Nu Vibez and Roleplay Guide Magazine - March 2014 | Page 56

The Trouble with Uganda. Loss of Gay Rights, Just a Beginning? - p2

prison, the bill was signed into law by the
President of Uganda on 24 February
2014.
The Uganda law criminalizes
same-sex rela ons in Uganda with
provisions for Ugandans who engage in
same-sex rela ons outside of Uganda,
asser ng that they may be extradited for
punishment back to Uganda. It also and
includes penal es for individuals,
companies, media organiza ons, or nongovernmental organiza ons that know of
gay people or support LGBT rights.
American evangelists ac ve in Africa are
being cri cized for being responsible for
inspiring the legisla on by inci ng hatred
with excessive speech by comparing
homosexuality to pedophilia and
influencing public policy with dona ons
from American religious organiza ons.
Before the proposed legisla on, many
had felt a gradual easing of enforcement
of laws designed to punish people for
h o m o s e x u a l b e h a v i o r. A m n e s t y
Interna onal, however, reports that
arrests of people suspected of having
homosexual rela ons are arbitrary and
detainees are subjected to torture and
abuse by authori es. Since the Bill
became law, increasing numbers of gay
men and women in the capital Kampala
have found themselves being thrown out
of their homes and taunted and
threatened by their neighbors.

56- Nu Vibez Magazine - February 2014

The interna onal community has
reacted against Uganda. Many Western
leaders, who give Uganda some $1 billion
in foreign aid annually, warned President
Yoweri Museveni that it would greatly
complicate diploma c rela ons. U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry likened the
new an -gay legisla on in Uganda to
an -Semi c laws in Nazi Germany or
apartheid South Africa. Even the United
Na ons High Commissioner for Human
Rights, Navi Pillay, urged Uganda to
shelve the bill and decriminalize
homosexuality. Amnesty Interna onal
a n d H u m a n R i g h t s Wa t c h h a v e
condemned the bill, calling it a product of
a campaign by evangelical churches and
an -gay groups that has led to death
threats and physical assaults against
Ugandans suspected of being gay.
To broaden awareness, the Brokeback
LGBT Center and the Terra Lascivus Sim
in Second Life have set up an exhibi on
on this topic that you can visit ll the end
of March. The exhibit features
photographs by award winning Slovene
photo journalist Tadej Žnidarčič.
Brokeback is an independent, non-profit
organiza on in Second Life that strives to
coordinate its ac ons with all other nonprofit GBLT communi es in a spirit of
friendship and efficiency. One of
Brokeback's missions is to organize
events aimed at promo ng LGBT rights