Washington Post Editorial Rips Uganda

The Washington Post, in an editorial to be published on Thursday, slammed Uganda for its proposed anti-gay legislation.

As I have been reporting on, in this blog, even if Uganda were to eliminate the death penalty option, as an alleged concession to Western complaints, the bill would still be horrific and unacceptable. Thankfully, The Washington Post gets it:

If it is approved, the gay people of that nation would be subject to life in prison. This retreat from the death sentence originally proposed should neither be celebrated nor considered a concession by the government in response to pressure from the United States and other nations. The proposal is barbaric. That it is even being considered puts Uganda beyond the pale of civilized nations.

Exactly.

The editorial correctly adds:

The law would apply to citizens or permanent residents of Uganda, and would cover behavior both in and outside that country. The measure would turn neighbor against neighbor by requiring those with knowledge of a gay person to report them to police within 24 hours or risk three years in prison. A seven-year jail term awaits the Ugandan who "aids, abets, [or] counsels" homosexuals. And anyone convicted of "aggravated homosexuality," which could mean someone who is HIV-positive and is intimate with another person of the same sex, could "suffer death."

I suppose it wouldn't even matter if the hiv-positive person was practicing safe sex.

If this legislation passes, civilized nations need to respond with sanctions. We allow such barbaric behavior to go unpunished, to our shame.

The Washington Post seems to agree.