"Kill the Gays" Bill?

Wait, seriously? Did I hear that right?

Sadly, yes. Currently a bill is passing through the Ugandan parliament to tack on life imprisonment (oh, and the death penalty) as a legal sanction against "gay sex."

Tack on to what, you may ask. Well, there is already a law making homosexuality unlawful in Uganda, which Ugandan activist Julius Kaggwa said explicitly undermines the constitution of Uganda, which supposedly provides protection to all citizens (including minorities), and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That being said, this bill is aimed at making punishment for those engaging in gay sex life imprisonment, and the punishment for "aggravated homosexuality," a term the bill uses to indicate the repeated engagement in same-sex sex or for same-sex sex with one HIV-positive partner, will become the death penalty.

But apparently now Uganda's parliament is looking into "refining the death penalty language" and adding an amendment that would require counseling for those who are gay.

At the hearing on January 21st on Capitol Hill, held by noted gay representatives Tammy Baldwin, Jared Polis, and Barney Frank, Kaggwa called on America, and President Obama, to become involved and send a clear message to Uganda that this bill should not pass. Kaggwa told Advocate.com, "We want to share with them our stories and call upon the American Congress to stand with us to stop this policy. We need added voices from the international community and from the United States in particular.”

Apparently Obama was listening. On Thursday morning, President Obama (along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast. It was a stirring appearance since the National Prayer Breakfast is an event held by The Family, a far-right religious group which is believed to have "disturbing ties" to the Ugandan bill. Both President Obama, who called the bill "odious," and Hillary Clinton publicly condemned the bill during their speeches at the National Prayer Breakfast, sending a clear message to both Uganda and the US that discrimination like this should not be tolerated on any side.

The bill probably won't pass, but it does bring up serious issues for the gay and lesbian community worldwide. At the forefront is the fact that being persecuted for your sexual orientation is still very real. Furthermore, the inclusion of HIV-infected persons having sex as "aggravated homosexuality," i.e. only in the context of same-sex sex, perpetuates stereotypes about HIV and those who are most at risk. Finally, even the amending of the bill to include a less violent sanction (required counseling) frames homosexuality as a disorder that can be "fixed," again a horrible misconception about the reality of sexual orientation.

Sources: http://www.advocate.com/News/News_Features/Gay_Reps_Baldwin_Polis_and_Frank_Hold_Hearing_on_Uganda/

http://www.365gay.com/news/rachelwatch-obama-condemns-the-kill-the-gays-bill/

HIV/AIDS in the Black Community

According to the Center for Disease Control, roughly half of the population diagnosed with the HIV infection and AIDS virus is African American.

Gay and bisexual black men account for an overwhelming majority of these cases and have the highest risk for contracting and transmitting HIV/AIDS. The number of new infections among young African American men, ages 13-29, who engage in anal or oral intercourse with other men (MSM) is about two times higher than the number for white and Hispanic MSM.

As a person who is extremely interested in human sexuality/sexual health and, first and foremost, as an African American woman, I can't say how deeply troubled I am by these disproportionate statistics. I have witnessed homophobia and the stigma surrounding HIV firsthand within my community. In junior high and high school the general sentiment about black men who have sex with other men was that of disgust, combined with the belief that gay men were inherently immoral. These views led to downright harassment and violence towards gay and bisexual teens inside the classroom and through the halls, continuing past the final bell.

Within the black community, in regards to African American literature and media, the persistent negative view of gay black men can be witnessed in the “down low” phenomenon. Gay black men on the down low are characterized as unfaithful partners in heterosexual relationships. They are often stereotyped as hyper-sexualized beings and promiscuous; always engaging in unsafe sexual practices. This problematic portrayal of black sexuality preserves the negative stigmatization of black gays as being immoral and at the same time criminalizing black men who engage in same-sex relationships.

These social factors may be just a few predictors that contribute to the increase of HIV/AIDS in the gay/bisexual black community because they force black youth to: (a) be silent about their sexual orientation and identity for fear of discrimination, (b) stigmatize gay men, and (c) prevent sexually active gay and bisexual males from learning the facts and risks of engaging in intercourse.

With National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day just a couple days away, I urge every person, no matter how you identify yourself, to get involved in finding ways to decrease and prevent the number of new cases of HIV and AIDS.