[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 13, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E24]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CONDEMNING THE GOVERNMENT OF UGANDA'S ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY BILL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 13, 2010

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak out 
against Bill No. 18, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009, which will 
soon be considered for passage by the government of Uganda. This 
proposed legislation criminalizes and punishes homosexuality, thereby 
endangering the lives of all Ugandans and threatening their civil and 
human rights. This is outrageously discriminatory and deeply troubling.
  The Anti-Homosexuality Bill was introduced as a Private Member's Bill 
by Ugandan Member of Parliament David Bahati of the National Resistance 
Movement Party on April 29, 2009. Following adoption, it was published 
in the Uganda Gazette on September 25, 2009, according to the 
procedural rules of the Ugandan Parliament. A vast majority of 
governments throughout the world, including the United States, continue 
to deny full civil rights and protections to their lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, and transgender, LGBT, citizens. However, the Anti-
Homosexuality Bill takes this to a deadly extreme.
  This legislation condemns HIV-positive citizens, including minors, 
who engage in consensual homosexual acts to death and sentences 
citizens who engage in consensual homosexual acts to life imprisonment. 
The Anti-Homosexuality Bill also seeks to persecute LGBT citizens 
living abroad by extraditing them for acts committed outside Uganda, 
including those who are also dual citizens of Uganda and the United 
States. Furthermore, this legislation requires known homosexuals to be 
reported to the authorities within 24 hours; failure to do so would 
result in a jail term of up to 3 years. This applies to Ugandan 
nationals and dual citizens living abroad, as well as any person who 
witnesses such an act within Uganda, regardless of whether they have 
legal ties to the Ugandan nation. Finally, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 
requires that its provisions override any commitment to international 
agreements or protocols that recognize the rights of LGBT persons to 
the extent of the inconsistency between the two. As a responsible 
member of the international community, the United States cannot condone 
such a bill becoming law.
  The Anti-Homosexuality Bill legislates against the fundamental 
democratic right of freedom from fear of physical harm by one's own 
government. This legislation would undermine the government of Uganda's 
commitment to democracy at a most basic level, significantly damage its 
relations with the international community, and risk inciting greater 
hate-motivated violence within Uganda itself. Its mere existence almost 
certainly will lead to violence against individuals who either are LGBT 
or are rumored to be LGBT, their families, and community leaders in 
their places of worship, homes, schools, and businesses.
  Furthermore, I am deeply concerned about the consequences that this 
bill would have on public health in Uganda as it attempts to combat 
HIV/AIDS. The stigmatization of homosexual identity and behavior 
continues to stymie efforts to fight HIV/AIDS in the United States and 
abroad. The bill's criminalization of homosexuality will undoubtedly 
discourage individuals from having the open and honest discussions 
about their sexual health and behavior that are crucial to lessening 
the spread and burden of this infection.
  I commend President Obama and State Secretary Clinton for denouncing 
this bigoted legislation and am pleased to acknowledge that their 
sentiments have been publicly shared by the European Union, Canada, and 
other nations and international human rights groups. In addition, I 
also applaud those Ugandans, including Senior Advisor to President 
Museveni, John Nagenda, who have spoken out in opposition to this bill 
and urge them to fight it when Uganda's parliament enters discussions 
on the matter in February or March of this year.
  I am further encouraged by Secretary Clinton's commitment to protect 
``the rights of the LGBT community worldwide'' and will continue 
working to ensure that sexual orientation and gender identity not 
constitute the basis for criminal penalties, harassment, or 
discrimination. It is my fervent hope that Congress will show a similar 
commitment to its own LGBT citizens as it is called upon to repeal 
discriminatory legislation such as ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' and the 
Defense of Marriage Act.
  Madam Speaker, I unequivocally condemn the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in 
the strongest possible terms and urge the government of Uganda to 
withdraw this bill and support the inalienable human rights of all 
people.

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