Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
UGANDAN LAWMAKERS PASSED the anti-gay bill that calls for life imprisonment for certain homosexual acts.
The laws have drawn criticism from human rights campaigners who called it “the worst in the world”.
When the bill was first introduced in 2009, it was widely condemned for including the death penalty, but that was removed from the revised version passed by parliament.
Instead it sets life imprisonment as the penalty for a homosexual act where one of the partners is infected with HIV, sex with minors and the disabled, as well as repeated sexual offenses among consenting adults, according to the office of a spokeswoman for Uganda’s parliament.
The bill also prescribes a seven-year jail term for a person who “conducts a marriage ceremony” for same-sex couples.
Passed
The bill was passed unanimously by the parliament, with no one voicing an objection.
President Yoweri Museveni must sign the bill within 30 days for it to become law. Although in the past he spoke disparagingly of gays, in recent times Museveni has softened his position on the matter, saying he is only opposed to gays who appear to “promote” themselves.
“In our society there were a few homosexuals,” Museveni said in March. “There was no persecution, no killings and no marginalization of these people but they were regarded as deviants. Sex among Africans including heterosexuals is confidential. If I am to kiss my wife in public, I would lose an election in Uganda.”
Human rights
The passage of the bill makes it “a truly terrifying day for human rights in Uganda,” said Frank Mugisha, a prominent Ugandan gay activist, who called the legislation “the worst anti-gay law in the world.” He urged the country’s president not to sign the legislation into law.
“It will open a new era of fear and persecution,” he said. “If this law is signed by President Museveni, I’d be thrown in jail for life and in all likelihood killed.”
Homosexuality was already illegal in Uganda under a colonial-era law that criminalised sexual acts “against the order of nature,” but the Ugandan lawmaker who wrote the new legislation argued that tougher legislation was needed because homosexuals from the West threatened to destroy Ugandan families and were allegedly “recruiting” Ugandan children into gay lifestyles.
Ugandan gays disputed this account, saying that Ugandan political and religious leaders had come under the influence of American evangelicals who wanted to spread their anti-gay campaign in Africa.
Ugandan gays had believed progress was being made to strengthen their rights in a country where prejudice against homosexuals is rampant. In 2012 they held their first gay pride parade and have sometimes joined street marches in support of all human rights.
Amid international criticism, the bill was repeatedly shelved despite the protests of Ugandan lawmakers.
The speaker of Uganda’s parliament, Rebecca Kadaga presided over the session today that passed the bill despite opposition from Ugandan Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, who wanted the vote delayed.
David Bahati, the lawmaker who wrote the bill, said in a Facebook update today that the legislation was necessary “to defend our culture and to defend the future of our children”.
When the bill was first proposed, United States President Barack Obama called it “odious.”
Amnesty International said the new Ugandan law “would significantly hamper the work of human rights defenders and others who find themselves in conflict with the law merely by carrying out their legitimate activities”.
Is there any logical reason why farming and eating dog should be illegal? The animals we normally eat (cow, sheep, goat, etc) tend to be herbivores, so are easier to farm and taste different than carnivores. But beyond that, surely if we can humanely farm and eat species X, we should be allowed to eat species Y if it is also farmed in a humane manner?
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: How many pet cows do you have? Do you take your goat for a walk everyday.
Whilst there may be some validity to your argument I think you’ll find the overwhelming majority of people actually see their pet dogs as something more, even part of the family. So the prospect of chowing down on Lassie is not very appealing to most.
@damien leen: I don’t think Koreans were eating their pet dogs though.
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: have you seen the way they’re killed, thrown alive into a pot of boiling water…r u ok with that!
@Clare Power: Hot dogs? Mmmmm,I love ‘em
@Larry Betts: stop Larry, yr supposed to be the funny man here
@Clare Power: boohoo
@Tom Dillon: oh that’s alrite then… C’mon man!
@Clare Power: I hope the EU doesn’t now ban German Shepherd Pie
@Larry Betts: I said your supposed to be funny Larry!!
@Clare Power: I’m never again going to ask for a doggie bag whenever I’m in a restaurant.
I’ve no time for people that haven’t empathy for animals, there’s something missing in their soul…my opinion…
About time
No more wokking the dog, as it were…
Well done, South Korea.
Lassie ain’t coming home!
For those who can’t now eat dog,they will feast on tasty Not Poodles
Koreans have swapped dogs for babies. The population has gone through the floor. By the way dog stew or boshintang is delicious – a little like a spicy lamb stew. Why should people be forced to abandon their own foid culture? Westerners complain about migrants swamping their own culture while imposing their values and culture on Asian, African and other indigenous cultures. No one who supports the banning of dog meat in Korea should oppose the imposition of Sharia in Ireland.
Personally, I think it’s barking mad decision by the government.
Banning dog meat will only lead farmers to go underground with their business.
Instead of a regulated price for the meat, meat prices could fetch a higher price due to the ban from the dog meat ban.
Anyone for a Chinese ?
@Jb Walshe: It’s only now that I realise what the Indians put in a madras curry,omg
The way some people anthromorphosise dogs, and cats, is beyond ridiculous. If some people want to eat dogs then let them.
Wokery. Wok wokery.
It’s not the eating I have a problem with, it’s the way they are “prepared”, the wire binding the limbs and mouth, the tape to stop them screaming , it’s the skinning alive, the boiling alive, the torture to promote the myth that the meat tastes better. I, for one, am extremely happy with the ban, it should be immediate, not in 3 years. It’s not just farmed dogs, it’s the stolen pets too that are affected.
Foid=food
have your say