A small number of activists gathered Dec. 29 in front of the Ugandan Consulate of Chicago, 7822 S. Dobson Ave., to protest the recent passage of anti-LGBT legislation by that nation's parliament. The group staged a prayer vigil as well.
The legislation passed Dec. 20 and strengthens prohibitions on homosexual activity, which was already illegal in Uganda. It calls for a 14-year prison term for the first violation of the prohibition, and life in prison for "aggravated homosexuality." The bill also would criminalize "the promotion or recognition of such sexual relations in public institutions and other places through or with the support of any government entity in Uganda or any other non-governmental organization inside or outside the country," according to a government statement.
Previous incarnations of the legislators had called for the death penalty, but the punishment was marginally softened over the years. President Yoweri Museveni has not yet signed the bill.
One of the protest's organizers said he was disturbed by photos of brutal attacks against Ugandan gays circulated online.
"This past Monday I received pictures from friends of young people who happen to be gay being burned to death" in Uganda, said Bishop James Alan Wilkowski of the Evangelical Catholic Diocese of the Northwest, which organized the protest and vigil. "I discovered that this was far more common than we realize. … This does grave injustice to the thought that we are all part of a global family."
Also taking part in the protest and were Pastor Jamie D. Frazier of Lighthouse Church of Chicago and Rick Garcia of The Civil Rights Agenda.
The law has serious implications for Ugandans in Chicago, said Garcia. "If they live, work or go to school here, and they have to go back, there's a danger. If we're silent about these injustices anywhere in the world, it's really dangerous. I look at it as 'my people' over there, locked up for life."
The consulate was closed since the protest fell on Sunday, and Wilkowski said that consulate officials had denied his request for a meeting about the situation. Additionally, he said that he received three anonymous death threats by phone, warning him not to go forward with the protest. Wilkowski has filed a police report about the threats and they are under investigation.
"On the pastoral side, it led me to believe that I had to be here," he added. "On the humanistic side it scared the hell out of me."
Read more at the link: www.parliament.go.ug/new/index.php/about-parliament/parliamentary-news/326-parliament-outlaws-homosexuality .