Dear Critters,
Please find below an opportunity to sign a petition to help block anti-gay
legislation.
Apologies if this upsets anyone in ANY way.
Best wishes
Erica Pani (Queen Mary, UL)
From Avaaz.org - The World in Action
Dear friends,
Yesterday, Uganda Parliament could have passed a law that imposes the
death penalty for homosexuality. An international outcry shelved this bill
last year, and now we urgently need to ramp up the pressure to press
President Museveni to stand up for human rights and stop this brutal law.
Over 1.5 million have signed already, and the pressure is working!
Parliament closed yesterday without debate on the bill, but anti-gay MPs
want to bring it back in an emergency session today. We've got just hours
to stop this vote -- forward the email below, and follow the link to sign
the petition:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/uganda_stop_homophobia_petition/?vl
If the Ugandan Parliament votes for this brutal new law, thousands of
Ugandans could face execution -- just for being gay.
We've helped stop this bill before, and we can do it again. After a
massive global outcry last year, Ugandan President Museveni blocked the
bill's progress. But political unrest is mounting in Uganda, and religious
extremists in Parliament are hoping confusion and violence in the streets
will distract the international community from a second push to pass this
hate-filled law. We can show them that the world is still watching. If we
block the vote for one more day until Parliament closes, the bill will
expire forever.
We have no time to lose. 1.5 million of us have already joined the call --
let’s get to two million voices against Uganda's gay death penalty in the
next 24 hours -- click here to take action, then forward this email to
everyone:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/uganda_stop_homophobia_petition/?vl
Being gay in Uganda is already dangerous and terrifying. They are
regularly harassed and beaten, and just months ago, gay rights activist,
David Kato (pictured above), was brutally murdered in his own home. Now
LGBT Ugandans are threatened by this draconian law which imposes life
imprisonment for people convicted of same-sex relations and the death
penalty for “serial offenders”. Even NGOs working to prevent the spread of
HIV can be imprisoned for “promoting homosexuality” under this hate-filled
law.
Right now, Uganda is in political turmoil -- in the wake of the Arab
spring, people across the country are taking to the streets, protesting
high food and gas prices. President Museveni has responded by violently
cracking down on the opposition. This upheaval has provided religious
extremists in Parliament the perfect chance to slip in the shelved
anti-gay bill just days before Parliament closes and all proposed laws are
wiped from the books.
President Museveni backed away from this bill last year after
international pressure threatened Uganda's aid and support. With violent
protests sweeping the streets, his government is more vulnerable than
ever. Let's build a two million strong petition to stop the gay death
penalty bill again and save lives. We only have 24 hours -- sign below,
then tell friends and family:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/uganda_stop_homophobia_petition/?vl
Earlier this year, we stood in solidarity with Uganda's equality movement
to show that every human life, no matter what creed, nationality or sexual
orientation, is equally precious. Our international petition condemning
the gay death penalty law was delivered to Parliament – spurring a global
news story and enough pressure to block the bill for months. When a
tabloid newspaper published 100 names, pictures and addresses, of
suspected gays and those identified were threatened, Avaaz supported a
legal case against the paper and we won! Together we have stood up, time
and time again, for Uganda’s gay community -- now they need us more than
ever.
With hope and determination,
Emma, Iain, Alice, Morgan, Brianna and the rest of the Avaaz team
SOURCES:
Ugandan parliament yet to debate bill that would jail gay people for life:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/11/uganda-gay-people
Uganda anti-gay bill stalled after global outcry:
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/uganda-anti-gay-bill-stalled-after-global
outcry
Uganda's parliament set to debate anti-gay death penalty bill on May 13,
reports Human Rights Watch:
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2011/05/ugandas-parliament-set-to-debate-anti-gay-death-penalty-bill-on-may-13-reports-human-rights-watch.html
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