Monday, December 14, 2009

Distressing reports from Uganda

All my enemies whisper together about me *
and devise evil against me.
Psalm 41:7 (BCP)

Andy Towle reports:
An article appearing in The Guardian over the weekend reports that the death penalty and life imprisonment provisions in Uganda's "kill the gays" bill as it has come to be known, have not been dropped, as Bloomberg reported last week.

The President and Senators Grassley, Coburn, and Feingold have spoken against this bill. Even the Vatican chimes in, not mentioning Uganda but the timing is suggestive:
"As stated during the debate of the General Assembly last year, the Holy See continues to oppose all grave violations of human rights against homosexual persons, such as the use of the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. The Holy See also opposes all forms of violence and unjust discrimination against homosexual persons, including discriminatory penal legislation which undermines the inherent dignity of the human person. As raised by some of the panelists today, the murder and abuse of homosexual persons are to be confronted on all levels, especially when such violence is perpetrated by the State. While the Holy See’s position on the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity remains well known, we continue to call on all States and individuals to respect the rights of all persons and to work to promote their inherent dignity and worth."
Genocide is genocide and the ignorance, deceit, and cruelty behind this proposed legislation is staggering.

Must the road to Uganda be purchased once more with blood?



--the BB

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It would seem that the time, effort, and energy being spent in Copenhagen over a debatable scientific supposition, when it is obvious that nothing concrete will happen (as no one will risk their own economic futures) is much more important than the human right abuses that take place in some parts of the world RIGHT NOW

Paul said...

I agree with your pessimism about concrete steps being taken as each nation looks to its short-term economic future, though I do not find climate change a supposition, given the overwhelming evidence. When vast populations are displaced, searching for food, genocides are likely to increase, though that threat seems, illusorily, distant at the moment.

That little is done about something like the situation in Uganda is horrendous. Scapegoating, one of humanity's most ancient practices, is alive and well around the globe and we are all prone to it, myself included.

susankay said...

Prayer is supposed to work. I'm praying.

Sigh.