By any measure, last week's election marked a watershed moment in the history of the LGBT civil rights movement. The most pro-LGBT president in American history was reelected, marriage equality won at the ballot box for the first time (in three states!), Minnesota beat back a proposed amendment that would have written marriage discrimination into the state constitution, and the 113th Congress will contain a record number of out LGBT lawmakers, including Wisconsin's Tammy Baldwin, who was the first out member of our community ever elected to serve in the United States Senate… Photo
…the incredibly disturbing news that the government of the central African nation of Uganda plans to pass its notorious Anti-Homosexuality Bill by the end of this year. According to a report in The Washington Post, MP Rebecca Kadaga, speaker of the Ugandan parliament, insisted in an interview with the AP that Ugandans are "demanding" that parliament swiftly pass the bill, which would make homosexuality a crime punishable by death; punish same-sex Ugandan couples marrying abroad with lifetime prison sentences when they return home; outlaw all advocacy on behalf of LGBT people, including the provision of medical care, lodging and basic services; and require citizens to report to the police any LGBT people they know. (Under the proposed law, refusing to report one's LGBT friends, neighbors and family members constitutes "aiding and abetting homosexuality," a crime that carries a 7-year jail sentence.) Some Christian leaders apparently went even further, perversely claiming that the bill's passage would be "a Christmas gift" to the nation.
…The Vatican has remained largely silent, as well… Photo
…America's Catholic bishops and their counterparts in Rome have a moral obligation to publicly, forcefully and unequivocally condemn Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill as a gross injustice, a crime against humanity and a reprehensible distortion of Jesus' loving and inclusive message. They cannot -- they must not -- stand by, silent and stone-faced, as thousands of Ugandans are condemned to death for the "crime" of simply being who they are… Photo
Read complete report:
Related links:
Uganda anti-gay bill resurrected in parliament – 2/8/12
In Uganda, Anti-Homosexuality Bill's Re-emergence a Touchy Subject – PBS – 4/5/12
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hails gay rights activists in wary Uganda – 8/3/12 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/03/us-uganda-clinton-idUSBRE8721FH20120803
Uganda to pass anti-gay law as 'Christmas gift' – BBC - 11/13/12
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