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Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, a lesbian Ugandan and founder of the country's LGBT advocacy group Freedom and Roam Uganda, has filmed a brief video speaking about the implications of the country's so-called Kill The Gays bill, which could come up for a parliamentary vote in the coming weeks. Truthloader posted the video on Monday.
Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, a lesbian Ugandan and founder of the country's LGBT advocacy group Freedom and Roam Uganda, has filmed a brief video speaking about the implications of the country's so-called Kill The Gays bill, which could come up for a parliamentary vote in the coming weeks. Truthloader posted the video on Monday.
"What the bill is trying to do is just make it illegal for me to be who I am, for simply saying 'I am a lesbian.'" says Nabagesera in the video.
The "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" was passed by a parliamentary committee earlier this month, andnow sits at the top of the Parliament's Orders Papers, listed first under "Business to Follow." While it's unclear when, exactly, the bill will be debated, Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga promised that the chamber will pass the bill as a "Christmas gift" to Ugandans who are "demanding it."
Despite widespread reports to the contrary, the death penalty has not been removed from the draft legislation. The bill still proscribes capital punishment for anyone found guilty of "aggravated homosexuality," which includes repeat offenders, HIV-positive people, anyone who has sex with a minor, anyone who has sex with a person with a disability, or anyone who is intoxicated by "any drug, matter or thing with intent to stupefy overpower him or her so as to there by enable any person to have unlawful carnal connection with any person of the same sex." The bill also demands three-year prison sentences for any family member, friend, or neighbor who does not turn in a "known homosexual" to the police.
Watch Nabagesera explain the bill in her own words below.
<p>Sunnivie is an award-winning journalist and the managing editor at <em>The Advocate</em>. A proud spouse and puppy-parent, Sunnivie strives to queer up the world of reporting while covering the politics of equality daily.</p>
<p>Sunnivie is an award-winning journalist and the managing editor at <em>The Advocate</em>. A proud spouse and puppy-parent, Sunnivie strives to queer up the world of reporting while covering the politics of equality daily.</p>
