Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyMay 12th, 2011
MP David Bahati
Warren Throckmorton appears to have confirmed what the Human Rights Commission has warned about earlier today, that the report from the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee recommends that in the Clause 3 defining “aggravated homosexuality” and which specifies that “A person who commits the offence of aggravated homosexuality shall be liable on conviction to suffer death,” that the phrase “suffer death” should be replaced with “the penalty provided for aggravated defilement under Section 129 of the Penal Code Act.”
And what is that penalty for “aggravated defilement” (which, by the way, deals with child molestation, a law that is already gender neutral)? That section of the penal code specifies that anyone who “commits a felony called aggravated defilement and is, on conviction by the High Court, liable to suffer death.”
In other words, the death penalty is being replaced with — the death penalty under subterfuge.
Which means that when MP David Bahati, sponsor of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, told NPR just this very morning that the committee had recommended that the death penalty be removed, that he was lying before his god and his country.
Of course, such evil should come as no surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention.
May 12th, 2011
“No amendments, no changes, would justify the passage of this odious bill,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters. “Both (President Barack Obama) and (Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) publicly said it is inconsistent with universal human rights standards and obligations.”
The State Department, he said, is joining Uganda’s own human rights commissions in calling for the bill’s rejection.
“We are following this legislative process very closely,” Toner said. “Our embassy is closely monitoring the parliament’s proceedings and we also are in close contact with Uganda’s civil rights and civil society leaders, as well as members of the (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community there.”
May 12th, 2011
Human Rights Watch has issued a press release saying that they have seen the report from Uganda’s Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, which held hearings on Friday and Monday on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Despite denunciations from human rights groups and the U.S. State Department, the committee’s report with its recommendations was forwarded to Parliament Speaker Edward Ssekandi on Tuesday, which allowed the bill to show up on Parliament’s agenda on Wednesday. The bill was scheduled to go through its second and third reading as the last item on the agenda. It would have been during the second reading when the committee’s report would be revealed and recommendations discussed and either adopted or rejected. Once any and all amendments have been considered, then the bill would undergo its third reading in its final form for a vote.
Despite erroneous news reports to the contrary, the bill has not been amended since its introduction in October, 2009. To understand the committee’s recommendations, it’s important to review what the bill would do in its current form. It passed, it would:
There has been much speculation about what the committee’s report recommends. HRW says that the recommendations amount to minimal tweaks, plus a whole new “crime” that wasn’t included before:
The committee proposes amendments to the October 2009 draft bill. Despite the suggestion by the bill’s author, David Bahati, that the death penalty could be deleted from the legislation, the committee recommends retaining it. The committee proposes rewording the provision to align with the current Penal Code provision on “aggravated defilement,” which is punishable by death.
Some recommendations integrate concerns raised by Ugandan and international human rights groups. The committee states that provisions criminalizing “attempted” homosexuality should be removed, rightly stating such allegations would be very difficult to prove, Human Rights Watch said. The committee also recognizes that provisions requiring anyone who knows of homosexual conduct to report to police within 24 hours would create “problems especially to professionals whose ethics include confidentiality in order to be able to carry out their functions like Doctors, Lawyers and Counselors.”
The committee also suggests removing the clauses on extra-territorial prosecution of homosexuality and on nullifying Uganda’s international human rights obligations to the extent that they contradict the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
The committee recommends the creation of an additional crime, “conduct[ing] a marriage ceremony between persons of the same sex,” punishable by three years in prison, which was not in the original draft. It also suggests deleting the crimes of “aiding and abetting homosexuality,” and “conspiracy to commit homosexuality,” but including a penalty of seven years in prison for “procuring homosexuality by threats.” The committee did not comment on the current proposed provision criminalizing the “promotion of homosexuality,” which would jeopardize the legitimate work of national and international activists and organizations working to defend and promote human rights in Uganda.
Warren Throckmorton has looked into Uganda’s constitution and Rules of Procedures to understand what is at stake when Parliament reconvenes tomorrow morning:
Apparently, President Museveni cannot directly veto the AHB. I confirmed this with two sources today and read through their Rules of Procedure and Constitution. He can send it back or refuse to assent to it (although it would be the first time he has ever done so) but he cannot directly stop it. If he refuses to assent to it, Parliament can either turn around and pass it or they can wait 30 days for it to become law. It can either pass or fail tomorrow. If it comes up and fails then it is done in present form. If it doesn’t come up tomorrow, then a MP can make a motion to continue all business forward. In addition, I heard today, but cannot confirm that if no motion is passed to continue all business, then the new incoming Speaker could direct the committees to pick up where they left off with unfinished bills from the last Parliament. We apparently could be monitoring this particular AHB until at least May 19.
May 12th, 2011
A lovely ad, isn’t it? A very simple message. The only spoken words in it are from the pastor: “Welcome, everyone.”
It’s a message that many mainline churches have offered for quite some time. Including Presbyterians, Reformed Jews, Episcopalians, United Church of Christers (?)… this is hardly radical stuff. Just about every progressive religious organization believes in welcoming gay members and families.
To be clear, not all welcoming churches have gay marriage. Not all welcoming churches allow ordination of openly gay people who are not celibate. But all welcoming churches are, by definition, welcoming.
“Welcome, everyone.” If there is a minimum entry criteria for what constitutes “welcoming of diversity,” then it should at least start with that, don’t you think?
At the very minimum?
No so, with so-called Jim Wallis. His organization, Sojourners — ostensibly the leading “progressive” Christian organization — has rejected this ad. An ad that says nothing more than “welcome, everyone.”
Why? Because Wallis said that Sojourners doesn’t want to take any “sides.” Rev. Robert Chase, whose organization Intersections International sponsored the Believe Out Loud project, reacts:
Taking sides? What are the sides here? That young children who have same-gender parents are not welcome in our churches? That “welcome, everyone” (the only two words spoken in the ad) is a controversial greeting from our pulpits? That the stares the young boy and his moms get while walking down the aisle are justified? I can’t imagine Sojourners turning down an ad that called for welcome of poor children into our churches. So why is this boy different?
I called the folks at Sojourners and asked what the problem was, what the “sides” in question might be. The first response was that Sojourners has not taken a stance on gay marriage (the ad is not about gay marriage); or on ordination of homosexuals (the ad is about welcome, not ordination); that the decision, made by “the folks in executive” (why such a high level decision?) was made quickly because of the Mother’s Day deadline. The rationale kept shifting. The reasoning made no sense.
Sojourners claims that “We believe that unity in diversity is not only desirable, but essential to fulfilling God’s ultimate desire for God’s people.” (emphasis in the original.) What’s more, in Wallis’s book, God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It 
“”The church is going to have to learn to stay together and talk about these things until we find some resolutions together. Many feel that legal protections can and should be extended to same-sex couples, without necessarily changing our whole definition of marriage. But one could argue that gay civil marriage is necessary under “equal protection.” One could also argue for church blessings of gay unions. I think all those are strong points, even if the churches are unlikely to change their whole theology and sacrament of marriage itself. But this is the good and necessary dialogue. And in the meantime, the church must stand up for gay and lesbian people under attack and must welcome them into the community of faith.” [page 334, emphasis added.]
It seems that Wallis has forgotten the words that he wrote in the very book that established his reputation as “welcoming.” What he said in his book is the same thing portrayed in the ad.
I think it’s time for Wallis to go ahead and surrender the title of “welcoming” to someone who can actually live up to the minimum requirements for entry into the club.
May 12th, 2011
TODAY’S AGENDA:
“Mayday for Marriage” RV Tour: The Family Research Foundation’s RV is touring the state with their message against marriage equality. Today, the hatebus stops in Buffalo at 2:00 p.m. at State Sen Mark Grisanti’s District Office (Walter J. Mahoney Building, 65 Court St., Room 213, Buffalo) 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 deeply care, consider yourself invited.
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; New Hope, PA; and Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
California Decriminalizes Homosexuality: 1975. Efforts to repeal California’s Sodomy law began in 1969 when San Francisco Assemblyman Willie Brown introduced what became known as the Brown Bill into the lower House. He reintroduced the bill every year until its passage in 1975. That year, the bill advanced through the House only to run into trouble in the Senate. The vote stood at a 20-20 tie when Senate Majority Leader George Moscone (who later became mayor of San Francisco) locked the chamber’s doors until Lt. Gov. Mervyn Dymallyin could fly in from Denver to deliver the tie-breaking vote. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill into law when it finally reached his desk.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:
Katharine Hepburn: 1907. Star of Morning Glory, The Philadelphia Story, The African Queen, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, The Lion In Winter, and On Golden Pond among countless others, she holds the record for the most Best Actress Oscar wins — four out of twelve nominations. She was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of suffragist Katharine Martha Houghton (who co-founded Planned Parenthood) and Dr. Thomas Hepburn, a urologist from Virginia. He insisted that his daughters learn to play tennis and golf, to ride and to swim, an activity she especially enjoyed. She attended Bryn Mawr College where she earned a degree in history and philosophy. She also earned a suspension for smoking and breaking curfew: after dark, she would swim naked in the college’s “Cloisters” fountain.
He background and drive are what make Hepburn widely admired today, but she were very unconventional and controversial in her day. She disdained makeup and often went to interviews dressed in men’s suits, saying they were more comfortable. She was straightforward, outspoken, and unabashedly intellectual, earning her the nickname, “Katharine of Arrogance.” She was also fearless. While filming The African Queen on location with Humphrey Bogart and director John Houston, she asked to go along when the two went big game hunting. Houston described her as a “Diana of the Hunt” who was able to shoot with the best of them. She recognized no limits. “I can remember when walking as a child, it was not customary to say you were fatigued. It was customary to complete the goal of the expedition.”
Bruce Voeller: 1934. Where to begin? He was a tireless gay rights advocate who co-founded the National Gay Task Force in 1973 and served as its director until 1978. He was a talented biologist, having studied biochemistry, developmental biology and genetics. That put him on the front lines as a researcher for a new disease that others started calling Gay-Related Immune Disorder (GRID), a name that he challenged for its medical inaccuracy. It is Voeller who is credited for giving the new disease the more accurate name of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
Voeller had married Dr. Kytja Scott Voeller, whom he met in grad school. Together they had three children. He came out in 1964 when he was 29, and the resulting divorce was messy. Voeller had to fight all the way up to the Supreme Court to gain child visitation rights. By then, Voeller was heavily involved in the resurgent gay rights movement. He was among the founders of the Gay Activists Alliance in 1969 and served as their third president. But he sought to bring gay activism into the mainstream of political discourse, while the GAA was more interested in street activism. In 1973, he left the GAA and founded NGTF (later, NGLTF), and built it into a nation advocacy organization. As NGTF director, he attended a historic White House meeting in 1977 with thirteen other LGBT advocates to raise awareness about discriminatory laws and policies.
In 1978, Voeller left he NGTF and established the Mariposa Education and Research Foundation to conduct human sexuality research. Among his concerns was that books, papers, and other ephemera on the LGBT movement was easily lost or destroyed, posing a danger that LGBT history itself would vanish. So he created a network of volunteers to search for and gather as much as possible, and that extensive collection was donated to the Cornell University Library in 1988. With the advent of AIDS, Voeller returned to his biologist’s roots and the Foundation shifted its focus towards reducing the risks of sexually transmitted diseases. His 1989 study warned that mineral oil lubricants caused rapid deterioration of latex condoms, leading to a shift to water-based sexual lubricants. He pioneered the use of nonoxynol-9 as a spermacide and topical virus-transmission preventative,, and he studied the reliability of various brands of condoms in disease prevention. The results of that study even appeared in Consumer Reports, making the information widely available and accessible to the public. He was conducting studies on viral leakage for the (then) recently approved “female” condom when he passed away in 1994 of an AIDS-related illness.
Jared Polis: 1975. Polis earned his fortune when he founded American Information Systems, an Internet access, web hosting and application service provider. He also went on to co-found an online greeting card company and an online florist. After selling those companies during the height of the dot-com bubble, he used his wealth to found the Jared Polis Foundation in 2000, whose mission is to “create opportunities for success through education and access to technology.” The foundation has refurbished and donated more than 3,500 computers each year to schools and other non-profits. He also founded two charter schools for at-risk students, and another school for older immigrant youths. He founded another school in Denver to serve youth who are homeless or living in unstable conditions.
When he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Colorado’s Second District, he was the first openly gay man to be elected as a freshmen (all the others came out while already in office). As congressman, he has been a tireless advocate for LGBT equality. In 2011, he launched the Fearless Campaign, dedicated to “empowering our political leaders with the moral courage it takes to vote fearlessly on the politically charged issues of today, regardless of the perceived political risk.”
If you know of something that belongs on the agenda, please send it here. PLEASE, don’t forget to include the basics: who, what, when, where, and URL (if available). You’d be surprised how many notices I receive without these vital details.
May 11th, 2011
Headlines like this one in the Los Angeles Times are exasperating, especially considering we’ve spent the entire day chasing down erroneous reports from the Associated Press. So let’s get this straight once and for all: the death penalty has not yet been removed from the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
The opportunity to offer any amendments to the bill comes during the second reading in Parliament, which has not occurred yet. There are those who say the death penalty will be dropped when the measure is brought to the floor for it second reading. There are those who say that a recommendation to drop the death penalty has been included as part of the report from the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee. But the death penalty has not yet been dropped, nor have any other talked-about changes to the bill been implemented. Until the bill comes up for the its second reading and those amendments to the bill are actually proposed and approved, the bill remains as it has been since its introduction.
Mainstream media have been wrongly reporting this for more than a year now. Every time they’ve reported it, they have been wrong. Stop doing it, mainstream media.
May 11th, 2011
Bill Donohue of the Catholic League is mad at the Presbyterians for allowing ordination of gay people. Where’s the Presbyterian League when you need one?
May 11th, 2011
Governor Mack Markell tonight signed Delaware’s civil unions bill into law. The new law gives same-sex couples the same rights and responsibilities at the state level that are granted/imposed on married couples. The bill also recognizes same-sex marriages and civil unions performed in other states. The law takes effect on January 1, 2012.
May 11th, 2011
A memo was made public on Monday that stated that same-sex marriages could be be conducted on Navy bases in states that allow such marriages and that chaplains who so wished could participate.
Predictably, social conservatives reacted with outrage.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council (identified as a hate group by the SPLC), tweeted
Hearing Navy chaplains are now being trained to perform same sex weddings following [Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT)] changes. Major religious liberty implications.
And the politicians got all charged up as well (Christianity Today)
Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) and 62 other Members of Congress also object to the new policy. They sent a letter to the Secretary of the Navy accusing the Navy of violating federal law.
“We find it difficult to understand how the military is somehow exempt from abiding by federal law. Not only does this document imply recognition and support of same-sex marriage in opposition to DOMA, it also implies that the Navy will now perform these marriages so long as they do not violate state statutes,” Akin wrote.
And so the Navy has today reversed the policy. But what is being carefully avoided by conservatives is how this came about and who is really impacted.
The policy memo was written by Navy Chief of Chaplains Rear Adm. Mark L. Tidd and was written to chaplains to answer questions that arose when those Navy chaplains were undergoing training as to what chaplains were allowed to do.
This reversal will have but minimal effect on gay couples. No, we will not be allowed to marry on base, but we can find another venue quite close by. The wedding will go on.
Who this really effects the most are military chaplains. This reversal tells them that they do not have the freedom to officiate at certain weddings. They cannot rely on the teachings of their own denomination or the guidance of their faith; instead politicians will dictate what are acceptable standards for sacraments.
So listen up, all you Methodists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Congregationalists, Disciples of Christ, American Baptists, Universalists, Reformed Jews, or any other religious denomination who either does support same-sex marriage or is deciding whether to do so: it’s time you wake up to the truth. This is an attack on you.
Tony Perkins and the rest who yell the loudest about religious liberties don’t want religious liberty at all. Or, at least, not for you. They want to dictate to you what is acceptable religious policy in this country. It’s time you get in this fight and realize that you are fighting as much for your own freedom as you are for ours.
May 11th, 2011
Earlier this month, Timothy Kincaid wrote that the Presbyterian Church was on the cusp of allowing gay non-celibate ministers in committed relationships to be ordained. At the time, 80 regional presbyteries had ratified the change of 87 needed, with 33 left to vote. Last week, the Presbyterian Church (USA) reached that milestone:
With the vote of its regional organization in Minnesota, the Presbyterian Church USA became the fourth mainline Protestant church to allow gay ordination, following the Episcopal and Evangelical Lutheran churches and the United Church of Christ. The Minnesota vote was closely followed by one in Los Angeles.
This is the fourth time the Presbyterian Church has voted on gay ordination, with each vote becoming more progressively pro-gay. One elder and deacon explained why she was among those who had changed her mind with this vote.
“I finally decided at the age of 63 that it is inevitable,” she said. “I think it’s like letting black people come to white churches, or letting women become ministers. It’s inevitable.”
Still, she couldn’t help but express surprise. “For the Presbyterian Church, which is a mainline church, a graying church, it’s something.”
The Presbyterian Church currently does not sanction same-sex marriage. In 2010, the church narrowly defeated a proposal to change the qualifications for marriage from “man and woman” to “two persons.” This vote may well be a harbinger for a change to the church’s stand on marriage in the near future.
May 11th, 2011
[Update: 8:00 p.m. EDT: Jacqueline Kasha Facebook status says:
The Bill kept being raised but because of time it wasnt discussed. However after all the reactions that came from MPs it has strong support.On our way out the Government whip together with another MP Odong Otto told security that we shouldnt be allowed back in parliament and that we should all go to the West.
Those statements mean that should the Bill be discussed on Friday which is the next date agreed by the house. Its very possible it will sail through. Today a Bill was discussed for the 2nd and 3rd reading and voting within 20mins, it didnt pass because of lack of quorum so meaning should the AHB reach the floor it will pass because it has a lot of support.
We need a HUGE miracle.
Jacqueline’s assessment is considerably more pessimistic than Melanie Nathan’s source. It’s very difficult to handicap this race.]
[Update: 3:10 p.m. EDT: Melanie Nathan has an update: I have received word from a source in Uganda’s Parliament that although the Bill is on the agenda for Friday, tomorrow being a national holiday for the swearing in of President Museveni, they assert that there is a very strong chance the Bill will not make it to the floor and that Parliament will be prorogued before it can be debated and voted upon. The source, stated that Cabinet members and government have been overwhelmed with e-mails, statements and complaints from all around the world. The source believes this may well factor into preference given to other Bills in the last moments of this Parliamentary Session. The source went further to state that it was made as a commitment to him from the Speaker that “there would not be time” to hear it. He did not necessarily trust the commitment.” I think it is wise not to trust that commitment.]
[Update: 1:50 p.m. EDT: Frank Mugisha told the Associated Press that today’s Parliament proceedings were interrupted by a walkout among women MP’s who were upset over an unrelated bill (Both the Marriage and Divorce Bill and the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Bill have drawn fire from women’s groups. It’s unclear which bill triggered the walkout.) Parliament was then unable to continue due to a lack of quorum.]
Uganda’s Parliament has suspended business for the day without having taken up debate and a vote on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Sexual Minorities Uganda’s Frank Mugisha, who has been on hand at Parliament (and enduring insults from Parliament members as a result) just posted on Facebook that Parliament will reconvene on Friday with the Anti-Homosexuality Bill back on the agenda.
Daily Monitor, Uganda’s largest independent newspaper, has been focusing its resources on the larger ongoing turmoil over nationwide month-long riots, demonstrations, and today’s return of opposition leader Kizza Besigye from Nairobi, Kenya. He was expected to return to Entebbe today after having been treated in a Nairobi hospitals for injuries sustained at the hands of Uganda’s security forces. Ugandan security forces reportedly tried to block his return, and as of this writing it is still unclear whether he will be allowed to do so. Debate over Besigye’s return has overtaken events in Uganda’s Parliament, which may account for its sudden recess until Friday.
Warren Throckmorton also confirms that the Anti-Homosexuality Bill will be scheduled for Friday. While the 8th Parliament remains constitutionally in effect until May 18, a Parliament spokesperson told Throckmorton that Friday is the last day the current Parliament can act because swearing-in ceremonies for the 9th Parliament will begin on Monday.
Contrary to widespread mainstream media reports, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill is neither dead nor dropped. This isn’t the first time mainstream media has gotten this wrong.
ADDENDUM, 5/14: It turns out that the walkout by women delegates was over the Marriage and Divorce Bill. The bill would have “it would abolish forced marriage and allow women to divorce their husbands on the basis of cruelty, among others,” according to Daily Monitor. The walkout occurred when the Attorney General said that he was not ready for the bill to be voted on.
May 11th, 2011
[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.
May 11th, 2011
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:
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:
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
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
If you know of something that belongs on the agenda, please send it here.
May 10th, 2011
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.
May 10th, 2011
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
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