BY NOREEN FAGAN – The Ugandan Parliament will reconvene next week to reconsider an anti-gay bill first proposed in 2009. Gay sex is already punishable by life in prison in Uganda, but the new
bill would impose the death penalty on gay people convicted of having sex with minors or the disabled. Gay people who are HIV positive would also face the death penalty for having sex. The bill would impose jail terms on those who do not inform police of suspected homosexuals.
In January, Ugandan gay activist David Kato was murdered in
his home near Kampala. Before he was killed, Kato led the challenge against
the bill. His death underlined the
dangerous situation under which many gay and lesbian Ugandans live. In Canada, the Pride Uganda Alliance
International is currently petitioning the Canadian government to grant
group resettlement for 200 Ugandan refugees.
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