In the African country of Uganda, many people believe that homosexuality is wrong and should be made a crime. A Ugandan lawmaker has introduced legislation that would criminalize being gay, which has led to human rights concerns and fear among homosexuals and gay rights advocates in the country.
Uganda's political leaders are generally in favor of criminalizing homosexuality, which makes it difficult for gay rights advocates to change people's minds. Some Ugandans say the West is imposing its values on their country and they are entitled to their opinions about gay issues.
The U.S. government has repeatedly said it would fight the criminalization of homosexuality and seek to ensure the rights of gay people in Uganda. However, it is facing an uphill battle, as one Ugandan pastor told the NewsHour that "most African nations consider gayism as a behavior, not as a culture, not as a faith, and definitely not as a way of life."
Quotes
"America has an agenda for homosexuals in Uganda." - Joseph Serwadda, pastor
"I'm not scared of the government. I keep saying that, because if the government really wants to harm me, they will do that. But I'm scared of the ordinary people. Just recently, when someone wrote in a newspaper about me, and if you went and read, there were Facebook comments on that, and if you read the comments, there were people who were saying they could kill me if they saw me." - Frank Mugisha, gay rights activist
Warm Up Questions
1. What does it mean to criminalize something?
2. Where is Uganda? What do you know about it?
3. What is homosexuality?
Discussion Questions
1. Do you think it's right for other countries to be intervening in Uganda's legislation in this case? Why or why not?
2. Why do you think the pastor interviewed in this piece insists there isn’t any harassment of gays going on in Uganda, even though there is clearly evidence to the contrary? What does he mean by the term "gayism," and how is that different from the way homosexuality is generally regarded in the U.S.?
3. The report states that "a large part of Uganda's budget comes from foreign aid." Why might that fact complicate Uganda’s relationship with Western powers like the U.S.?
Additional Resources
