Prominent Democrats lined up Monday to
condemn an anti-gay bill before the Uganda Parliament that includes a
death penalty provision for “aggravated homosexuality.”
MP David Bahati's bill outlaws gay sex
and includes a death provision for repeat offenders and people who
are HIV-positive. The bill also makes the “promotion of
homosexuality” illegal, which would effectively ban political
organizations, broadcasters and publishers that advocate on behalf of
gay rights, and turns friends and family members of gay men and
lesbians into criminals if they fail to report a violation.
The proposed legislation will receive
its first hearing within the next weeks and is widely expected to be
approved before the end of February.
Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts
released a statement on Monday after being prodded by Boston-based
gay weekly Bay
Windows: “Noticeably absent from those standing up against
the 'Kill the Gays Bill' is Massachusetts' own Senator John Kerry,
who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.” The
paper said calls to the senator's office had gone unreturned.
“I join many voices in the United
States, Uganda and around the world in condemning Uganda's draft
legislation imposing new and harsher penalties against
homosexuality,” Senator Kerry said. “Discrimination in any form
is wrong, and the United States must say so unequivocally. Many
Ugandans are voicing concern that such a law will create witch-hunts
against homosexuals, and hinder the fight against HIV/AIDS. Over the
years the United States government, including the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, has worked closely with Ugandans to combat
HIV/AIDS and other public health issues; we value our relationship
with Uganda's people. Given the pressing HIV/AIDS crisis Uganda is
facing, this bill is extremely counterproductive.”
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
included the bill in a speech on human rights. “Law should not
become an instrument of oppression,” she said in a sweeping speech
at Georgetown University on Monday.
Over the weekend, President Obama
joined the chorus of Democrats opposed to the bill, telling gay
monthly the Advocate
that the law “moves against the tide of history.”
At least one Republican, Senator Chuck
Grassley of Iowa, was pressured by several media sources to distance
himself from the bill. Grassley released a statement to the Iowa
Independent on Friday that called the bill “un-Christian.”
“Based on what I've been able to
learn about the legislation and from the stand point that I'm a born
again Christian, I can tell you that I don't agree with this
un-Christian and unjust proposal, and I hope the Ugandan officials
dismiss it,” he said. Grassley favors putting a gay marriage ban
in the Iowa Constitution.
Grassley's connections to the Family, a
secretive religious organization reportedly involved in crafting the
legislation, have come under scrutiny after MSNBC's The
Rachel Maddow Show reported on the senator's alleged
affiliation with the group.
Lawmakers in the UK, France and Canada
have also denounced the bill. But
the bill's sponsor, MP Bahati,
is committed to passage, saying: “There is no amount of
pressure or intimidation that will deter us from preventing our
children from being lured into this evil.”