Close on the heels of this week’s U.S.-led move at the United Nations condemning violence against the LGBT community, a long-standing and infamous bill advocating life imprisonment and possible execution for Ugandan homosexuals appears to be dead.
Ugandan officials have made comments to the media indicating that the proposed legislation duplicated other extant laws. “I think that the government is aware that 95 percent of Ugandans do not condone homosexuality,” said David Bahati, an MP in the Ugandan Parliament.
After debating the issue for nearly two years, the government’s precie inspiration to halt the bill’s progress is unclear. However, a growing international response to Uganda’s consideration of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, combined with an vocal increase in defense of anti-discrimination policies and protections for LGBT rights, may have had some impact on the Ugandan government’s decision to intervene in the bill’s movement through preliminary committees.
Ugandan Information Ministier Kabakumba Masiko told NTV reporters that, “the Cabinet Subcommittee…gave us a report yesterday and we did realize that there are many things that are in the bill that are covered by other laws that are already in place. … And the law that is in offing, the Sexual Offenses Bill, will cover most of the other issues that were going to be covered.”
Many believe that the so-called “Kill the Gays” bill was strongly influenced in its inception by the teachings of American Evangelical groups.
