Fact-checkg 3 proment claims about Florida's ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill - Poynter

Contents:

• UGANDA'S PARLIAMENT HAS PASSED ITS “KILL THE GAYS” LAW
• UGANDA ANTI-HOMOSEXUALY BILL: LIFE PRISON FOR SAYG YOU'RE GAY
• UGANDA PASS STRICT ANTI-GAY BILL THAT IMPOS DEATH PENALTY FOR SOME
• UGANDA LAWMAKERS AMEND NTROVERSIAL ANTI-GAY LAW BUT ATH PENALTY FOR HIV POSIVE SEX REMAS
• UGANDAN PRINT SIGNS ANTI-GAY LAW THAT INCLUS DEATH PENALTY AS A PUNISHMENT
• AMID 'KILL THE GAYS' BILL UPROAR, UGANDAN LGBTQ ACTIVIST IS KILLED
• LGBTQ+ UGANDANS ARE FLEEG AS “KILL THE GAYS” LEGISLATN ADVANC
• THE U.S. NNECTN TO UGANDA’S ‘KILL THE GAYS’ BILL
• UGANDA PLANS BILL IMPOSG ATH PENALTY FOR GAY SEX
• NO, UGANDA IS NOT MAKG ILLEGAL TO BE GAY (AGA)
• ‘WE WILL HUNT YOU’: UGANDANS FLEE AHEAD OF HARSH ANTI-GAY LAW
• HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO
• FACT-CHECKG 3 PROMENT CLAIMS ABOUT FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL

UGANDA'S PARLIAMENT HAS PASSED ITS “KILL THE GAYS” LAW

The bill, which advot have nicknamed “Kill the Gays, ” matas the ath penalty for “aggravated homosexualy, ” which refers to any same-sex act which the “victim” is a mor, the “offenr” is livg wh HIV, the offenr is a parent or guardian, or if the “victim” is disabled. However, a measure that prevly would have required people to “report” homosexual activy was amend to only apply when a child is volved; failure to report rri a jail sentence of five years or a fe of 10 ln Uganda shillgs, or roughly $2, 682 USD. 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. ""Homosexualy is not natural to Ugandans, but there has been a massive recment by gay people schools, and pecially among the youth, where they are promotg the falsehood that people are born like that, " Lokodo told the Thomson Rters Foundatn Thursday.

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

"It wasn't clear what would be nsired "grave acts" unr the new legislatn, but the origal "kill the gays" bill provid for the ath penalty stanc of what was emed "aggravated homosexualy, " cludg sex acts which one person was HIV-posive or a said the new bill will be troduced Parliament the next few weeks and has the support of Print Yoweri Meveni. The most recent fatal attack occurred last week, wh a gay man beg bludgeoned to origal bill also led to a lawsu by Sexual Mori Uganda agast anti-LGBTQ Amerin mister Stt Lively, wh the group sayg he had mted ternatnal human rights vlatns by spreadg hate Uganda.

Most of the acts are already crim regardls of genr unr the Ugandan penal , but the ath penalty has been add to this bill to target s which the perpetrator and victim are of the same parliamentary vote ps a stggle over gay rights Uganda that has drawn ternatnal attentn for nearly 15 years. It as anti-gay polici and discrimatn have been on the rise several Ain natns, cludg Kenya, Ghana and legislatn Uganda, lled the Anti-Homosexualy Bill, also impos a penalty of up to 1 billn Ugandan shillgs, about $264, 000, on any enty nvicted of promotg homosexualy. ”“This hoe will ntue to pass laws that regnize, protect and safeguard the sovereignty, morals and cultur of this untry, ” Ana An Among, the speaker of the Ugandan Parliament, said after legislators fished bill will now go to Print Yoweri Meveni, Uganda’s lear for nearly four s, who has been an outspoken driver of anti-gay measur.

UGANDA PASS STRICT ANTI-GAY BILL THAT IMPOS DEATH PENALTY FOR SOME

Katumba/Agence France-Prse — Getty ImagThe bill’s passg was sharply cricized by rights groups and by a few lawmakers Uganda who said that ged on the eedoms of Ugandans and further erod the rights of gay Türk, the Uned Natns human rights chief, lled the anti-gay law “probably among the worst of s kd the world” and said that uld “serve to ce people agast each other. Around the world, a ath penalty sentence for same-sex relatns is imposed only a handful of untri, cludg Iran and Mrania, acrdg to a survey by Human Rights bill was troduced early March by the lawmaker Asuman Basalirwa, who has said that homosexualy threatens fay valu and the safety of Ugandan children. Basalirwa doubled down, sayg the law was need bee there was a “public outcry” over a plot to rec schoolchildren to homosexualy — an allegatn that rights advot have said is Uganda, a untry of about 46 ln people — about 85 percent Christian and 15 percent Mlim — relig lears have jotly veighed agast homosexualy and what they say is s impact on the sancty of fay and children.

The new laws, activists say, will aggravate the challeng already facg gay thori have recent years regularly round up people whom they spect of beg gay or lbian and arrtg people at gay-iendly bars on what rights groups say are fabrited dg charg, subjectg some to vasive physil examatns. ImageGay Ugandan refuge who fled om their untry to neighborg Kenya returned om food shoppg Nairobi Inganga/Associated PrsWhile the vote happened quickly, the drive to outlaw homosexualy Uganda has been long-nng, drawg enuragement om evangelil Christians the Uned Stat and ternatnal outrage om gay people and human rights advot. Meveni that punished “aggravated homosexualy” wh life the Ugandan Constutnal Court nullified the law that same year, sayg that had been passed Parliament whout the necsary ntrast, for the vote on Tuday night, lawmakers filled parliamentary chambers.

Anyone who tri to have same-sex relatns uld be liable for up to a law also cre the ath penalty for anyone nvicted of “aggravated homosexualy, ” a term fed as acts of same-sex relatns wh children or disabled people, those rried out unr threat or while someone is unnsc. The offense of “attempted aggravated homosexualy” rri a sentence of up to 14 legislatn is a major blow to efforts by the Uned Natns, Wtern ernments, civil society and rights groups that had implored the print, Yoweri Meveni, not to sign . Lawmakers did add language makg clear that anyone spected of beg a homosexual would not be punished unls they engaged same-sex rt of the law remaed the same, cludg mandatg a prison term of up to 20 years for anyone who promot homosexualy, a vague provisn that activists fear uld be ed to target agenci supportg L.

UGANDA LAWMAKERS AMEND NTROVERSIAL ANTI-GAY LAW BUT ATH PENALTY FOR HIV POSIVE SEX REMAS

The law, which also enurag the public to report any spected acts of homosexualy, ntas ambiguo language that mak difficult to who allows premis to be ed for same-sex relatns uld face up to seven years prison, and a person nvicted of homosexualy uld be sent for “rehabilatn.

Policians first drew up a siar measure 2009, but when was signed to law 2014, the urt stck down on procral over the past few years, polil lears, along wh domtic and ternatnal relig anizatns, began rampg up anti-gay mpaigns and warng about what they ll a threat to fay valu. What's TeA Ugandan ernment mister announced an tentn to make homosexualy punishable by ath October 2019; the Natnal Christian Foundatn has fund projects that opposed LGBT rights Uganda; and the WShape Foundatn, closely lked to Chick-fil-A, has fund the Natnal Christian Foundatn.

UGANDAN PRINT SIGNS ANTI-GAY LAW THAT INCLUS DEATH PENALTY AS A PUNISHMENT

What's FalseHowever, the Ugandan mister did not signal an tent to legalize the murr of LGBT people, and his remarks were quickly ntradicted by the ernment; also, 's not clear to what extent Natnal Christian Foundatn-fund enti were volved the creatn or promotn of a bill to make homosexualy punishable by ath. 10, Uganda's Mister for Ethics and Integry, Simon Lokodo, told the Rters news agency that the untry's ernment tend to revive a failed 2014 bill, known at the time as the "Kill the Gays" bill, that would make "grave acts" of homosexualy punishable by ath.

“Homosexualy is not natural to Ugandans, but there has been a massive recment by gay people schools, and pecially among the youth, where they are promotg the falsehood that people are born like that, ” Ethics and Integry Mister Simon Lokodo told the Thomson Rters Foundatn. Until or unls Lokodo issu a retractn of his remarks, or further clarifitn is forthg, is simply not clear what the Ugandan ernment's rolved tentns are, as of October 2019, regardg the possible troductn of the ath penalty as a punishment for homosexual acts. Some observers might see an ethil equivalence between imposg state executn as a punishment for homosexualy, on the one hand, and legally permtg any and every civilian to murr another civilian, on the basis of sexual orientatn or genr inty.

David Behati — who first troduced the Anti-Homosexualy Bill 2009 and was a key player the ensug mpaign — scribed to Sharlet the fluence of a ntroversial Amerin Christian nservative movement known lloquially as "The Fellowship" and "The Fay" visg and enuragg the legislatn, cludg at the early stag when still clud a ath penalty provisn. Sexual Mori Uganda, a lol advocy group, said Wasswa’s ath was the fourth LGBTQ-related murr there three ath of Wasswa, who was gay and genr-nonnformg, as human rights advot have been soundg the alarm that the Ugandan ernment is rampg up prsure on the untry’s LGBTQ muny by threateng to rensir the famo 2014 “Kill the Gays” bill that creased the penalty for homosexualy om life prison to activists march on the streets of Kampala rryg plards on Aug.

AMID 'KILL THE GAYS' BILL UPROAR, UGANDAN LGBTQ ACTIVIST IS KILLED

11, 2014 to monstrate agast the recently annulled Anti-Gay law by Ugandas nstutnal Kasamani / AFP - Getty Imag file“When policians, members of Parliament ll for laws, the retroductn of the ‘anti-gay’ law, they are rponsible for this crease vulnerabily the LGBT muny, ” Frank Mugisha, executive director of Sexual Mori Uganda, stated a prs release announcg Wasswa’s is highly nservative and a dangero place to be openly gay. In an terview wh Thompson Rters Foundatn published last week, Lokodo said homosexualy “is not natural to Ugandans, ” and blamed gay people’s existence on a “massive recment” schools and among Guardian reported that MP Jam Nsaba Buturo also said the bill would soon be brought forward Parliament.

However, a spokperson for Ugandan Print Yoweri Meveni said there are no current plans to retroduce the 's Print Yoweri Meveni giv a state of secury addrs durg a special ssn of the Parliament kampala on June 20, Sadurni / AFP - Getty Imag fileIn an terview last week wh a Ugandan TV statn, Lokodo, a former Catholic prit, rtated his plan to “brg back the anti-homosexualy bill. The natn’s prev Anti-Homosexualy Act — which allowed for life imprisonment for some homosexual acts between nsentg adults — was ultimately stck down urt shortly after s passage Human Rights Watch reports, the latt bill expands on the crimalizatn of homosexualy, cludg prohibg, for example, touchg another person “wh the tentn of mtg the act of homosexualy.

LGBTQ+ UGANDANS ARE FLEEG AS “KILL THE GAYS” LEGISLATN ADVANC

Although the Uned Stat, the Uned Natns, and the UK have all nmned Uganda’s latt Anti-Homosexualy Act, other Wtern fluenc have played a key role promotg the legislatn — namely, the evangelil, Arizona-based anizatn Fay Watch Internatnal, which helped craft the origal “Kill the Gays” bill 2009, LGBTQ Natn reported. ”Last month, followg the Anti-Homosexualy Act’s passage through Uganda’s parliament, Fay Watch sponsored a nference jog together lawmakers om over a dozen Ain natns, all of whom are currently workg to pass or troduce anti-LGBTQ+ legislatn. Wily seen as one of the most extreme forms of anti-homosexualy legislatn the world, a draft versn of the bill expands existg rtrictns and punishments for same-sex activy, crimaliz dog bs wh LGBT rights groups and lls for the applitn of the ath penalty certa s for gay sex rried out by “serial offenrs.

” His remarks me around the same time that 24 people were charged by lol thori wh “homosexual practic” for attendg a semar anized by an HIV/AIDS chary Kenya, top policians reacted anger after the untry’s Supreme Court recently led agast a petn that sought to bar activists om registerg an LGBTQ rights anizatns.

Close to half that figure was spent nservative, predomantly Christian Uganda alone, where relig advot advote for gay “nversn therapy” and tout supposed succs stori of “ex-gay” anti-LBGTQ attus have long existed untri around the world, we are seeg untri like Uganda the sharp end of a broar right-wg culture war over genr rights and inti. Lively is a notor homophobe who advanced the theory the 1990s that Adolf Hler and other leadg Nazi lleagu were gay, and that their sexual orientatn somehow fed to the atroci of the, an addrs to Uganda’s parliament, suggted homosexualy was a Wtern-imported “disease” that uld be spread to the untry’s children. Uganda is one of several Ain natns where is illegal to be queer; the natn enacted s Anti-Homosexualy Act 2014, which allowed for life imprisonment for some homosexual acts between nsentg adults, and dified the reprsn of LGBTQ Ugandans.

THE U.S. NNECTN TO UGANDA’S ‘KILL THE GAYS’ BILL

The latt bill, ially passed by parliament March, tak Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ polici much further, punishg LGBTQ advocy wh up to 20 years prison and proposg the ath penalty for “aggravated homosexualy” — homosexual acts volvg children or members of other at-risk groups, or volvg a person who is HIV posive.

Uganda was already hostile to LGBTQ people, even before the 2014 Anti-Homosexualy Act; lonial fluence was baked to the penal , and a 2009 bill lloquially lled the “kill the gays” bill sparked ternatnal outrage for a provisn that would allow gay people to be hanged. The 2023 bill also appli to trans and genr-nonnformg people, punishg wh up to 10 years prison anyone who “holds out as a lbian, gay, transgenr, a queer, or any other sexual or genr inty that is ntrary to the bary tegori of male and female. In realy, the US particular has fluenced or supported anti-LGBTQ polici and attus Uganda, particularly via evangelil groups like the Fellowship Foundatn, which had a hand craftg the 2009 “kill the gays” bill, acrdg to a 2020 report om Open Democracy.

NAIROBI (Thomson Rters Foundatn) - Uganda announced plans on Thursday for a bill that would impose the ath penalty on homosexuals, sayg the legislatn would curb a rise unnatural sex the east Ain bill - lloquially known as “Kill the Gays” Uganda - was nullified five years ago on a technily and the ernment said plans to rurrect wh weeks.

UGANDA PLANS BILL IMPOSG ATH PENALTY FOR GAY SEX

Earlier this year, Bnei sparked ternatnal outcry over plans to impose the ath penalty for gay sex, backtrackg only after tense Uganda wants to follow said the bill, which is supported by Print Yoweri Meveni, will be re-troduced parliament the g weeks and is expected to be voted on before the end of the was optimistic would pass wh the necsary two-thirds of members prent - a shortfall numbers killed a siar bill 2014 - as the ernment had lobbied legislators ahead of s re-troductn, Lokodo add.

FEARFULMov to rtrict LGBT+ rights and crimalise gay sex other untri have sparked protts and May, Bnei was forced to extend a moratorium on the ath penalty for gay sex after celebri such as actor Gee Clooney nmned a law allowg whippg and stong to November, anti-gay remarks by a senr official Tanzania led to the east Ain natn’s send biggt donor, Denmark, whholdg $10 ln faced wispread ternatnal nmnatn when the prev bill was signed off by Meveni Uned Stat rced aid, imposed visa rtrictns and ncelled ary exercis.

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

Mbajjwe Nimiro Wilson, 24, a gay man om Uganda, a safe hoe Otieno for The New York TimIn a spartan safehoe wh flimsy curtas and no furnure northwt of the Kenyan pal, Nairobi, people om neighborg Uganda clung to the few valuabl they uld snatch while fleeg harsh new legislatn targetg them back home. A lbian uple clenched the one smartphone that held photos om happier days, gog on dat and dancg began leavg after Uganda’s Parliament passed a sweepg anti-gay bill late March that threatens punishment as severe as ath for some perceived offens, and lls for life prison for anyone engagg same-sex relatns. “The ernment and the people of Uganda are agast our existence, ” said Mbajjwe Nimiro Wilson, a 24-year-old who fled wh a sgle backpack days after a hostile crowd, cludg children, rnered him as he bought groceri near a gay shelter the pal, Kampala.

In terviews, more than a dozen gay Ugandans who had fled to Kenya scribed how their iends, fay and neighbors turned agast them over the past year, as renewed anti-gay sentiment swept over the nservative Parliament, lawmakers promoted the basels allegatn that there was a plot to promote homosexualy schools. In the streets, Mlims marched agast them, and Christian church, clerics urged ngregants to rema watchful about efforts to lure their children to Augt, the thori took their most drastic actn yet when they closed Sexual Mori Uganda, the untry’s leadg gay rights Parliament adopted the bill March, dozens of L. ” It would also “jeopardize” Uganda’s progrs toward endg AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, the statement Ugandan bill is already spirg others across the ntent, cludg Kenya, where a recent Supreme Court cisn had allowed gay rights groups to register legally — a lg that has drawn vol cricism om the print and others.

‘WE WILL HUNT YOU’: UGANDANS FLEE AHEAD OF HARSH ANTI-GAY LAW

Meveni’s cisn was announced late Thursday after a meetg of lawmakers his lg party, almost all of whom support the bill approved last meetg rolved to return the 2023 Anti-Homosexualy Bill to the legislature “wh proposals for s improvement, ” a statement said. ”Meveni “told the members that he had no objectns to the punishments but on the issue of rehabilatn of the persons who have the past been engaged homosexualy but would like to live normal liv aga, ” spokman Sandor Walimbi said on Twter.

”The bill enjoys wi support Uganda, cludg among church lears and others who have lled for a harsh new law targetg gay was troduced by an opposn lawmaker who said his goal was to punish the “promotn, recment and fundg” of LGBTQ activi the untry.

A spect nvicted of “attempted aggravated homosexualy” n be jailed for 14 years, and the offense of “attempted homosexualy” is punishable by up to 10 years, acrdg to the sentiment Uganda has grown recent weeks amid media reports allegg “sodomy” boardg schools, cludg a prtig one for boys where a parent acced a teacher of abg her cisn Febary of the Church of England to bls civil marriag of same-sex upl also has angered many Uganda — which is predomantly Roman Catholic — and elsewhere Ai, cludg some who see homosexualy as imported om abroad. But Florida’s Parental Rights Edutn act — which crics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill — has sudnly sparked a natnal war of recent weeks, lears of global rporatns, edorial boards of major newspapers and Hollywood actors have all weighed on the proposed legislatn, wh some llg “eply disturbg” and others “nonntroversial.

HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO

The bill, which passed Florida’s Senate last week and the state’s Hoe of Reprentativ Febary, do, however, nta the terms “sexual orientatn” and “genr inty, ” each legal experts say that whether the bill prohibs the word “gay” self is a “distractn. ”Beyond brandg, a re argument over the bill centers around whether would prohib the “stctn” or “discsn” of sexual bill’s sponsors have emphatilly stated that the bill would not prohib stunts om talkg about their LGBTQ fai or bar classroom discsns about LGBTQ history, cludg events like the 2016 adly attack on the Pulse nightclub, a gay club Orlando.

FACT-CHECKG 3 PROMENT CLAIMS ABOUT FLORIDA’S ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL