France and U.S. Condemn Ugandan Antigay Bill

To jeffrey: Please offer some support that there wasn't this level of hatred towards gays in Africa before the colonial era. Your comment flies in the face that modern African homophobes keep saying how homosexuality was only introduced into Africa by the very colonials that you're condemning. (I'd also note that even in Oscar Wilde's time France was considered more accepting of homosexuality than Britain was at the time. Personal prejudices may have existed, due in large part to the status of the Catholic Church, but France, Germany and most other Continental European countries had no specific laws against homosexuality during the late 19th century colonial era. EM Forster's novel "Maurice", begun as early as 1913, even has a character recommending that Maurice move to somewhere more accepting of his homosexuality.)

To Alex: If even half of those who voted for Dubya in 2004 were to move to Uganda with their families, Uganda would immediately become a majority-white county. Dubya received just over 62 million votes (and there were only 3 million "defectors" in 2008); half that would be 31 million and the figures don't include any children. Uganda's population (per CIA factbook) is estimated at less than 32.5 million. I would guess that half the Dubya voters plus their children would amount to well over 40 million. Of course, let's none of us forget that there are a lot of bigoted--I mean, conservative--Black Christians who voted for Obama solely because of his skin color.

What needs to be reported on here is the American Christian activists who have lobbied in favor of this bill. They include members of the ex-gay movement and people associated with Rick Warren. Yes, U.S. and European Union aid to Uganda should be suspended if they adopt this barbaric legislation.

maxim...don't be so smug. Years of European colonial rule (repression) helped shape the virulent homophobia we witness in many of these countries.As is many former colonies where European rule outlawed homosexuality, the practice has continued. It doesn't help that the US has a history of propping up despotic homophobic dictators all in the name of protecting western monopoly capital. The proposed Ugandan laws are disgusting and I agree that all funding should be cut off but please don't forget that your capitalist predecessors had a major hand in shaping this sort of hatred that was historically unknown to many African regions prior to British, French, Dutch and Belgian rule.

I agree, if Western governments want to condemn Uganda, they should put their money (or rather not put their money) where their mouth is and stop aid from going in. We don't stand idly by for just any human rights abuses, for some we supposedly even go in ourselves declaring war. Why can't we see more than a simple few words of disapproval for something like this?

Why are we giving Uganda any aid, then? There's a simple result to this bill--companies fear sending employees to Uganda, and charities stop helping Uganda. It's not complicated--all of us capitalist gays understand the way this should work. We can bitch at Uganda, or we can respond that if they want to act like a backward tribalist nation, then we're more than happy to let them--without our funds. And those of you that respond and say "why should we punish the people for the government's acts" or whatnot are deluding yourselves. You want to be compassionate, fine, be compassionate--and keep sending your money to people that use it to compensate for poverty caused largely by primitive social values and a lack of social imagination, compounded by tribalism and the threat of social ostracision so great that it dwarfs even their laws. If they want better economies--try not having kids at 19 they can't support. Your compassion is paying for their bigotry.

They wouldn't move to Uganda because they won't be allowed to own the native residents, that's why. Conservative whites are uncomfortable being considered a minority, which is why they like to believe that everyone in America thinks the same way they do.

Why dont all the conservative Christians her in the US move to Uganda.....that way they can live in the homophobic, hatred filled country they so often wish for.

instead of promoting progress this nation (if we can call nation) wants to promote Hate. That's why these countries are so behind and there are so much poverty..fraud and corruption. We shoudl cut all the monetary help to Uganda for breaking Human rights.

Bring slavery back. let's remind the blacks what opression is like..they clearly seem to have forgotten.