Uganda Appears To Be Backing Off Of Anti-Gay Legislation

The president of Uganda is now giving indications that issuing new punitive measures against Ugandan gays might seriously damage that nation's foreign relations,  There had been earlier reports that Uganda was preparing to back off of their demands for the execution of gays, under certain circumstances.

As I have pointed out in this blog, and has also been addressed by other outlets, merely switching the penalty to life imprisonment (with rehabilitation) is not an option. Additionally, incarcerating Ugandans for not reporting fellow countrymen they know to be gay is unacceptable.

The Guardian quotes president Yoweri Museveni (pictured above) as saying that the anti-gay legislation has now become a

"foreign policy issue."

"When I was at the Commonwealth conference, what was [the Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper] talking about? The gays. UK prime minister Gordon Brown ... what was he talking about? The gays," said Museveni.

America is apparently entering the fray finally, following the lead of Europe:

The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, had also called him to express strong concerns about the proposed law, he said. "It's a foreign policy issue, and we must handle it in a way that does not compromise our principles but also takes into account our foreign policy interests."

Yeah, some principles.

As, The Guardian reported, American right-wingers have much to answer for:

The final impetus for the proposed legislation came after a conference hosted last year by three controversial US evangelists who claimed that homosexuality was a curable habit and warned of the danger of the international gay "agenda". The evangelists have since, however, criticised the severity of the punishments in the proposed law.

Criticised the severity of the anti-gay legislation? As if any punitive measures would be okay?

I guess the fact that Uganda already crimializes homosexuality isn't good enough.

Access the full story here.


(note: I am in the L.A. area for the next couple of weeks, but I will be reachable via e-mail. I will be able to continue to blog from here.)