Ladies and Gents, we have a new winner.

Until recently, the Terrorism Act 2000 took pride of place as “Worst piece of legislation I ever read”.

With the (not yet in force, natch) Anti-Homosexuality Bill from Uganda (text here), I’ve found a new number one. Albeit by a close margin.

Hey, there was a LOT of bullshit in that terror act.

Alright, let’s do this thing. Here’s the worst of it:

• S2 makes consensual homosexuality an offence, with life imprisonment.
• The death penalty is reserved for “Aggravated homosexuality” (S2), which they define as… quite frankly anything. Being HIV positive and committing homosexual acts, if the “victim” has a disability, repeat offences, or homosexuality with a minor. The worrying thing is that many of the possible offences for the death penalty are purely consensual acts.
• Attempting to have a same sex marriage can result in life imprisonment (s12)
• Funding, or promoting gay sex, or making or transmitting gay porn will get you a minimum of five years or a fine.
• Section 14- now, this is a fuck up. Under Section 14:

A person in authority, who being aware of the commission of any offence under this Act, omits to report the offence to the relevant authorities within twenty-four hours of having first had that knowledge, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty currency points or imprisonment not exceeding three years.

In other words, not only would this bill, if it passes, pretty much end the lives of every gay man and woman in the country, but it would threaten everybody else into acting like a gigantic network of snitches. Fuck. Me.

• Part III of the act deals with jurisdiction, and s16 makes it a crime for a citizen of Uganda to commit any of the above offences… anywhere in the world. That’s right. A Ugandan person who leaves in fear of persecution could find himself facing a lengthy prison sentence, or death, should he ever go home. Fuck.
• As a final kick in the teeth, s18 simply states that ANY international law of any kind that conflicts with this act is void. No human rights, sexual rights, nada, ning, zip.

Christ on a bike. But what can you expect from a Bill that lists as one of its aims as “strengthening the nation’s capacity to deal with emerging internal and external threats to the traditional heterosexual family”.

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