Death penalty for gays? Uganda debates proposalBy KATHARINEHOURELD and GODFREYOLUKYA (AP)KAMPALA, Uganda "Proposed legislation wouldimpose the death penalty forsome gay Ugandans, and theirfamily and friends could faceup.to Seven years in jail if theyfail to report them toauthorities. Even landlordscould be imprisoned for.renting to homosexuals. Gayrights activists say the bill,_ which has prompted growinginternational opposition,promotes hatred and could set.back efforts to combat HIV/AIDS. They believe the bill ispart of a continentwidebacklash because Africa T sgaycommunity is becoming morevocal. oIt Ts a question of_ Visibility, ? said David Cato,who became an activist after hewas beaten up four times,arrested twice, fired from histeaching job and outed in thepress because} heis gay. oWhenwe come. out and ask for ourrights, they pass laws againstus. ? The legislation has drawnglobal attention from activistsacross the spectrum of viewson gay issues. The measure wasproposed in Uganda followinga visit by leaders of U.S.conservative . Christianministries that promote therapyfor gays to becomeheterosexual; However, at leastone of. those. leaders hasdenounced the bill, as havesome other conservative andliberal Christians in the UnitedStates. Gay rights activists-saythe legislation is likely to pass.But the bill is still being debatedand could undergo changesbefore a vote, which has not yetbeen set. The Ugandanlegislation i in its current formwould mandate a deathsentence for activehomosexuals living with HIV orin cases of same-sex rape. oSerial offenders ? also couldface capital punishment, but thelegislation does not define theterm. Anyone convicted of ahomosexual act faces lifeimprisonment. Anyone. -who oaids, abets, counsels orprocures another to engage ofacts of homosexuality ? facesseven years in prison ifconvicted; Landlords who rentrooms or homes tohomosexuals also could getséven years and anyone with oreligious, political, economicor social authority ? ? who fails toreport anyone violating the act| faces three years. Gay rightsactivists abroad are focusing on@Faith Ts CreationsRefinishing and. Upholstery Shop| (252)753. 7257 (252)327. 1694es Can't afford new funiture let me redo the funiture you already own!Certified Carpenter oAlso paint repair and refinish all:wooden furniture.Can Replace old material with newOwner Faith May2959 NC HWY 121 Farmwille, NC 27828184 sn Main at , ie ] sigeTel: 259:946-4420 oNor Just Your ORD! INARY PAWN SHOP,WE HAVE. & ga feMERCHANDISE FOR AUL YOUR~ SHOPPING NEEDs. .COME CHECK Us Our.EDDING: CERN) rhc CON he Q TeYou In oLet Us Ridr20)Mighwes ay oO.wre hySAGAR SPE PILveh a iatyee YiessPee oe aeoes a 4 a*TVI weMee a?PEMENTCAFINEDAI CT * ia ip : "Th *] : a. Ae , .v ia} ma |already ~ punishable "the legislation. A protest againstthe bill is planned for Thursdayin London; protests were heldlast month in New York andWashington. David Bahati, the:legislator sponsoring the bill,said he T was encouraging oconstructive criticism ? toimprove the law, but insistedstrict measures were necessaryto stop homosexuals from orecruiting ? schoolchildren. oThe youths in secondaryschools copy everything fromthe Western world andAmerica, ? said high schoolteacher David Kisambira. oAgood number of students havebeen converted into gays. Wehear there are groups of peoplegiven money by some gayorganizations in developedcountries to recruit youth intogay activities. ? Uganda Ts ethicsminister, James Nsaba Buturo,said the death sentence clausewould probably be reviewed butmaintained the law wasnecessary to counter. foreigninfluence. He saidhomosexuality ois not natural inUganda, ? a view echoed bysome Ugandans. oI feel that thebill is good and necessary; but 1don Tt think gays should bekilled. ? They should *beimprisoned for about a year andwarned never to do it again, The *family isin danger in Ugandabecause the rate at which viceis spreading is appalling, ? saidshopkeeper John Muwanguzi.Ugandg is not the only countryconsidering anti-gay laws.Nigeria, where homosexuality isbyimprisonment or death, isconsidering strengtheningpenalties for activities deemed» to oe it. _Borundi just: iui.banned same-sex relationshipsand Rwanda is considering it.Homophobia is rife even inmore toletant African countries.In Kenya, homosexuality isillegal but the government hasacknowledged its existence bylaunching sexual orientationsurvey to improve health care.Nevertheless, the recent Tmarriage of two Kenyan men inLondon caused outrage. Themen Ts families in Kenya wereharassed by reporters andVillagers. In South Africa, theonly African nation to recognizegay marriage, gangs carry outso-called ocorrective ? rapes onlesbians. A 19-year-old lesbianathlete was gang-raped,tortured and murdered in 2008.Debate over the Ugandan billfollows a conference inKampala earlier this yearattended by American activistswho consider same-genderrelationships sinful, and believegays and lesbians can becomeheterosexual through prayerand counseling. Author DonSchmierer and T osexualreorientation coach ? Caleb LeeBrundidge took part;, they didnot respond to interviewrequests. A third American who .took part in the conference inUganda, Scott Lively, said thebill has gone too far. oI agree .with the general goal but thislaw is far too harsh, ? saidLively, a California-based: preacher and author of oThePink Swasti othat advise parents how to T orecruit-proof ? theit children :from gays. oSociety shouldactively discourage all sexoutside of marriage and that ? and other booksincludes nope12/18 - 12/31, 2009 page 7Gay people oshould not beparading around the streets, ?he added. Frank Mugisha, aBay Ugandan human rightsactivist, said-the bill was sopoorly worded that someonecould be imprisoned for givinga hug. oThis bill is promotingHatred, ? he said. oWe're turning Uganda into a police State. It will drive people tosuicide. ? Buturo played downthe influence of foreignevangelicals, saying theproposed legislation was anexpression of popular outrageagainst orepugnant ? practices.But activists like Cato argueanti-gay attitudes are q foreignimport. oIn the beginning,-when the missionaries broughtreligion, they said they werebringing love, ? he said.. oInstead they brought hate,through homophobia, ? SusanTimberlake, a senior adviser onhuman rights and law fromUNAIDS, said such laws couldhinder the fight against HIV/AIDS by driving people further .underground.:And activistsalso worry that the legislationcould be used to blackmail orsilence government critics.Cato said he thinks theUgandan bill will pass, perhapsin an altered form. oIt Ts such asetback. But I hope we can ?overcome it, ? he said. oI cannotbelieve this is happening in the21st-century. "Associated Press WriterKatharine Houreld reported: from Nairobi, Kenya, ,a eenveieieNFOR GREAT GOSPELMUSIC. «NEWSINFORMATION oListen ToJoy 1340 AMWOOW AMGreenvilleJoy 1320 AMWTOWWashingtonay