While Uganda presses ahead with anti-gay legislation, neighbouring Rwanda is also considering legislation that would criminalize homosexuality.

From the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission:

On Dec 16, 2009, the lower house of the Rwandan Parliament will hold its final debate on a draft revision of the penal code that will, for the first time, make homosexuality a crime in Rwanda. A vote on this draft code will occur before the end of the week. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has learned that the proposed Article 217 of the draft Penal Code Act will criminalize "[a]ny person who practices, encourages or sensitizes people of the same sex, to sexual relation or any sexual practice."

If approved by Rwanda's lower house, the draft will move on to the Senate in early 2010, says the ILGHRC.

Check out Box Turtle Bulletin for more — editor Jim Burroway has drawn links between US evangelical pastor Rick Warren and Rwanda's attempts to criminalize homosexuality.

Meanwhile, activists in Toronto are planning a protest against Uganda's anti-gay bill. Among other punishments, Uganda's bill proposes a death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality." 

Vigil in Protest of Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
519 Church St.
Fri, Dec 18, 5:30-7:30pm.
See the Facebook Event for more details.

Read more on Xtra.ca:

• Uganda's anti-gay bill still includes death penalty
• Growing international outrage over Uganda's anti-gay bill
• Raising Uganda: Did Harper do enough?
  
• Religious forces behind Uganda's anti-gay bill

Nearly 100 protesters rallied outside the Ugandan Embassy in London yesterday to protest Uganda's draconian anti-gay bill.

The bill, which is being debated in Uganda's Parliament, proposes life imprisonment and, in some cases, execution of gays. A recent report suggested that Uganda may modify the bill slightly to remove some of the more extreme punishments, but the bill's author denies that. "We are not going to yield to any international pressure – we cannot allow people to play with the future of our children," David Bahati told the Guardian.

Activists Peter Tatchell, Godwyns Onwuchekwa, Rev Rowland Jide Macaulay and Bisi Alimi. Photo taken Dec 10, by Brett Lock of OutRage! See more pics here.

UK-based queer rights group OutRage! co-organized yesterday's protest in London. From their report:

The keynote speakers were gay Ugandan John Bosco and straight Ugandan human rights activist, Michael Senyonjo. 

John Bosco was recently jailed in Uganda, after he was illegally and forcibly returned to Uganda by the British Home office while seeking asylum in the UK. 

He condemned the Anti-Homosexuality Bill as "an attack on the civil liberties of all Ugandans," denouncing it as "dividing Ugandans against each other and requiring people to report on their own family members who are gay." 

Michael Senyonjo told the crowd: "In the last five years we have seen Idi Amin return to Uganda and his name is (President) Yoweri Museveni. We cannot allow fascism to return to Uganda. He should leave power and go because he is not taking the country anywhere but to disaster," he said. 

Meanwhile, NBC's Rachel Maddow keeps up the heat on US evangelicals for their ties to Uganda's anti-gay politics. In yesterday's segment, she takes on pastor Rick Warren:

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Read more on Xtra.ca:

• Raising Uganda: Did Harper do enough?
  
• Religious forces behind Uganda's anti-gay bill
  

It's not often we get to praise Prime Minister Stephen Harper around these parts (umm, like, never!) but this weekend, he boldly went where no Obama has gone before in condemning Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni for his government's proposed new anti-gay laws. The bills would jail gay people for life (with a death penalty for anyone who transmits HIV) and would even jail others for not turning in any gay people they might know.  Here's Harper to the rescue:

"I did raise it directly with the president of Uganda and indicated Canada's deep concern, strong opposition and the fact we deplore these kinds of measures."

Oooooh!  I'm sure Museveni took one look into Harper's beady, dead eyes and felt the full, passionate weight of international law bearing down on him.

Well, maybe not.  But hey, at least Canada did something.  Obama's Secretary-of-State Hillary Clinton was silent on the issue but Rick Warren, Obama's favourite purpose-driven pastor, appeared on Meet the Press this weekend and, given his support for African AIDS relief, had this to say about Uganda's death penalty:

"As a pastor, my job is to encourage, to support. I never take sides."

Man, I hope never to be stuck behind this guy at a deli counter.  Corned beef or turkey?  Who could possibly say?  Here's a taste of Warren's famous Switzerland style in action, around this time last year:

Such encouragement.  Such support.

Guys like Warren and Harper and even Obama represent the new, blander face of homophobia. They may privately feel just sick about gay people losing their jobs, their homes or even their lives but it would be just be so rude to say so!  As Warren explained, "it is not my personal calling as a pastor in America to comment or interfere in the political process of other nations."

No, even in the face of homicide, we must remain objective and polite and never, ever interfere -- though our neutral leaders will, of course, cast glares of disapproval at those terribly outspoken lesbians and gay men who dare to advocate on their own behalf.  Why can't they be nice?  Everything would be fine if these Ugandan gays could just keep silent.  As we look to another World AIDS Day tomorrow, however, that's a song we've heard one time too many:

A commentator yesterday quite rightly pointed out that I've been talking about Barack Obama far more than Canadian politics. It's a fair point. To use a John McCain analogy, it's like I've been talking about Britney Spears when I could've been discussing the McGarrigle Sisters.

Umm....

The McGarrigle Sisters are wonderful artists with fine voices and, umm....oh dammit, why can't Anna just shave her head and go nightclubbing without panties??!!

In my defense, I'll just refer my critics to the word "zeitgeist," which is German for "nothing else on TV."

Obviously, Obama's swearing-in (and the eagerly awaited end of the Bush Nightmare) was THE big story yesterday but I was surprised by all the controversy. No, not from Rick Warren (whose flat, rambling prayer did nothing to offend gays or interest anyone) or from Obama himself (his team promptly revamped the White House website with a surprising, pleasing laundry list of gay rights initiatives -- Merry Christmas!). No, the biggest controversy on Inauguration Day was Aretha Franklin's hat:

Do you love it?  Do you hate it?  Everyone's got an opinion!  Rumour has it, Obama loved it so much, he made it Secretary of Commerce while Michelle ordered the secret service to have Franklin killed.

What does that have to do with Canada?  NOTHING!  But as we wait for Stephen "Not Obama" Harper to reopen our country's non-Obama-led parliament next Monday, we news junkies must be satisfied with weird court cases like the Calgary soccer coach's mother-son love triangle or the bold tactics of Winston Blackmore, who's fighting his arrest on charges of polygamy with a legal combo of religious persecution complaints, gay rights precedents and the lawyer for serial killer Robert Pickton. Wow, good luck with that.

Blackmore says he's being persecuted for his Mormon faith and defiantly announced, in time-honoured musical theatre fashion, "I am what I am."  Why, I hear a song coming on:

Now, having butchered musical theatre, I'm off to listen to Barack Obama's iPod -- see you tomorrow!

I'm seeing a whole lot of unfairness this weekend:

Boy George may be guilty of many things but I can't help but think that a year-and-a-half in prison is too much.  He's just not built for it and yes, they'll really want to hurt him.  Can't he go and pick up more trash or something?

Dan Savage is enlisting his loyal army of readers to give Rick Warren the "santorum" treatment. It borders on cruel -- the poor homophobe won't know what hit him!

Now, since I don't know who Gregory D. Lee is, I suppose I'm being unfair when I call him an ignorant hillbilly jackass bigot but then, he is the guy who writes:

"homosexuals predominantly want to serve in the military in order to have access to people their own age with whom to engage in sex. It’s just that simple. It’s all about sex, and not about serving the nation." 

Oh wait, Lee is in the US Army Reserve -- that makes him Major Ignorant Hillbilly Jackass Bigot!

And then there's the unfair horror of this clown getting federal funding from the US government to tell kids that sex will ruin their lives. And when I say "clown," I mean it:

Oh George W. Bush, you just can't get out fast enough!  With all eyes on Washington this weekend, waiting for Obama to ride in on his unicorn, it was perhaps an unfortunate bit of timing for the Mid-Atlantic Leather Maneuvers to host their "pig orgy" at a local hotel. The right-wingers got wind of it, freaked out and managed to get the event shut down. Great, now the only thing being flogged in Washington is the Bible.

And of course, Obama's inauguration concert kickoff was the big story yesterday, where it seemed that the gay men were treated like children -- seen and not heard.  Anglican bishop Gene Robinson delivered the opening speech but the Obama team scheduled him as the part of the "pre-show" so his remarks weren't televised!  Fortunately, we have camcorders and YouTube as a consolation prize:

Then there was the lovely spectacle of the Washington DC Gay Men's Chorus backing up Josh Groban and Heather Headley. Too bad the chorus wasn't actually identified onscreen like some of the others but hopefully their red ribbons got the message out: