this is very important, what is the government trying to do?

In actual fact, that diversion is not going to work. Because the citizens of Uganda are simply more concerned about the rising prices of food, and the deteriorating human rights situation. Their homophobia is a reflex which the government wants to use. But, it is not likely to work.

The diversion also can work both ways. With most of the media’s attention focus on the ongoing violence and protests, it could also be that the bill’s supporters see an opening for it to be passed when nobody’s paying attention.

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill, if passed in its current form, would impose the death penalty for those who are HIV-positive, who is a “repeat offender,” or whose partner is deemed “disabled” regardless of whether the relationship was consensual. It would also impose a lifetime sentence for other cases. The bill would lower the bar for conviction, making mere “touching” for the perceived purpose of homosexual relations a criminal offense. It threatens teachers, doctors, friends, and family members with three years imprisonment if they didn’t report anyone they suspected of being gay to police within twenty-four hours. It also would broadly criminalize all advocacy of homosexuality including, conceivably, lawyers defending accused gay people in court or parliamentarians proposing changes to the law. It even threatens landlords under a “brothel” provision if they knowingly rent to gay people.

Last week, the bill’s sponsor, M.P. David Bahati, agreed to “drop” the death penalty provision in order to get the bill passed. He has made this offer several times before. Given the draconian nature of the bill, the removal of the death penalty is hardly an improvement over the alternative of lifetime imprisonment in a Ugandan prison. The ruling government announced in March that the bill would be shelved over Bahati’s loud objections. Since then, Bahati and others have exerted increasing pressure to revive the bill, including paying people to pose as “ex-gays” to launch false allegations against the gay community.

Uganda’s economy depends on foreign donors for much of its support. Uganda, in recent years, has also tried to improve its coffee exports to premium distributors, an effort which has largely failed to get off the ground due to the reluctance of American and Western consumers to purchase coffee bearing the Ugandan label. Eco-tourism, which has been an important part of Uganda’s economic development, is also taking a hit due to Uganda’s declining reputation, despite being at the headwaters of the Nile at Lake Victoria, and possessing an abundance of wildlife and natural beauty.

GayUganda reminds is that what is happening is not occurring in isolation. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill may well be passed while, at the same time, the Ugandan government is instituting a violent and repressive crackdown against the human rights of all its citizens. As I observed last week, Uganda is now treating its citizens with just a small taste of how it will seek to treat its LGBT residents. GayUganda draws the point further:

But, remember that this is time for the GAY MOVEMENT around the world to make COMMON CAUSE with the average citizen of Uganda to decry the abuse of human rights of ALL UGANDANS.

Do not separate the two issues. Mention both in the same sentence, in the same breath.

Tell this to your leaders in the community, to your leaders in your country. To your leaders in your parliament, and to your leaders nationally and internationaly.

LGBTI rights are HUMAN Rights. They are not divisible. They are not above others, they are not distinct from the others.

Make common cause in demanding the cessation of abuse of rights of Ugandans, including LGBTI ugandans, by the Government of Uganda.

Let the message go out, simple, clear, unambiguous.

LGBTI rights are human rights. And, we are concerned about the rights of ALL Ugandans, including LGBTI Ugandans.

Sponsor Seeks To Revive Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Ugandan MP David Bahati (AP Photo/Ronald Kabuubi)

Ugandan M.P. David Bahati is not taking no for an answer. Last month, Information Minister Kabakumba Masiko articulated the government’s position that the draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill would not be voted on in Parliament. Immediately, Bahati swung into action demanding that Parliament’s  Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, where the bill had been held for more than a year, schedule hearings on the bill. Since then, committee chairman Stephen Tashobya has been somewhat ambivalent about the bill, saying on the one hand that it may come up for discussion, and on the other hand pointing out that there is very little time left for the current Parliament to act before it expires next month.

Today, the Associated Press rorts that Bahati re-issued his “consession” that he would consider dropping the death penalty from the bill if it would help to move the bill forward.  That’s not much of a concession; the more “lenient” punishment is lifetime imprisonment in a Ugandan prison. That’s hardly an improvement, and it’s barely scratching the surface. The bill would lower the bar for conviction, making mere “touching” for the perceived purpose of homosexual relations a criminal offense. It threatens teachers, doctors, friends, and family members with three years imprisonment if they didn’t report anyone they suspected of being gay to police within twenty-four hours. It also would broadly criminalize all advocacy of homosexuality including, conceivably, lawyers defending accused gay people in court or parliamentarians proposing changes to the law. It even threatens landlords under a “brothel” provision if they knowingly rent to gay people.

More worrying, newspapers all over the world are carrying this AP article with a misleading headline indicating that the death penalty’s being dropped is a fait accompli. Nothing could be further from the truth. The penalty has not been officially dropped. This is merely a statement of concession that Bahati is reiterating, one that he has made many times before. The bill itself remains unchanged.

The AP report also has Tashobya providing some wiggle room on whether the bill will come up for a vote:

Uganda Cabinet Suggests Alternatives to Anti-Homosexuality Bill

A report in this morning’s Daily Monitor, Uganda’s largest and most reputable independent newspaper, indicates that last week’s attempt by Martin Ssempa and Julius Oyet to revive the Anti-Homosexuality Bill have gotten under President Yoweri Museveni’s skin, and so his cabinet is proposing an alternative:

Ssempa, Oyett Press Uganda’s Parliament on Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Pastor Martin Ssempa (pointing) and Julius Oyet at Uganda's Parliament House (VOA / M. Onyiego)

The Voice of American is reporting that Ugandan pastors Martin Ssempa and Julius Oyet led a group of anti-gay activists to demand that Parliament pass the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. According to VOA:

Lead by Pastor Martin Ssempa, a charismatic and vocal opponent of homosexuality in Uganda, the group asked Ugandan Parliamentary Speaker Edward Kiwanuka to fight the emerging “homo-cracy” in Uganda and enter the bill for debate.

“We as religious leaders and civil society are distressed that the Anti-Homosexuality Bill is being deliberately killed largely by the undemocratic threats of western nations,” he said. “These same nations who promote democracy don’t want our representative to discuss laws to protect our children from the human trafficking of recruiting our children into homosexuality.”

Ssempa leads the Inter-Religious Taskforce Against Homosexuality. During the session with Speaker Kiwanuka, the Task Force presented a portion of over 2 million signatures it said were gathered from around Uganda in support of the bill.

The group trotted out Paul Kagaba, an “ex-gay” associate of Martin Ssempa who alleged that he had been “recruited” into homosexuality at the age of seventeen by murdered LGBT advocate David Kato. Kagaba has been implicate in at least two vigilante outing campaigns, the most recent of which is suspected of having been orchestrated by Ssempa himself.

George Oundo

Another putative ex-gay, George Oundo, re-appeared in this latest episode with his own allegations of foreign recruitment. Oundo has also participated in vigilante campaigns as well, particularly in the immediate aftermath of the infamous March 2009 anti-gay conference put on by American activists Scott Lively, Don Schmierer and Caleb Lee Brundidge. Oundo himself appears to have a great deal of difficulty deciding which side he should be on, but for now he appears to have cast his lot with Ssempa once again.

Julius Oyet’s appearance here is notable. Oyet and Ssema were present in the gallery when the Ugandan Parliament first considered the indroduction of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Oyet, who is President of the Ugandan branch of the U.S.-based College of Prayer (which itself is a ministry of Rev. Fred Hartley’s Lilburn Alliance Church in Atlanta), was made a member of M.P. David Bahati’s staff to lobby Parliament for the bill’s passage. While Bahati is the bill’s author and sponsor, Oyet played a crucial role in its drafting. He repordtedly told a documentary filmmaker:

I was there. I have been part of the brains behind it. We worked on it. We planned who should propose it. It is the Ugandan’s bill. It is the culture of Uganda to keep purity. It is everybody’s voice. I worked with Bahati on this.

Two weeks ago, Information Minister Kabakumba Masiko spoke on behalf of President Yoweri Musevini’s government to announce that the Anti-Homosexuality Bill would not be voted on by Parliament. Bahati however insists that the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, where the bill currently resides, will still hold hearings. The bill will automatically die if it does not come up for a final vote before the current Parliament ends on May 20.

Update: Daily Monitor picks up the story and adds a couple of interesting items. First, Daily Monitor quotes Parliament Speaker Edward Ssekandi:

“The mover of the Bill (David Bahati) is still a member of the 9th Parliament and even if the current Parliament doesn’t debate it, the new Parliament will do it,” Mr Ssekandi said.

This, I believe, indicates that he expects the bill to be reintroduced into the next Parliament after the current one ends.

And finally there’s this: a group of students from Makarere University had earlier met with Steven Tashobya, chairman of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, and told him that ” recruitment of gays was rampant at the university campus“:

That’s about US$340, which is more than the average annual per-capita income in Uganda. Where’s my US$340? Nobody told me about this!

TV Report: Uganda to Shelve “Kill-The-Gays” Bill

We now have YouTube video of the television news item we told you about yesterday reporting that the draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill will not be taken up by Parliament.

The chairman of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee had scheduled the Anti-Homosexuality Bill for debate in his committee, possibly as early as this week. But now, based on what Information Minister Kabakumba Masiko tells Uganda’s NTV, it appears that government has intervened to put a halt to the bill once and for all:

We had the Cabinet Subcommittee which gave us a report yesterday and we did realize that there are many things that are in the bill that are covered by other laws that are already in place. … And the law that is in offing, the Sexual Offenses Bill, will cover most of the other issues that were going to be covered.

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni directed a subcabinet committee to study the bill in January, 2010 amid growing international outcry over the proposed bill. In April, it was reported that the committee recommended that most of the bill be dropped with “useful provisions of the proposed law” incorporated into the Sexual Offenses Act. Which provisions the cabinet considered combining is not known. We currently do not have a copy of the Sexual Offenses Bill. The Bill’s sponsor, David Bahati, responded with a litany of issues which he felt were not covered:

We don’t have any prohibition on promotion of homosexuality anywhere, we don’t have any prohibition on same-sex marriage, we don’t have any prohibition in our laws on recruitment of homosexuality of our children, we don’t have any provision on counseling and caring. We want to make it very clear, we want Parliament to come up with a law that is specific and clear to address the emergent problem of homosexuality.

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill, if passed, would have imposed the death penalty on gays and lesbians under certain circumstances, including for “repeat offenders” — which would apply to anyone who had more than one relationship. Ugandan law already provides either 20 years or lifetime imprisonment, depending on how prosecutors chose to charge the accused. The new law would also have lowered the bar for conviction, making mere “touching” for the perceived purpose of homosexual relations a criminal offense. The law threatened teachers, doctors, friends, and family members with three years imprisonment if they didn’t report anyone they suspected of being gay to police within twenty-four hours. The law very broadly criminalized all advocacy of homosexuality including, conceivably, lawyers who defended accused gay people in court. It even threatened landlords under a “brothel” provision if they knowingly rented to gay people.

Bahati continued:

I am very confident that the Executive knows that 95% of Ugandans will not support homosexuality.

Minister Kabakumba responded:

Of course we are concerned and we don’t condone homosexuality in our country. That should be very, very, very clear. It’s in the constitution, we do not condone it, and of course our children are suffering.

Bahati called for committee to hold hearings on the bill:

Their views must be taken to committee of Parliament to be considered. They could be accepted, they cold be not accepted.

Last week, Tashobya said that the bill would be taken up for consideration by his committee, possibly as early as this week when Parliament returned for its lame duck session. Parliament returned on March 22. Parliament will expire on May 20. Our source in Kampala reports that Bahati has now gone on radio this morning saying that committee chairman Stephen Tashobya has assured him that the bill would be debated in committee.

But with the announcement coming from a cabinet member and not the committee chairman, it suggests that someone, possibly President Museveni himself via Masiko, has intervened and persuaded the Parliamentary Affairs committee to drop the bill altogether without a hearing. It should be noted that the bill’s main supporter in the cabinet, former Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo, resigned last week in compliance with a court order following his loss in the ruling party’s primary elections last fall.With Buturo now out of the way, it appears that Masiko is the new point person for the government’s position on the bill. In Buturo’s parting remarks, he called on Parliament to pass the bill. (Shortly after Buturo’s departure, the offices of the Ethics and Integrity Ministry were padlocked by their landlord over failure to pay rent.)

January a year ago, Museveni spoke at an NRM meeting urging Parliament to “go slow” over the bill, pointing out that due to international outcry it is not just a domestic matter but one with worldwide ramifications, most notably in the threat it posed to foreign aid to the country. Foreign aid makes up an estimated one-third of Uganda’s budget and economy. He also called on a special subcabinet committee to examine the bill. In a cable from the U.S. Embassy in Kampala posted on Wikileaks, President Museveni “suggested the entire bill could be dropped, and twice asked the Ambassador to remind Washington that “someone in Uganda”, meaning himself, is handling the matter and knows what he is doing.” Museveni also complained about foreign pressure. “The President twice referred to a recent local political cartoon depicting him on this issue as a puppet of Secretary Clinton, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and Stephen Harper, and asked international donors to stand down to give him room to deal with the anti-homosexuality legislation in his own way.”

That subcabinet committee completed it work the following April, but since then the bill has languished in Parliament’s Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee. There it quietly stayed through the February Parliamentary and Presidential elections, and its quiet repose there appeared to keep it safely out of electoral politics. Now that the elections are over, Buturo is out of the way, and with Parliament reconvening for a short lame-duck session, it appears that Museveni’s government saw this as the best opportunity to kill the bill.

Uganda Bill Finally Shelved?

I received an email earlier this afternoon from a trusted source in Kampala, saying that the news program NTV Tonight reported that the Anti-Homosexuality Bill will not be passed by Parliament after all. Uganda’s Information Minister Kabakumba Matsiko was reportedly shown on television explaining that the bill will not be passed because other laws already exist which criminalize homosexuality. However, some parts of the bill may be attached to the Sexual Offenses Act. Which parts, we don’t know. Our source writes, “Bahati was panicked and tried to look defiant.” M.P David Bahati is the bill’s sponsor.

NTV is Uganda’s main independent television station, and is owned by the same media company which publishes the reputable Daily Monitor newspaper.

Update: Andrés Duque of Blabbeando pointed me to this Spanish language article (Google Translation) from the Agencia EFE which appears to  confirmation initial reports.