Joe.My.God. LGBT News
Courthouse News reports:
The White House is warning that a proposed Ugandan bill that would outlaw identifying as LGBTQ+ could threaten U.S. aid to the African country.
John Kirby, coordinator of strategic communications for the National Security Council, said Wednesday that if the law passes, the Biden administration would consider potential “repercussions, perhaps in an economic way.”
“That would be really unfortunate because so much of the economic assistance we provide Uganda is health assistance,” Kirby said at a press briefing. “Hopefully it won’t pass and we won’t have to do anything.” The bill still requires the signature of President Yoweri Museveni.
Read the full article.
Museveni has backed previous anti-LGBTQ measures.
The US currently provides around $950 million in annual aid to Uganda, some of which is devoted to combating HIV/AIDS.
While many African nations criminalize same-sex acts, Uganda appears to be the first to attempt to criminalize merely coming out, with a 10-year sentence for those who say they are LGBTQ.
The bill just passed by Uganda’s parliament would also imprison human rights groups and media employees for “promoting homosexuality.”
It also defines all same-sex acts as non-consensual and imposes a life sentence for “homosexual acts.”
Perhaps obviously, US evangelicals have long supported anti-LGBTQ bills around the world, with a specific focus on Uganda for some.
In 2010, I helped expose hate group leader Tony Perkins as having paid lobbyists to successfully pressure the US House into rejecting a resolution that would have condemned a then-pending “kill the gays” bill in Uganda.
The White House is warning that a proposed Ugandan bill that would outlaw identifying as LGBTQ+ could threaten U.S. aid to the African country. @TheNolanStout https://t.co/7CVN8kmyKK
— Courthouse News (@CourthouseNews) March 22, 2023