BY NATASHA BARSOTTI — A coalition of human rights groups says it has obtained a copy of Uganda's anti-gay bill, to be tabled shortly, saying it is clear that none of the provisions in the 2009 version of MP David Bahati's measure have been changed.

"It is still the 'Kill the Gays' Bill," the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law says in a Nov 29 release. It notes that the committee on legal and parliamentary affairs' report on the bill has yet to be released.

The coalition, with a membership of 51 Ugandan civil society organizations (including human rights, feminist, HIV focused, queer, media and refugee groups), says the anti-homosexuality bill has been upgraded to item number one on Parliament's Order of Business to Follow, which means it could be tabled imminently.

The group is calling on allies locally and globally to advocate, "in all ways possible," to condemn efforts to pass the bill.

Despite widespread reports that the bill no longer contains the death penalty for so-called "aggravated homosexuality," Ugandan activist Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera is quoted as saying that the Ugandan government still intends to keep the death penalty provision, contrary to what the media is saying.

"The only version of the bill that is public today still includes the death penalty provision for 'aggravated homosexuality,'" allout.org quotes Nabagesera as saying.

"Until the Ugandan parliament makes the current bill public, we must assume the bill contains the death penalty for gays," AllOut executive director Andre Banks says.

Nabagesera says that support from around the world is necessary and that Uganda lawmakers are attempting to delay international intervention and criticism, Gay Star News reports.

Ugandan parliamentary speaker Rebecca Kadaga, who promised to pass the anti-gay bill as "a Christmas gift" to the population, suspended House sittings Nov 28 after debate over an oil bill became chaotic.

BY NATASHA BARSOTTI - An AIDS-free generation is not just "a rallying cry" but within reach," outgoing American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a Nov 29 statement, but she cautioned that “the landscape of global health is littered with grand plans that never panned out,” The Washington Post reports.

Clinton established the goal last year, saying that while it may be ambitious, it is possible with current knowledge and interventions. "That is something we’ve never been able to say without
qualification before," she said in November 2011. But she warned Nov 29 that the task of achieving that goal is beyond the capability of one government or country. "It requires the world to share in the responsibility. We call on partner countries, other donor nations, civil society, faith-based organizations, the private sector, foundations, multilateral institutions and people living with HIV to join us as we each do our part."

A 64-page roadmap entitled "PEPFAR Blueprint: Creating an AIDS-Free Generation" highlights the strategies considered pivotal in reaching that goal. They include working toward the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive; increasing coverage of HIV treatment both to reduce AIDS-related mortality and to enhance HIV prevention; increasing the number of males who are circumcised for HIV prevention; and increasing access to, and uptake of, HIV testing and counselling, condoms and other evidence-based, appropriately targeted prevention interventions.

PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a program started by former president George W Bush, currently spends about $6.6 billion a year on AIDS in at least 34 countries, The Post notes.

"In many high-prevalence countries, the number of people becoming infected with HIV each year exceeds the number being started on antiretroviral therapy — a state that will lead to continued growth of the epidemic," the report adds, citing examples such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 4.9 people become infected for every 1 infected person who starts therapy; Nigeria, with a ratio of 4.8 to 1; Tanzania, at 3.8 to 1; and Rwanda, at 2.1 to 1. 

The Guardian notes that a report from UNAIDS last week indicated that the rate of infections over the last decade had dropped by more than half in 25 low- and middle-income countries, including Zimbabwe, with a drop of 50 percent, and Malawi, with a drop of 73 percent.

"As we continue to drive down the number of new infections and drive up the number of people on treatment, eventually we will be able to treat more people than become infected every year. That will be the tipping point. We will then get ahead of the pandemic and an AIDS-free generation will be in our sight," Clinton suggests.

BY NATASHA BARSOTTI - Kenya's first openly gay Senate candidate has pulled out of the electoral race, citing security concerns and a lack of funding. 

In a Nov 26 statement, David Kuria Mbote says he's unable to continue his run without adequate security and the means to hold meetings in Kiambu County, the seat he was contesting.

"It is with a heavy heart and great sorrow therefore that I wish to announce my withdrawal from the Kiambu County Senate Race. For those who supported my campaign, I will work on a formula for refunding you the money, because while we have already used it in the campaign efforts, you donated with the aim of us holding right up to the end."

Kuria told Gay Star News he received "threatening text messages" that indicated that anyone who voted for him should die, just as he also should. 

"Although I am sure such messages are from the fringe and do not represent the mainstream, they are very scary and I was faced with the choice of either to invest in security and move from where I live or withdraw from the race," Kuria said in the report.

In a September Q and A with Gay Star News, Kuria, who was a cofounder and general manager of the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK), acknowledged that his history in gay rights activism meant the chances of getting funding to run an election campaign were "nil."

In Kenya, sex between men carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.  

Several people in Kenya and in other African countries who were inspired by Kuria's run for office expressed disappointment, as well as understanding, at his withdrawal from the race.

"I am saddened by the news that Kuria is pulling out of the race. This goes to show that our politics in Kenya truly needs a facelift. Kiambu County will surely lose a great leader," says Barbra, a queer feminist and activist in Nairobi who is quoted in the news portal Identity Kenya.

"I think David’s withdrawal for the race is discouraging for me. I have been following his foot prints and so seeing him withdraw scares me and the others who are imitating him. I am sad but do not know why and so have nothing much to say than to let him know how I admired his courage and bravery," Mac-Darling Cobbinah, a human rights activist from Ghana, adds.

Ugandan gay rights activist Frank Mugisha called Kuria's withdrawal "disheartening." 

"We looked at him with a lot of admiration as a pioneer in the political arena, but again I would understand if the campaign is weighing on his personal life, but I also have to appreciate that he tried, and he made a political statement by standing in the first place," Mugisha says.

 

Watch the following interview featuring David Kuria Mbote.

 

Landing image: cherwell.org

BY NATASHA BARSOTTI - Following the suspension of a Major League Soccer player for three games after he used a homophobic slur against another player, a Welsh footballer has also been suspended and fined for an anti-gay tweet aimed at British Olympic divers Tom Daley and Peter Waterfield and their performance at the London Summer Games.  

The Football Association of Wales handed Port Talbot Town midfielder Daniel Thomas a one-match suspension and fined him 500 pounds for the tweet that originated from his account, which reads, "If there is any consolation for finishing fourth at least Daley and Waterfield can go and bum each other #teamHIV," Pink News reports. 

Daley won a bronze medal in the 10-metre diving event, while Waterfield did not medal.

Thomas at first denied sending the message, with his club saying he was the victim of a prank. But Port Talbot and Thomas, who was arrested in connection with the message, apologized "unreservedly" for the incident, Pink News says.

The director of public prosecutions ruled out charging Thomas for the tweet, saying that while it may be offensive, it was not a "grossly" criminal act, the report adds.

In September, the UK government released a report that says "evidence is now emerging that homophobia may now be a bigger problem in football than other forms of discrimination.

"Recent research found that 25% of fans think that football is homophobic while 10% think that football is racist. About 14% of recent match attendees also reported hearing homophobic abuse."

 

Landing image: Welsh Premier League

BY NATASHA BARSOTTI - Four gay men who have tried so-called conversion or reparative therapy have filed a civil suit in New Jersey against a counselling group that they allege employs "deceptive practices" under the state's Consumer Fraud Act, The New York Times reports.

According to the report, the men allege they were "emotionally scarred by false promises of inner transformation and humiliating techniques that included stripping naked in front of the counselor and beating effigies of their mothers." After spending thousands of dollars in fees for the therapy with no change in their feelings, the men were told that their inability to convert was their own fault.

The counselling centre, known as Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing, or Jonah, describes itself as “dedicated to educating the worldwide Jewish community about the social, cultural and emotional factors that lead to same-sex attractions” and says it “works directly with those struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions,” including non-Jews, the report goes on to say. The centre does not have official standing within Judaism, it adds. 

Neither co-founder Arthur Goldberg nor “life coach” Alan Downing is licensed as a therapist, The Times notes, and therefore "not subject to censure by professional associations."

The civil suit, brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on behalf of the four men and two of their mothers, asks for financial compensation and for Jonah to be shut down.  

“The defendants peddled antigay pseudoscience, defaming gay people as loathsome and deranged,” SPLC lawyer Sam Wolfe told The Times.

Meanwhile, on Nov 30 in Sacramento, California, a federal judge will begin hearing the first of two legal challenges brought by conservative law groups that claim that California's new state law banning gay conversion therapy for minors is an "unconstitutional infringement on speech, religion and privacy." Governor Jerry Brown signed the measure into law in September. 

In response to the accusations of constitutional infringements, California's state attorney-general's office noted the "extensive professional literature" that discredits ex-gay therapy, The Times says. It also notes that the new law bans "harmful conduct but not speech or religion."

The head of Exodus International, a prominent proponent of ex-gay therapy, has repeatedly distanced himself from his organization's "change is possible" mantra, much to the intense chagrin of those still devoted to the idea that all gay people need to rid themselves of homosexuality is a good dose of prayer and therapy.

“I would say the majority, meaning 99.9 percent of them, have not experienced a change in their orientation or have gotten to a place where they could say that they could never be tempted, or are not tempted in some way or experience some level of same-sex attraction,” Alan Chambers told a Gay Christian Network (GCN) conference on Jan 6.

In a July 6 story, The Times also quotes Chambers as saying there is no cure for homosexuality, and reparative therapy is an exercise in false hope for gays and might even be harmful. 

“I am sorry that that is something we used,” he said when asked by a GCN conference panellist if Exodus had apologized for using the "change is possible" phrase over a 30-year period. “This is something we regret very much being ambiguous about, because I don’t think ambiguity with this subject is helpful, so that is something that we’re very, very sorry about.”  

According to The Times, accusations of heresy have been levelled against Chambers for his reevaluation, which is seen as causing a rift in the ex-gay movement.   

But Chambers is not the only proponent of conversion therapy who has apologized. In May, none other than retired psychiatrist Robert Spitzer retracted claims in a controversial 2001 study he conducted that claimed "highly motivated" gays and lesbians could change their sexual orientation. "In retrospect, I have to admit I think the critiques are largely correct," he said.