Kill the gays Bill off the table for now

Earlier this week I blogged Less than 72 hours to stop the Ugandan “Kill The Gays” Bill after religious extremists presented a petition to the Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament, Edward Ssekandi.

The original bill was shelved in March. Claiming 2 million signatures, the petition demanded continued passage of the bill. Using the riots currently roiling Uganda as a distraction, supporters of the bill tried to pass it before the legislature expired on May 18, 2011.

Bishop Christopher Senyonjo, Frank Mugisha, and other activists deliver
your 500,000 petitions to the Parliament (Credit: James Akena)

However, the LGBT community mobilised against it, over 500,000 around the world signed the petition to stop Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality bill.

The international outcry was heard and the Ugandan Parliament has adjourned for this session.  In fact the parliament was closed early in the face of an unprecedented global outcry, abandoning the Bill for now - but the fight isn't over yet.

We must ensure that when the parliament returns that this bill is opposed once more and removed forever.