When I heard about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill proposed by Ugandan MP David Bahati and supported by Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo, I couldn't believe it. "Really?" I thought, "But the world has come so far!"
I was wrong. While it is true that there have been significant advances in gay rights in the last century, lately we have hit a stalemate. It seems the world is spinning its tires, gaining an inch but losing a foot.
For every President vowing to end the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, there is a state passing a proposition that steals rights from gays. For every openly gay female elected Prime Minister in Iceland, there is a province passing legislation that allows parents to raise their children to be oblivious to gay and lesbian rights. Every time a terrified teenager gathers up the courage to come out, a bill like the Ugandan one is proposed.
What does the bill entail? State sanctioned murder of people found guilty of "aggravated homosexuality," which is any sexual act between two gay partners where one has HIV; Life imprisonment for those who are unlucky enough to be gay; and jail for up to three years for people who fail to turn in people who they know are homosexuals. Oh, and let's not forget, imprisonment of up to seven years for people who defend gay rights.
The possible repercussions of this bill's passing would be enormous. Even George Orwell couldn't dream up a future so terrifying. Imagine a country where people are hunted down and killed for their sexual preference, where family members turn eachother over to the police, and friends, coworkers and lovers disappear, never to be heard from again. Not so utopian, but also not so far away.
Ugandan President Musveni has built a strong platform with his anti-gay views, and evangelical churches all over the country have strongly voiced their support of the bill. I suppose the power held by fundamentalist Christian churches in Uganda is just one of the many long-term side effects of British Imperialism.
For once, though, it means Stephen Harper and I have found some common ground. Harper's office has come out and publicly denounced the proposed bill, just as several nations have. The United States, France and Britain have all condemned the bill, citing human rights issues.
Condemning it, however, is not enough. If there is not significant international pressure, this bill will pass with little trouble. If this it does pass, it will effectively make genocide legal within Uganda's borders.
The governments of the world need to let Bahati, Buturo, and especially Museveni know that they will not stand idly by while foolish ideas based on hatred and misguided religious beliefs are made into law. The last time Western countries played passive spectator to something like this, the Holocaust began.
That may seem like an extreme comparison, but is it really? The only thing Jews did to earn the right to die was live Jewish, just as Ugandan gays have done nothing but live their lives unrepentant for their sexuality – unrepentant for who they are.
The passing of this bill will have massive global repercussions. If other countries, especially those controlled as heavily by religious organizations as Uganda is, see the success of this bill, they may view it as inspiration to enact their own anti-homosexuality legislation.
Let's hope that, as people all over the world become more aware of, and enraged by, this blatant violation of human rights, governments will begin to react appropriately. Otherwise, we will find ourselves in the same place we were many years ago – controlled by hatred and irrational thought.
