Providence Equality Action Committee

A human rights disaster is brewing in Uganda: A disaster underwritten in part by U.S. foreign aid and deliberately initiated and encouraged by U.S. Christian Rightists, including members of The Family, a secretive and powerful Christian Right network of lawmakers and religious leaders.

On Thursday, Feb. 4., the annual National Prayer Breakfast — which was founded and is controlled by The Family — will be held in Washington to rationalize and justify harsh antigay laws and contempt for human rights, here and abroad.

In response, equality supporters in cities across the country — including Providence — will take a stand for human rights, religious freedom, and full equality on Feb. 4.

We hope you will join PEAC and the International Socialist Organization at 6 p.m. at the State House in Providence.

The legislation that is pending in Uganda does the following:

– Expand the definitions for homosexual acts, making conviction easier. Current law requires evidence of penetration. The new law would expand the definition of homosexual activity to”touch(ing) another person with the intention of committing the act of homosexuality.” Touching itself is defined as “touching—(a) with any part of the body; (b) with anything else; (c) through anything; and in particular includes touching amounting to penetration of any sexual organ, anus or mouth.”
– Affirm Uganda’s lifetime imprisonment for those convicted of homosexuality.
– Define a new crime of “aggravated homosexuality” for those who engage in sex with someone under the age of 18, who are HIV-positive, who is a “repeat offender” (so broadly defined as to include anyone who has had a relationship with more than one person, or who had sex with the same person more than once), or who had sex with a disabled person (consensual or not). The penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” is death by hanging unknown at this time.
– Require anyone arrested on suspicion of homosexuality to undergo HIV testing to determine the individual’s qualification for prosecution of “aggravated homosexuality.”
– Criminalize “attempted homosexuality” with imprisonment for seven years.
– Criminalize “promoting” homosexuality with fines and imprisonment for between five and seven years. This overly-broad provision would criminalize all speech and peaceful assembly for those who advocate on behalf of LGBT citizens in Uganda . It would also criminalize any attempt to repeal or modify the law in the future, as those moves could also be seen as “promoting” homosexuality.
– Criminalize “aiding and abetting homosexuality” with seven years imprisonment. This provision could be used against anyone extending counseling, medical care, or otherwise providing aide gay people.
– Criminalize the act of obtaining a same-sex marriage abroad with lifetime imprisonment.
– Add a clause which forces friends or family members to report LGBT persons to police within 24-hours of learning about that individual’s homosexuality or face fines or imprisonment for up to three years.
– Penalize people who run “brothels” with five to seven years imprisonment for renting to LGBT people. However, it defines a brothel as “a house, room, set of rooms or place of any kind for the purposes of homosexuality” instead of the more normal definition of a place where commercial sex work takes place. Anyone’s bedroom would be a “brothel” under this definition, placing landlords and hotel owners in jeopardy for renting to LGBT people.
– Add an extra-territorial and extradition provisions, allowing Uganda to prosecute LGBT Ugandans living abroad.
– Void all international treaties, agreements and human rights obligations which conflict with this bill.

(Source: Box Turtle Bulletin)

A few days ago, a requirement to execute the nation’s LGBT people was tentatively dropped from the legislation, but the above steps to terrorize LGBT people and their families — and to squelch dissent against Uganda’s rulers — remain intact.

The participating groups in the Providence protest implore Rhode Island leaders to do the following:

· We call upon Gordon Fox, the members of the General Assembly, Mayor David Cicilline, and prospective gubernatorial candidates to issue statements seeking the rejection of the Uganda legislation in any form.

· We call upon these leaders to spell out ramifications for the state’s relations with companies, organizations, and governments that support this or similar legislation against human rights.

· Given the efforts of U.S. marriage-equality opponents to support Uganda’s legislation, we call upon Rhode Island’s leaders to recommit to full marriage equality in Rhode Island.

At the protest, we will make arrangements to convey our requests to Rhode Island’s leaders.

We hope to see you on Thursday!

For more information about similar events around the country, please visit:

http://www.americanprayerhour.org/
http://jointheimpactma.com/

For more information about The Family, visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fellowship_(Christian_organization)
For more information about the U.S. Christian Right’s exportation of lethal antigay culture war to Uganda, visit:
http://www.publiceye.org/publications/globalizing-the-culture-wars/