Editors Note: Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) took the lead in formulating this letter to President Museveni of Uganda when that country’s parliament was considering a bill to make homosexuality a capital crime. The same group of legislators sent a similar letter to President Obama urging him to act on this matter.
Dear President Museveni:
We write to you to ask you to speak out against, and deter, a grave injustice that is occurring in Uganda. As you are aware, a member of Uganda’s Parliament has introduced legislation outlawing and condemning homosexuality and making “any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex” punishable by prison or death. This egregious bill, which represents one of the most extreme anti-equality measures ever proposed in any country, would create a legal pretext for depriving lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Ugandans of their liberty, and even their lives. We respectfully urge you to take swift action to prevent this law, which we are concerned could have a chilling effect both on human rights and on bilateral relations between our countries.
Homosexuality is already outlawed in Uganda. The Penal Code bans “carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature.” However, we understand that prosecutions are rare because the standard of proof requires parties must be “caught in the act.” The Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2009 would facilitate prosecution and would put to death those it found to be guilty of “aggravated homosexuality”; it even would criminalize the “aiding and abetting of homosexuality and promotion of homosexuality” each charge of which would carry a possible prison sentence of seven years. This egregious bill is not only unjust on its face: its mere existence almost certainly will lead to violence against individuals who either are LGBT or are rumored to be LGBT, their families, and community leaders in their places of worship, residence, school, or place of business. The Anti-Homosexuality Act even seeks to establish extraterritorial jurisdiction, which consequently could endanger Ugandan LGBT citizens living abroad whose extradition to, and prosecution in, Uganda might consequently be sought.
Mr. President, this law has attracted considerable unfavorable attention in the United States and in many other countries around the world, where it is rightly seen as an attack on fundamental human liberties and rights. We have little doubt that its passage would impact negatively on Uganda’s relations with the world community, including in areas of clear importance to the Ugandan people. For example, Sweden has indicated that it will cut bilateral assistance to Uganda should the bill be passed. Should the bill be passed, any range of bilateral programs important to relations between our countries and, indeed, to the Ugandan people inevitably would be called under review. For example, U.S. spending in Uganda last year on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) amounted to almost $300 million, representing approximately 2.6 percent of the total Ugandan economy. By seriously compromising efforts to reach LGBT communities in Uganda, passage of the Anti-Homosexual Act would impede the efficacy of PEPFAR’s programs and the achievement of its goals. In such circumstances, questions would naturally be raised as to whether this humanitarian U.S. investment should be reconsidered.
We respectfully urge you to take immediate steps not only to assure our bilateral relationship, but to place Uganda clearly on the side of equality and fair-mindedness in how its citizens are treated. As Uganda’s leader, you have the opportunity to prevent proliferation of hate, civil unrest and violence in Uganda. It is our fervent hope that you will use every means possible to convey to leaders in Parliament that this appalling bill is reckless in both intent and possible impact, and should be withdrawn immediately.
Sincerely,
Tammy Baldwin, Jared Polis, Barney Frank, Howard Berman, Donald Payne, Michael Capuano, David Wu, Jerrold Nadler, Michael M. Honda, Lois Capps, Raul Grijalva, Robert Brady, Mike Doyle, Diana DeGette, Zoe Lofgren, Alcee Hastings, Carolyn Maloney, Bill Delahunt, Gerry Connolly, Diane Watson, John Garamendi, Steve Israel, John Oliver, Doris Matsui, Steve Cohen, Chellie Pingree, Maurice Hinchey, Steve Driehaus, Brad Sherman, Peter DeFazio, Jank Johnson, Paul Hodes, Elijah Cummings, Tim Walz, David Price, Jim McDermott, Ed Pastor, Earl Blumenauer, Albio Sires, Jim Langevin, Carol Shea-Porter, Bart Gordon, Charles Gonzalez, James Moran, George Miller, John Crowley, Anthony Weiner, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Rush Holt, Keith Ellison, Steven R. Rothman, Eliot Engel, Anna Eshoo, Frank Pallone, John Hall, Brian Baird, Sheila Jackson Lee, Barbara Lee, Peter Welch, Linda Sanchez, Lynn Woolsey, Mary Jo Kilroy, Rosa DeLauro, Jim Oberstar, Mike Quigley, Bob Filner, Tom Perriello, Bill Pascrell, Sander Levin, Mike Thompson, Forney Pete Stark, Gwen Moore, Yvette Clarke, Patrick Kennedy, Lloyd Doggett, Gary Peters, Madeleine Bordallo, Dennis Kucinich, Dan Schakowsky, Joe Sestak, Laura Richardson, John Tierney, Henry Waxman, Phil Hare, Jackie Speier, Donna Edwards, William Lacy Clay, Martin Heinrich, Kathy Castor.
