More Fallout from Anti-Gay Hate U.S. Right Peddled in Uganda

Oct 20, 2010

Another entry in the file for evil-America-has-exported: The Associated Press reports that a Ugandan newspaper has published names, photos and addresses of people it claims to be gay, alongside a banner screaming, "Hang Them." The article comes at just the about the one-year anniversary of legislator David Bahati introducing a bill that would have made homosexuality punishable by life in prison or, in some cases, execution. Numerous reports, including an in-depth investigation by Public Research Associates, established that Bahati and his bill were spurred along by U.S.-based Christian conservatives who are now peddling their American brand of hate in sub-Saharan Africa.

AP reports that anti-gay harassment and violence has grown in the months since the bill first appeared. More attacks have followed the recent news article, published in early October by a relatively small new paper called Rolling Stone. AP reports:

In the days since it was published, at least four gay Ugandans on the list have been attacked and many others are in hiding, according to rights activist Julian Onziema. One person named in the story had stones thrown at his house by neighbors. 

[snip] 

More than 20 homosexuals have been attacked over the last year in Uganda, and an additional 17 have been arrested and are in prison, said Frank Mugisha, the chairman of Sexual Minorities Uganda. Those numbers are up from the same period two years ago, when about 10 homosexuals were attacked, he said.

Uganda’s Media Council forced the paper to stop publishing after the "Hang Them" issue hit the streets, AP reports, but only because it hadn’t registered itself.