As the Uganda Parliament prepares to once again consider the infamous “Kill The Gays” bill, a lot of confusion about what the “anti-homosexuality” bill actually does has once again arisen in the media. Many news outlets — notably the BBC, among others — reported last week that lawmakers had dropped the death penalty provision, but without confirmation of a language change, it’s impossible to conclude whether this is another bait-and-switch that basically isn’t true.

According to the BBC, “substantial amendments” were made, but MP Medard Segona could provide no further details. It is just such a proposed amendment that has repeatedly caused confusion about the fate of the death penalty in the bill, replacing the word “death” with a reference to a preexisting Penal Code Act that does allow for the death penalty. Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda; the sole purpose of this bill is to enhance the extent of the punishment and number of ways offenses can be prosecuted. It is irresponsible to suggest that the death penalty has been removed without a thorough investigation of the bill’s new language.

Box Turtle Bulletin has thoroughly dissected the proposed law’s original text, pointing out that even without a death penalty, the law would still “represent a barbaric regression for Uganda’s human rights record.” Here’s what BTB found:

• Clauses 1 and 2: Anybody Can Be Gay Under the Law. The definition of what constitutes “homosexual act” is so broad that just about anyone can be convicted.
• Clause 3: Anyone Can Be “Liable To Suffer Death”. And you don’t even have to be gay to be sent to the gallows.
• Clause 4: Anyone Can “Attempt to Commit Homosexuality”. All you have to do is “attempt” to “touch” “any part of of the body” “with anything else” “through anything” in an act that does “not necessarily culminate in intercourse.”
• Clauses 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10: How To Get Out Of Jail Free. The bill is written to openly encourage — and even pay — one partner to turn state’s evidence against another.
• Clauses 7, 11, and 14: Straight People In The Crosshairs. Did you think they only wanted to jail gay people? They’re also targeting family members, doctors, lawyers, and even landlords.
• Clause 12: Till Life Imprisonment Do You Part. And if you officiate a same-sex wedding, you’ll be imprisoned for up to three years. So much for religious freedom.
• Clause 13: The Silencing of the Lambs. All advocacy — including suggesting that the law might be repealed — will land you in jail. With this clause, there will be no one left to defend anyone.
• Clause 14: The Requirement Isn’t To Report Just Gay People To Police. It’s To Report Everyone. Look closely: the requirement is to report anyone who has violated any the bill’s clauses.
• Clauses 16 and 17: The Extra-Territorially Long Arm of Ugandan Law. Think you’re safe if you leave the country? Think again.
• Clause 18: We Don’t Need No Stinking Treaties. The bill not only violates several international treaties, it also turns the Ugandan constitution on its head.
• Clauses 15 and 19: The Establishment Clauses For The Ugandan Inquisition. These clauses empower the Ethics and Integrity Minister to enforce all of the bill’s provisions. He’s already gotten a head start.

The bill has passed out of committee and been placed on the Parliamentary agenda and it could come up as early as tomorrow, or linger for weeks as has happened in the past. If and when it does pass, news outlets must carefully examine its extremities and report them accurately. There is no redeeming value to this bill, and lawmakers who support it have every reason to soften their language while maintaining their most insidious “anti-homosexuality” intentions.

Uganda’s Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, has demanded that lawmakers vote on the never-dying “Kill The Gays” Bill by Tuesday. She believes it should be passed before the end of the year as a “Christmas gift” to its advocates, and she has rebuffed any threats from Western countries to cut aid.

In anticipation of the possible vote, Box Turtle Bulletin has provided a breakdown of the law, correcting misreports from the media that the bill died or that it no longer has death penalty provisions. One of the bill’s odious qualities is a charge for “aggravated homosexuality,” which results when “serial offenders” stack up violations. A number of “related offenses” make this charge very feasible, including renting a room to a gay person, refusing to report a gay person to police, using the internet to advocate for the rights of gay people, or donating to a pro-gay cause — even if any of those are committed by straight people. Under the bill, a charge for aggravated homosexuality is grounds for execution.

While it’s technically true that the bill no longer includes the word “death,” it does still call for the death penalty. Here was the proposed tweak to the language:

1. Clause 3 (2) is amended by substituting for the words “…suffer death’’ with words “…the penalty provided for aggravated defilement under Section 129 of the Penal Code Act”.

Justification

To harmonise the provision with the penalty under the Penal Code Act.

As BTB points out, Section 129 of the Penal Code Act specifies that anybody who commits one of the already illegal sexual acts is “liable to suffer death.” The language change is a distinction without a difference. The bill still demands the death penalty for anyone arrested for being gay. That is the law Kadaga believes will be a “Christmas gift” to her people.

Rebecca Kadaga

Uganda’s Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, took umbrage to the threat that Western countries like the U.S. and Canada would cut aid because of the country’s persecution of homosexuality. Instead, she suggested that the anti-homosexuality (“Kill The Gays”) bill that has persisted in the legislature be brought to the floor for a vote:

KADAGA: I will not accept to be intimidated or to be directed by any government in the world because we are independent. We are Ugandans. We are not a colony of Canada; we’re not even a protectorate. [...]

I will now instruct the chair of the Committee of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs to quickly bring the report of the anti-homosexuality bill so that we discuss it and so that Uganda can take a position. [...]

If the price of aid is going to be promoting homosexuality in this country, I think we don’t want that aid. I don’t think we want it.

Watch a news report featuring her remarks:

As Box Turtle Bulletin notes, the bill was slyly changed to remove the proposed penalty of “suffering death,” but was replaced with a reference to another penalty law that also includes the death penalty. Sodomy is already illegal in the country, and the only purpose of the bill is to increase stigmatization against both gay citizens and their allies.

Recently, the Republican National Convention accidentally leaked a draft of the party’s foreign policy platform. The subsection on foreign aid contained a rather peculiar criticism of President Obama’s policy in the area:

The effectiveness of our foreign aid has been limited by the cultural agenda of the current Administration, attempting to impose on foreign countries, especially the peoples of Africa, legalized abortion and the homosexual rights agenda. At the same time, faith-based groups — the sector that has had the best track record in promoting lasting development — have been excluded from grants because they will not conform to the administration’s social agenda. We will reverse this tragic course, encourage more involvement by the most effective aid organizations, and trust developing peoples to build their future from the ground up.

The phrase “homosexual agenda” is, historically speaking, a term used by anti-gay crusaders to imply that people asking for equal rights have some kind of sinister plan for society. And while it’s true that the Obama campaign has worked to protect gay rights internationally, foreign aid dollars aren’t going to marriage equality campaigns — U.S. money is being used to finance legal and journalistic efforts to protect LGBT Africans from being murdered or jailed for their sexual orientation, a point the President made clear in an official memo on the topic:

I am deeply concerned by the violence and discrimination targeting LGBT persons around the world — whether it is passing laws that criminalize LGBT status, beating citizens simply for joining peaceful LGBT pride celebrations, or killing men, women, and children for their perceived sexual orientation…Agencies engaged abroad are directed to strengthen existing efforts to effectively combat the criminalization by foreign governments of LGBT status or conduct and to expand efforts to combat discrimination, homophobia, and intolerance on the basis of LGBT status or conduct.

Indeed, U.S. pressure on this front caused Malawi, which had recently sentenced a gay couple to 14 years in prison for having sex, to rethink its radically anti-gay laws. Both Liberia and Uganda have proposed executing gay citizens as part of a continent-wide wave of anti-gay legislation aided and abetted by the American Christian Right. Further, anti-gay stigma and legislation contribute significantly to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, suggesting that confronting these problems is critical to addressing the health issues foreign aid is supposed to address.

The criticism of the Administration for imposing “legalized abortion” on African populations is also off-base, as foreign aid has not been used to pressure any country into legalizing abortion. In reality, President Obama’s decision to reverse the Bush-era “global gag rule” that forced foreign aid groups to pledge to have nothing to do with abortion services has significantly improved USAID’s ability to provide effective health care to women in need. The type of faith-based, abstinence-only aid preferred by the GOP, by contrast, has failed to curtail the spread of HIV/AIDS in at least one of the countries where it was heavily used — Uganda.

Vice Presidential Candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)’s 2012 budget calls for heavy cuts to foreign aid programs.

This image was posted as part of Anonymous' hack.

The hacking group Anonymous hacked two websites of the Ugandan government today, objecting to its anti-gay policies, including continued consideration of a “Kill The Gays” bill that would elevate the punishment for homosexuality to the death penalty. Attacking the website of the prime minister and Justice Law and Order Sector, the hackers issued the following statement about their motivations:

Today’s hack and deface of the Ugandan Prime Minister’s site was the latest in a long list of actions against the government and infrastructure of Uganda for crimes against LGBT people. [...]

We will not stand by while LGBT Ugandans are victimized, abused and murdered by a ruthless and corrupt government. #TheEliteSociety and #Anonymous will continue to target Ugandan government sites and communications until the government of Uganda treats all people including LGBT equally and with respect, dignity and immediately ends the arrest and harassment of LGBT.[...]

The government of Uganda will not stop us or LGBT people from standing up to their hatred and fighting against their abuses. To: Uganda → Equal treatment for ALL people, or you can expect us again.

Another message appeared on the Office of the Prime Minister, including an image from Uganda’s recent celebration of Pride:

You have been warned, repeatedly to expect us.

Your violations of the rights of LGBT people have disgusted us. ALL people have the right to live in dignity free from the repression of someone else’s political and religious beliefs. You should be PROUD of your LGBT citizens, because they clearly have more balls than you will ever have.

Real Ugandan Pride is demonstrated in standing up to oppression despite fearing the abuse, torture and murder inflicted on LGBT at the hands of the corrupt government.