[NetBehaviour] Save Frank's life (fwd)

[Alan Sondheim]

Apologies for sending this, but please sign, thanks, Alan


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:44:32 -0500
From: Alice Jay - Avaaz.org <avaaz at avaaz.org>
To: "sondheim at panix.com" <sondheim at panix.com>
Subject: Save Frank's life

Dear friends,

[uganda_email.jpg]

Uganda's parliament is set to pass a law that punishes gay people with
prison or death -- let's raise massive global outcry to stop this brutal
bill:

Sign The Petition!
Uganda’s parliament is preparing to pass a brutal new law that would
punish gay people with prison -- even death.

Initial international criticism drove the President to call for a review.
But after a well-funded and vicious lobbying effort by extremists, the
bill looks set to be passed -- threatening widespread persecution and
bloodshed.

Opposition to the bill is rising, including from the Anglican church.
Ugandan gay rights advocate Frank Mugisha writes, This law will put us in
serious danger. Please, sign the petition and tell others to stand with
us – if there’s a huge global response, our government will see that
Uganda will be internationally isolated by the proposed law, and strike
it down.

With the decision expected in days, only an irresistible wave of
worldwide pressure will be enough to save Frank's life and many others.
Let’s build a huge petition to stop the gay death law -- click here to
take action, then forward this email:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/uganda_rights/?vl

The petition will be delivered to President Museveni, members of the
review committee and Ugandan embassies worldwide this week before it’s
too late, as well as to key donor governments.

The bill proposes life imprisonment for anyone convicted of having
same-sex relations and imposes the death penalty for “serial
offenders”. NGOs working to prevent the spread of HIV could be
imprisoned for up to 7 years for “promoting homosexuality”. Even
members of the public face up to three years in jail if they fail to
report homosexual activity to the police within 24 hours!

The bill’s advocates claim that it defends national culture, but its
strongest critics come from within Uganda. The Reverend Canon Gideon
Byamugisha is one of many who’s written to us – he says,

It is violating our cultures, traditions and religious values that teach
against intolerance, injustice, hatred and violence. We need laws to
protect people -- not ones that will humiliate, ridicule, persecute and
kill them en masse.

By rejecting this dangerous bill and supporting the breadth of opposition
to it, we can help set a crucial precedent. Let’s build massive support
for Uganda’s human rights defenders, and save lives by stopping this
bill -- sign now here, then tell friends and family:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/uganda_rights/?vl

With hope and determination,

Alice, Ricken, Ben, Paul, Benjamin, Pascal, Raluca, Graziela and the
whole Avaaz team

SOURCES

African letter to Ugandan President to throw out Anti-Homosexual Bill:
http://www.africafiles.org/article.asp?ID=22761

Ugandan church leader brands anti-gay bill 'genocide':
http://www.guardian.co.uk/katine/2009/dec/04/gideon-byamugisha-homosexuality-bil
l

Human Rights Impact Assessment of Uganda's Anti-homosexuality Bill By
Sylvia Tamale, The Dean of Law at Uganda's Makerere University:
http://www.zeleza.com/blogging/african-affairs/human-rights-impact-assessment-ug
andas-anti-homosexuality-bill-sylvia-tamal

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