Uganda is in the spotlight over two proposed laws which activists say will hold back the fight against HIV/Aids and violate human rights. In a letter dated October 30, to President Museveni, the chairperson of the Champions for an HIV-free Generation (an African elder statesmen’s forum) and former president of Botswana, Festus Mogae, wrote that the draft HIV/Aids Prevention and Control Bill 2008 and the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill could have a chilling effect on HIV/Aids prevention efforts.

Mogae’s message

“Your Excellency, we respectfully express our concern at the provisions referenced in these two Bills and fear that passage of such legislation, which deviates from international best practice and recommendations, could lead to increased stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/Aids and the groups most vulnerable to the epidemic,” Mr Mogae wrote.

In the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, Mr Mogae’s organisation is particularly concerned about a proposal that would see a person convicted of the offence of homosexuality imprisoned for life and a death penalty imposed for those having gay sex with anyone under the age of 18, or when the accused is HIV-positive.
Ndorwa West MP David Bahati who introduced the Bill, has defended it saying the proposed law is intended to protect future generations. “Homosexuality is not a human right. It is a foreign behaviour imported and promoted by people using the poverty in our country to expound bad behaviour. We are determined to protect what is right for Uganda and not what is convenient for some people,” Mr Bahati said.

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By Evelyn Lirri from www.monitor.co.ug

Uganda is in the spotlight over two proposed laws which activists say will hold back the fight against HIV/Aids and violate human rights. In a letter dated October 30, to President Museveni, the chairperson of the Champions for an HIV-free Generation (an African elder statesmen’s forum) and former president of Botswana, Festus Mogae, wrote that [...]

By James Withers, contributing editor, 365Gay Blog

Some organization called the Black Coalition Against Gay Marriage (anyone heard of these clowns?) sent a letter to the White House, stating that any support from President Barack Obama for same sex marriage would negatively impact his black backers.

“Changing the definition of marriage will have many unintended consequences which will hurt generations to come,” the coalition noted in its missive.

Maybe I would take the BCAGM seriously if it was filled with mainstream organizations. Outside of a few religious group’s (no one should be surprised by that), the only big name in the coalition is CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality. However, CORE is a shell of its former self and its credibility was shot when Roy Innis picked brawling as a political tactic.

BCAGM needs to get its news from an other source. Obama taking on DOMA? Really? The members of the coalition need to spend more time reading gay news site (instead of trolling the net looking for gay porn) because they might learn a thing or two. By the way: nothing wrong with using the net for porn viewing.

We’ve talked about the combination of race, sexuality, and marriage ever since the Proposition 8 vote in November so there is not anything new to add. The coalition has a point. If Obama pushes for the dismantling of DOMA, he will lose a few religious black votes; however, those votes will be quickly replaced. Subtraction by addition.

If we want to learn how to navigate the race, sexuality, and marriage waters we should study what happened in Washington, DC. A predominantly black city that came out for marriage rights despite the yammering of a few.

By James Withers, contributing editor, 365Gay Blog Some organization called the Black Coalition Against Gay Marriage (anyone heard of these clowns?) sent a letter to the White House, stating that any support from President Barack Obama for same sex marriage would negatively impact his black backers. “Changing the definition of marriage will have many unintended [...]