[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5317]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     CALL TO UGANDA TO REJECT THE PROPOSED ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY BILL

  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 344, S. 
Res. 409.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 409) calling on members of the 
     Parliament in Uganda to reject the proposed ``Anti-
     Homosexuality Bill,'' and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed 
to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon 
the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements be 
printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 409) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 409

       Whereas a bill introduced on October 14, 2009, by a member 
     of Parliament in Uganda would expand penalties for 
     homosexuality to include the death penalty and requires 
     citizens to report information about homosexuality to the 
     police or face imprisonment;
       Whereas many countries criminalize homosexuality, and in 
     some countries, such as Iran, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and 
     Sudan, the penalty for homosexuality includes the death 
     penalty;
       Whereas the United States, in seeking to promote the core 
     American principles of equality and ``Life, Liberty, and the 
     pursuit of Happiness,'' has long championed the universality 
     of human rights;
       Whereas religious leaders in the United States, along with 
     representatives from the Vatican and the Anglican Church, 
     have stated that laws criminalizing homosexuality are unjust; 
     and
       Whereas the people and Government of the United States 
     recognize that such laws undermine our commitment to 
     combating HIV/AIDS globally through the President's Emergency 
     Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) by stigmatizing and 
     criminalizing vulnerable communities: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) calls on members of the Parliament in Uganda to reject 
     the ``Anti-Homosexuality Bill'' recently proposed in that 
     country;
       (2) urges the governments of all countries to reject and 
     repeal similar criminalization laws; and
       (3) encourages the Secretary of State to closely monitor 
     human rights abuses that occur because of sexual orientation 
     and to encourage the repeal or reform of laws such as the 
     proposed ``Anti-Homosexuality Bill'' in Uganda that permit 
     such abuses.

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