White House Petition: End Foreign Aid To Uganda If ‘Kill The Gays’ Bill Passes

var addthis_config = {“data_track_addressbar”:true};Uganda is determined to pass their infamous “Kill The Gays” bill, and the U.S. has already threatened to end foreign aid to the country if they do. Congress determines how much funding for foreign aid the State Department is allowed to grant. But it’s far from a guarantee that Congress would act to do so, especially given they are on vacation, and are faced with the so-called “fiscal cliff” upon their return. And the State Department can withdraw that aid.

Uganda’s Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, says the internationally-controversial “Kill The Gays” bill will become law soon as a “Christmas gift” to Ugandan Christians.

So a few days ago, a man named “Andy S” petitioned the White House — using the same mechanism residents from almost every state have to ask Obama to let them secede — to “remove all foreign aid to Uganda and impose sanctions if the “Kill the Gays” bill is passed by the legislature.”

The signors of this petition request that the Obama administration not only state their displeasure at this bill as they have already done, but to also attach real consequences to the passing of this bill in the form of loss of trade status and foreign aid. We would also request that the Obama administration petition the UN to have the security council vote on international sanctions. We feel that this gross human rights violation requires no less of a response.

The “Kill The Gays” bill, which, by the way, came about thanks to America’s religious right injecting themselves and their lies into Uganda, indeed provides for the death penalty for repeated acts of homosexuality, and even calls for mandatory jail time for those who merely assist an LGBT person. Rent a room to a gay man? Go to jail. Don’t tell the police your daughter is lesbian? Go to jail.

“If the bill before the Ugandan parliament becomes law, it must be the policy of the United States government to oppose any aid to Uganda from the World Bank, the African Development Bank, or any other international financial institution of which we are a member,” said retiring U.S. Congressman Barney Frank last year.

The United States gave Uganda $487.4 million in 2010 in economic and military assistance.

“Cables from the US Department of State that were recently published on Wikileaks suggest that the Ugandan government quickly capitulated to pressure from foreign governments and promised to let the ‘kill-the-gays’ bill die in legislative committee,” Gay City News reported in August.

In August, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Africa and spent time in Uganda discussing HIV/AIDS. Above, an image of Secretary Clinton and Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni in Kampala, Uganda.

Highlighting the UN General Assembly’s 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Secretary Clinton in December of 2011 said, “Some have suggested that gay rights and human rights are separate and distinct; but, in fact, they are one and the same.” Secretary Clinton also said that “it should never be a crime to be gay,” and, as she has said before, “gay rights are Human Rights and Human Rights are gay rights.”

You can help move the petition forward to ensure the White House responds by signing it.

 

Related:

“David Kato’s Death Result Of Hatred Planted By U.S. Evangelicals”

Homosexuality: How Much Difference Lies Between US Anti-Gay Groups And Iran?

Better Know A Hate Group: Scott Lively And Abiding Truth Ministries

Tony Perkins In 2010 Said Uganda’s ‘Kill The Gays’ Bill ‘Upholds Moral Conduct’

‘Kill The Gays’ Architect Pushes Claim ‘Obama May Be Gay And Previously Married To A Man’