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From: International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission <
igl
...@mail.democracyinaction.org>
Date: Sat, Feb 6, 2010 at 2:12 AM
Subject: Action Alert: Uganda Resolutions Introduced in Congress
To: bloganyme
...@gmail.com
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Join the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) in
urging members of the U.S. Congress to support resolutions in the House
(H.R. 1064) and the Senate (S.R. 409) condemning the Ugandan
Anti-Homosexuality Bill and affirming the intrinsic dignity of all Ugandans
regardless of sexual orientation.
U.S. Citizens: Contact your representatives in Congress
»<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=JwQE2jjulDiePo...>
Non U.S. Citizens: Contact key Congresspeople
»<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=NpMK5XLcglT7tm...>
Background
In Uganda, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 was introduced in Parliament
last October. The bill targets lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
(LGBT) Ugandans, their advocates, and those that know someone LGBT. It would
reaffirm existing penalties for homosexuality and introduce sweeping new
criminal provisions. Some of these troubling provisions include:
imprisonment for life for anyone convicted of the "offence of
homosexuality;" punishment for the "promotion of homosexuality" with prison
terms; imprisonment for up to three years for anyone who fails to report to
the authorities LGBT people or LGBT human rights defenders they know; and
most egregiously, the application of the death penalty to anyone in Uganda
who has consensual same-sex relations repeatedly or who has consensual
same-sex relations and is HIV positive. If this bill were to pass, it would
be a devastating blow to the human rights of all Ugandans and would
significantly impede effective HIV prevention and care.
This week in the U.S., a bipartisan group of members of Congress proposed
resolutions condemning the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The House resolution,
H.R. 1064, sponsored by Howard Berman (D-CA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL),
received thirty-nine cosponsors. The Senate resolution, S.R. 409, sponsored
by Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Tom Coburn (R-OK), currently has four
co-sponsors. The House resolution extends beyond Uganda to call on all
nations to reject laws that criminalize homosexuality.
Public pressure is needed to ensure that both resolutions come up for a
vote. Condemnation by the U.S. government is one of many factors that could
persuade Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to prevent the bill from
becoming law. If the resolutions pass, the U.S. Congress will join President
Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in sending the
government of Uganda a unified message that passing the Anti-Homosexuality
Bill will have serious consequences to its relationships internationally.
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