Uganda’s harsh anti-gay bill is now law

Contents:

• UGANDA ANTI-HOMOSEXUALY BILL: LIFE PRISON FOR SAYG YOU'RE GAY
• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• RISHI SUNAK APOLOGIS TO LGBT VETERANS FOR PAST ARMED FORC GAY BAN
• US WHE SUPREMACISTS FOUND GUILTY OF GAY PRI RT PLOT
• UGANDA'S LGBTQ MUNY IS ' SHOCK' OVER NEW MEASURE, GAY ACTIVIST SAYS
• UGANDA’S ANTI-GAY BILL IS THE LATT AND WORST TO TARGET LGBTQ AINS
• NO, UGANDA IS NOT MAKG ILLEGAL TO BE GAY (AGA)
• WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• UGANDA’S HARSH ANTI-GAY BILL IS NOW LAW

UGANDA ANTI-HOMOSEXUALY BILL: LIFE PRISON FOR SAYG YOU'RE GAY

Homosexual acts are already illegal Uganda but this bill troduc many new crimal well as makg merely intifyg as gay illegal for the first time, iends, fay and members of the muny would have a duty to report dividuals same-sex relatnships to the was passed wh wispread support Uganda's parliament on Tuday eveng.

The bill's backers say they are tryg to protect children but Ms Byagaba said: "Whether you're heterosexual or homosexual, the ernment and parliament should troduce laws, or at least implement existg laws that protect all children - boys, girls om filement. The fal versn has yet to be officially published but elements discsed parliament clu: A person who is nvicted of groomg or traffickg children for purpos of engagg them homosexual activi fac life prisonIndividuals or stutns which support or fund LGBT rights' activi or anisatns, or publish, broadst and distribute pro-gay media material and lerature, also face prosecutn and imprisonmentMedia groups, journalists and publishers face prosecutn and imprisonment for publishg, broadstg, distributn of any ntent that advot for gay rights or "promot homosexualy"Death penalty for what is scribed as "aggravated homosexualy", that is sexual abe of a child, a person wh disabily or vulnerable people, or s where a victim of homosexual asslt is fected wh a life-long illnsProperty owners also face risk of beg jailed if their premis are ed as a "brothel" for homosexual acts or any other sexual mori rights' activiA small group of Ugandan MPs on a mtee sctisg the bill disagreed wh s premise.

They argue the offenc seeks to crimalise are already vered the untry's Penal Co 2014, Uganda's nstutnal urt nullified another act which had toughened laws agast the LGBT clud makg illegal to promote and fund LGBT groups and activi, as well as reeratg that homosexual acts should be punished by life imprisonment, and was wily nmned by Wtern urt led that the legislatn be revoked bee had been passed by parliament whout the required quom. The Ugandan law is regard as one of the harsht anti-LGBTQ laws the propos life imprisonment for anyone nvicted of homosexualy, and the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated s, which clu havg gay sex wh someone below the age of 18 or where someone be fected wh a life-long illns such as the other si of the ntent, MPs Ghana earlier this month unanimoly voted favour of amendments to the untry's anti-gay legislatn, phg closer to beg enacted to law. Though ls harsh than Uganda's new law, the Promotn of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu Bill propos a three-year prison sentence for anyone who intifi as LGBTQ and a 10-year sentence for anyone who promot homosexualy.

LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?

Gay sex is already illegal Kenya, but the ernment n also be tolerant of gay people - for example, has given asylum to people om other Ain untri, cludg Uganda, who faced persecutn their home untri bee of their sexual orientatn. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Many Kenyans believe that gay rights are agast their relign - whether Christian or MlimAlthough the meetg Uganda was billed as an attempt to protect the "sovereignty" of Ain stat, was actually -sponsored by an Amerin Christian right-wg anisatn, Fay Watch Internatnal (FWI) Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian prit the Anglin Church and an amic at Boston Universy the US, says Ain untri are beg targeted by FWI and siar US-based anisatns, and that the impact of s lobbyg has been "horrible and humane" parts of Ai, fuellg what he lls "ant homophobia". "It is one thg to say: 'I don't agree wh you beg gay', but we didn't have the ant one, where policians now are sayg: 'You go to jail for life, you go to jail for talkg about beg gay, you go to jail bee you're livg wh your fellow woman', " Dr Kaoma says.

A member of the Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr (LGBT) seen reactg after Kenya's High Court led to uphold the Brish-era penal that crimalis gay sex (Photo: 24 May 2019)In the latt sign of risg homophobia different Ain untri, a Kenyan opposn MP is leadg a mpaign for parliament to further crimalise the untry's small LGBTQ Peter Kaluma's move after neighbourg Uganda adopted a tough new anti-gay law, rejectg threats by US Print Joe Bin to impose sanctns and travel rtrictns on "anyone volved ser human rights ab" I met Mr Kaluma - a member of veteran Kenyan opposn polician Raila Odga's Orange Democratic Movement - he was stg behd his sk at his office the pal Nairobi, proof-readg and makg rrectns to a bill that he tends to table parliament soon. "We want to prohib everythg to do wh homosexualy, " Mr Kaluma tells me, addg that his bill will be much broar than the legislatn passed by Uganda's parliament and approved by Print Yoweri Meveni Ugandan law is regard as one of the harsht anti-LGBTQ laws the propos life imprisonment for anyone nvicted of homosexualy, and the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated s, which clu havg gay sex wh someone below the age of 18 or where someone be fected wh a life-long illns such as the other si of the ntent, MPs Ghana earlier this month unanimoly voted favour of amendments to the untry's anti-gay legislatn, phg closer to beg enacted to law.

Gay paras, drag shows, wearg the lours, the flags, the emblems of the LGBTQ group, " Mr Kaluma sex is already illegal Kenya, but the ernment n also be tolerant of gay people - for example, has given asylum to people om other Ain untri, cludg Uganda, who faced persecutn their home untri bee of their sexual Kaluma tells me he wants their asylum to be revoked, and for them to leave a small, hidn church set up to offer fort and support to LGBTQ people central Nairobi, the female pastor says Mr Kaluma's bill is g "a lot of panic, anxiety, fear". It fuels some kd of vlence that now people are planng but holdg back on, " she tells Kenyans believe that gay rights are agast their relign - whether Christian or MlimAlthough the meetg Uganda was billed as an attempt to protect the "sovereignty" of Ain stat, was actually -sponsored by an Amerin Christian right-wg anisatn, Fay Watch Internatnal (FWI) Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian prit the Anglin Church and an amic at Boston Universy the US, says Ain untri are beg targeted by FWI and siar US-based anisatns, and that the impact of s lobbyg has been "horrible and humane" parts of Ai, fuellg what he lls "ant homophobia". "It is one thg to say: 'I don't agree wh you beg gay', but we didn't have the ant one, where policians now are sayg: 'You go to jail for life, you go to jail for talkg about beg gay, you go to jail bee you're livg wh your fellow woman', " Dr Kaoma 's Mormon founr Sharon Slater ni that the group promot anti-gay laws Ai.

RISHI SUNAK APOLOGIS TO LGBT VETERANS FOR PAST ARMED FORC GAY BAN

"Fay Watch oppos legislatn that penalis a person for havg sexual attractns or for how they intify, " she says an emailed rponse to the Slater addrsed Ain lawmakers, clerics and mpaigners at their fom Uganda's laki cy of Entebbe March, and later appeared a group photo wh Print Meveni at his official more than 20 years, Mrs Slater has lobbied ernments on what she lls "fay valu" and has ma her missn to mpaign agast children and young people beg given Comprehensive Sexualy Edutn (CSE), a curriculum-based sex tn programme champned by the Uned Natns and other c a Uned Natns Populatn Fund (UNFPA) manual for out-of-school youths east and southern Ai, sayg promot homosexualy and is too explic. "It sensis children to sex, " she Slater also quot om the manual, cludg l which say that facilators of lsons should have "a ntral, acceptg attu towards homosexualy" I ntact Maria Bakaroudis, UNFPA's CSE specialist for east and southern Ai, for ment, she says she is not keen to talk about the "opposn", as she refers to adds that the manual is only a guile, and each untry n tailor to su their Bakaroudis fends CSE, sayg provis "life-savg rmatn" to curb high rat of untend pregnanci, HIV, and sexually transmted 's LGBTQ muny has been wagg a long-nng mpaign to mand equal rightsAlthough Mr Kaluma attend the meetg Uganda -sponsored by FWI, he ni workg wh the group on his bill, which he says will propose a ban on teachg CSE sayg is part of the "LGBTQ agenda". Image source, Emma RileyImage ptn, Rad operator Emma Riley was discharged om the Navy for beg a lbian the 1990sRishi Sunak has apologised for the historil treatment of LGBT veterans who were sacked or forced out of the ary for beg PM lled the ban an "appallg failure" of the Brish was illegal to be gay the Brish ary until 2000 - wh thoands of veterans thought to be affected.

Acrdg to the report, the Mistry of Defence said at the time that jtifitn for the policy clud "matenance of operatnal effectivens and efficiency" - but the report said there had been an "prehensible policy of homophobic bigotry" the armed forc. It heard shockg acunts of homophobia, bullyg, blackmail, sexual asslts, "disgraceful" medil examatns, and nversn mak 49 remendatns to the ernment cludg:Affected veterans to be given an "appropriate fancial reward" pped at £50m overallThe rtoratn of medals that had to be hand back on dismissal or dischargeThe clarifitn of pensn rights The prentatn of a special veterans' badgeThe ernment said would rpond full after summer of the veterans affected watched the PM's public of them, Emma Riley, 51, was a Royal Navy rad operator for three years before she was arrted and discharged for beg a lbian after tellg a lleague her sexualy the early told BBC News she weled the report, and hoped would be put to place "swiftly.

US WHE SUPREMACISTS FOUND GUILTY OF GAY PRI RT PLOT

"Olympian Dame Kelly Holm, who served the army and me out as gay last year, lled the publitn of the report a "historic moment", while Cathere Dixon, a former army officer who is now vice chair at Stonewall, said was "an important step towards jtice" for those whose ary reers were "ed" bee of their sexualy. Many still have a crimal rerd to this also tails how some veterans faced a plete loss of e, while others were emed eligible to claim their pensn bee of their report more than 20 years after four servicemen and women, who were sacked for beg gay, won a se the European Court of Human Rights and overturned the armed forc chary Royal Brish Legn lled on the ernment to accept the report's remendatns chary's director general Charl Byrne weled both the report and Mr Sunak's "landmark apology", sayg many people who had dited their liv to the untry were "forced or felt prsured to leave the armed forc, and this mistreatment stroyed or shortened their reer".

Image source, North Country Off Grid/Youtube/via RtersImage ptn, Photos shared on social at the time allegedly showed dozens of the hate group's members beg arrted near the pri eventFive members of a whe supremacist hate group nvicted of plottg to rt at a gay pri event will spend three days jail, a urt has men and dozens other members of the Patrt Front group were arrted last June after a rint spotted them wh masks and shields gettg to a were lled and found rt gear and a smoke grena the lorry was stopped near where the North Idaho Pri Alliance was holdg an event the cy of Cor d'Alene.

Uganda's parliament has passed a new law which crimalis intifyg as LGBT, and threatens them wh 10 years Ecwe, MP for Amuria District, addrsed lawmakers, sayg homosexuals will have "no space Uganda" is the latt sign of risg homophobia a untry where homosexual acts are already illegal. SummarySome Kenyan MPs ph for Uganda-style anti-gay lawSiar mov afoot Tanzania and South SudanBill would end Kenya's stat as regnal LGBT havenAt Nairobi's Pri event, fear and tight securyNAIROBI, June 22 (Rters) - Mohamed Ali don't believe gay Ains exist.

UGANDA'S LGBTQ MUNY IS ' SHOCK' OVER NEW MEASURE, GAY ACTIVIST SAYS

"I will ask them to take me to vote for that, to kick them out, kick LGBT people out of Kenya pletely, " he after Uganda enacted one of the most dranian anti-LGBT laws on Earth, Kenya uld be poised to follow su wh a siarly formulated bill that punish gay sex wh prison or even ath some s, acrdg to a draft of the law and two lawmakers backg parliament. Some regnal lawmakers ame the issue as an almost existential battle to save Ain valu and sovereignty, which they say have been battered by Wtern prsure to pulate on gay draft of Kenya's Fay Protectn Bill, seen by Rters, mirrors many aspects of the Ugandan law, which was signed by Print Yoweri Meveni at the end of May to the dismay of the LGBT muny, human rights mpaigners and Wtern sex is punishable by at least 10 years jail unr the proposed Kenyan law, while "aggravated homosexualy", which clus gay sex wh a mor or disabled person or when a termal disease is passed on, brgs the ath penalty.

UGANDA’S ANTI-GAY BILL IS THE LATT AND WORST TO TARGET LGBTQ AINS

"We nnot travel the road of women marryg their fellow women and men marryg their fellow men, " he said at the proposed Kenyan law reflects a signifint gree of agreement and ordatn on anti-gay polici between lawmakers across the regn, acrdg to the draft of the bill as well as Rters terviews wh the Kenyan MPs and activists.

"The Uned Stat  advanc efforts around the globe to protect LGBTQI+ persons om vlence  and abe, crimalizatn, discrimatn, and stigma, and to empower lol  LGBTQI+  movements and  persons, " the spokperson said rponse to qutns about this REIGNS AT NAIROBI PRIDEThe Kenyan bill would toughen up a lonial-era statute unr which gay sex was already illegal, though the olr, ls tailed law was rarely proposed law would signal the ath knell for Kenya's stat as a place of relative refuge for gay people East Ai as the only untry the regn to host refuge fleeg persecutn bee they are draft bill stipulat that no one should be granted asylum on grounds of persecutn lked to sexual orientatn.

Anticipatn of the new legislatn, and the anti-gay rhetoric polics and the media om public figur such as Ali and Kaluma that has acpanied , is already stg a chill over the LGBT muny, acrdg to anizers of the Pri event Nairobi this Kacha, one of the anizers, said that unlike prev years the lotn was not disclosed advance out of fear that anti-gay activists would target the event. "Kenya as a untry don't feel like home anymore, " she advot and opponents of the Fay Protectn Bill say has a good chance of beg law, boosted by the enactment of the Ugandan law and well-anized and fanced anti-LGBT polil Dias, executive director of the Gay and Lbian Coaln of Kenya, also ced last year's electn of Ruto. KAMPALA, Uganda — Members of Uganda’s LGBTQ muny are shock and fear beg arrted after Parliament passed a measure that would make a crime to intify as gay and impose tough sentenc that clu the ath penalty certa s, an activist said “Anti-Homosexualy Bill, 2023” was passed wh a near-unanimo majory by lawmakers  the east Ain untry, where anti-gay sentiment ns ep.

NO, UGANDA IS NOT MAKG ILLEGAL TO BE GAY (AGA)

Ronald Kabuubi / APThe legislatn will next be sent to Print Yoweri Meveni, who has repeatedly nounced homosexualy, to be signed to Mugisha, one of a few Ugandans who live openly as gay, told Rters he was sred the measure would trigger “mass arrts of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer persons and mob vlence toward LGBTQ muni.

There’s gog to be a lot of trma and s of mental health that will lead to a lot of suici, ” he relatns were already illegal Uganda, but supporters of the new law say is need to punish a broar array of LGBTQ activi, which they say threaten tradnal valu the nservative and relig East Ain measure clus steep sentenc that clu ath for “aggravated homosexualy” and life prison for same-sex relatns. While there has been progrs some Ain natns to crimalise same-sex relatnships, public opn polls show overall Ains' attus toward LGBTQ people starkly ntrast those other untri where homosexualy has been more wily accepted. A Whe Hoe spokperson said the bill reprents one of the most extreme actns taken agast the LGBTQ muny anywhere the world, and UN High Commissner for Human Rights Volker Türk said “will renr lbian, gay and bisexual people Uganda crimals simply for existg, for beg who they are”.

Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (ILGA); Aobarometer; Brish lonialism and the crimalizatn of homosexualy (2014) by Enze Han and Joseph O'Mahoney; ESRI GeoInquiri; Natural Earth; Rters rearch and reportg. Ultimately, will not matter how many urt s are won, or ernments prsured to cease anti-gay legislatn, or Ain lears backed by wtern money and tn elected wh the expectatn they will challenge public perceptns of homosexualy.

WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?

In the latt sign of risg homophobia different Ain untri, a Kenyan opposn MP is leadg a mpaign for parliament to further crimalise the untry's small LGBTQ Peter Kaluma's move after neighbourg Uganda adopted a tough new anti-gay law, rejectg threats by US Print Joe Bin to impose sanctns and travel rtrictns on "anyone volved ser human rights ab" I met Mr Kaluma - a member of veteran Kenyan opposn polician Raila Odga's Orange Democratic Movement - he was stg behd his sk at his office the pal Nairobi, proof-readg and makg rrectns to a bill that he tends to table parliament soon.

"We want to prohib everythg to do wh homosexualy, " Mr Kaluma tells me, addg that his bill will be much broar than the legislatn passed by Uganda's parliament and approved by Print Yoweri Meveni Ugandan law is regard as one of the harsht anti-LGBTQ laws the propos life imprisonment for anyone nvicted of homosexualy, and the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated s, which clu havg gay sex wh someone below the age of 18 or where someone be fected wh a life-long illns such as the other si of the ntent, MPs Ghana earlier this month unanimoly voted favour of amendments to the untry's anti-gay legislatn, phg closer to beg enacted to law. Although the meetg Uganda was billed as an attempt to protect the "sovereignty" of Ain stat, was actually -sponsored by an Amerin Christian right-wg anisatn, Fay Watch Internatnal (FWI) Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian prit the Anglin Church and an amic at Boston Universy the US, says Ain untri are beg targeted by FWI and siar US-based anisatns, and that the impact of s lobbyg has been "horrible and humane" parts of Ai, fuellg what he lls "ant homophobia".

"It sensis children to sex, " she Slater also quot om the manual, cludg l which say that facilators of lsons should have "a ntral, acceptg attu towards homosexualy" I ntact Maria Bakaroudis, UNFPA's CSE specialist for east and southern Ai, for ment, she says she is not keen to talk about the "opposn", as she refers to adds that the manual is only a guile, and each untry n tailor to su their Bakaroudis fends CSE, sayg provis "life-savg rmatn" to curb high rat of untend pregnanci, HIV, and sexually transmted diseas.

UGANDA’S HARSH ANTI-GAY BILL IS NOW LAW

He was also a gut at FWI’s Ain Fay Policy Conference last October, held, wh no sense of irony, of those attendg share a belief that the liberal Wt is tryg to sexualise children ( bat about Uganda’s new law, policians routely nflate homosexualy and paedophilia). A meetg Mosw 1995 between an Amerin historian and two Rsian soclogists who blamed homosexualy for populatn cle laid the ground for the World Congrs of Fai, an Amerin anti-gay work that oppos same-sex marriage, promot “the natural fay” and has anised nferenc Ai.

” ■This article appeared the Middle East & Ai sectn of the prt edn unr the headle "A harsh anti-gay bill is now law"From the June 3rd 2023 ednDisver stori om this sectn and more the list of ntents Explore the edn. The UN human rights head, Volker Türk, lled the proposed law “shockg and discrimatory” month, a group of leadg scientists and amics om Ai and across the world urged Meveni to veto the bill, sayg that “homosexualy is a normal and natural variatn of human sexualy”, 371 MPs voted for the amend bill. The bill will, however, pass to law whout the print’s assent if he returns to parliament for a send Among, the speaker of parliament, said: “Today, parliament has gone aga to the history books of Uganda, Ai and the world, [bee ] clearly brought up the issue of homosexualy, the moral qutn, the future of our children, and protectg fai.