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Unganda’s Anti-Gay Legislation

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Political leaders in Uganda are threatening to pass a so-called "anti-homosexuality bill" that would mandate life in prison or even death to the country’s gays and lesbians. We'll talk to Scott Long, director of Human Rights Watch’s LGBT Division, Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family, and Amnesty International USA's Uganda specialist, Dr. Msia Clark about the proposed legislation and the role American evangelicals have had in creating an anti-gay climate in Uganda.

You can read the Ugandan "Anti-homosexuality Bill" here.

Guests:

Dr. Msia Clark, Scott Long, and Jeff Sharlet

Comments [11]

Apollo Namalu from Ugandan in Brookly, NY

Homosexual desire is, ostensibly, as commonly occurring (and has been since human beings could articulate desire) as heterosexual desire. Thus, the idea of ridding the country of homosexuality is just impossible. . As long as there are human beings, there will be desire. It seems to be common sense at this point in time to understand desire in this manner. It chooses us, we do not choose it. What we can choose, however (as so many right-wing anti-gay politicians and officials and clergy members point out) is whether or not to act upon these desires. Even though democracy calls for the freedom of a person to do with his/her body what they wish so long as it does not harm others or themselves, this policing of the body is becoming more widespread even in the U.S., as we witness the furthering of the conflation between church and state. (An example of this troubling situation is currently occurring with the textbook debacle taking place in Texas, where creationist censorship boards are essentially removing black history and scientific, empirical knowledge of evolutionary theory from textbooks in the name of God

Mar. 19 2010 03:45 PM
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allan from nyc

The laws passed in Uganda, if carried out, are
clearly crimes against humanity. The Americans who helped persuade the Ugandan government to enact those laws are, in effect, culpable as
conspirators to commit murder. Why then are
those Americans not vulnerable to prosecution under US law?

Jan. 08 2010 09:17 AM
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phyllis

Honestly, "hate" is just the right word for how I feel about these people.

Jan. 06 2010 10:55 PM
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Carey from Jersey

when are christians going to stop hating and start loving?
This is not the will of god, but the will of man. This is sad.

Jan. 06 2010 01:58 PM
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Sandra from Astoria, Queens

I was thinking of neo-colonialism too! These Christian evangelicals can't get these kinds of laws enacted here in the US (don't doubt that they would love to), so they go to a place where they can take advantage of the situation because the populace is poor and needy.

Jan. 06 2010 01:52 PM
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j from bklyn

i saw a report on 60 Minutes a few weeks ago about child labor being used for gold mining in [a country next to Uganda] and that the gold was being passed through Uganda for laundering.
Is the family related to any of the officials having to do with these 'business' dealings?

Jan. 06 2010 01:49 PM
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john harvey from toronto

have your guests heard of the case of Victor Mukasa?
this cross-dressing woman was a very active voice in Kampala's gay community whose place of refuge - a friend's house - was burned down by authorities. s/he has since been forced to move to S. Africa. there was also a case of a teenage girl committing suicide after her school authorities publicly shamed her following revelations of her affections for a classmate . . . .

Jan. 06 2010 01:45 PM
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Selly from New York City

Thank you for covering this Leonard!

To hear more stories from LGBT Africans check out the None on Record: Stories of Queer Africa project: www.noneonrecord.com

Listen to stories from South Africa, Kenya, Senegal, Sierra Leone and more.

Jan. 06 2010 01:44 PM
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jen from Brooklyn

I find it interesting that homosexuality is demonized as a western import but Christianity (also a western import) can be embraced.

Jan. 06 2010 01:39 PM
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akena

Sorry to say but my people are sinking deeper and getting stuck in the cesspool that is barbarism. From murdering albinos for their skin and bones for use by witchdoctors [Tanzania], to raping babies in the belief that that would cure AIDS [South Africa], to a pastor pouring acid down the throat of his own son to exorcise a devil [Nigeria], to stoning people to death who have had sex but are unmarried [Somalia] and now to killing gays. And all of these can be easily adopted across borders. I await the African renaissance, age of enlightenment and reason and rule of law, advent of democracy and shaking of the yoke of religion so that Africans can return to the fold of humanity again.

Jan. 06 2010 01:16 PM
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hjs from 11211

why does religion spawn so much hate?

Jan. 06 2010 12:57 PM
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