With the 2010 election season at a necessary fever pitch before we head to the polls on Tuesday, it's going to be nearly impossible for this story to get the attention it so desperately needs — but here it goes.
It has been a full year since David Bahati first introduced his "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" in Uganda's parliament. This legislation would impose the death penalty on sexually active HIV-positive LGBT citizens and would also impose life imprisonment for other LGBT Ugandans who are found to be having sex. Over the past year, Rachel Maddow, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and President Barack Obama have all spoken out against this proposal, now known simply as Uganda's "Kill the Gays" Bill.
New developments in the past weeks have made it terrifyingly clear that the lives of gay and lesbian Ugandans are already at risk — even without the formal passage of the "Kill the Gays" Bill in parliament.
Last week a Ugandan newspaper published a list of the "Top 100 Homosexuals," which included the full names, pictures, and addresses of LGBT Ugandans. The headline accompanying the article was simple and to the point. It read: "Hang them."
(Cross-posted on Amplify)
When this story first broke, we consulted with colleagues in the international human rights arena. We decided not to launch an action at that time, concerned that any outside efforts might increase the danger for those whose identities had been exposed.
However, subsequent events — and an emerging call for immediate U.S. intervention to offer visas to those who have been outed and targeted for violence — have made it clear that now is the time to take action.
Since the list was released, there have been a number of personal attacks and property damage towards some of the listed individuals. Then, two days ago, Bahati told CNN that he remains confident that the bill would pass — and that it will happen "soon." Bahati added, "Every single day of my life now I am still pushing that it passes." This bill is an example of the blatant homophobia Ugandans face everyday in their homeland.
I know that all of us are already too busy over the next few days. With the midterm elections looming here in the U.S., we're already exhausted. There is already too much to do.
But with the lives of at least 100 LGBT Ugandans hanging in the balance, we cannot afford to wait. The U.S. State Department can — and must — offer immediate visas to those who have been named and outed.
As one of our contacts in put it recently: "such a campaign would help manage one of the worst effects of the publication: forced migration."
We have an obligation to intervene on behalf of our LGBT brothers and sisters. Their lives may literally depend on it.
We need you to recommend this diary. We need you to post it to Facebook and broadcast it on Twitter.
But most of all we need 60 seconds of your time. We've set up an alert to contact Eric Schwartz, the Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration, as well as the U.S. Ambassador to Uganda and the White House Office of Public Engagement. Click here to send a letter calling on the U.S. to offer visas to LGBT Ugandans.
As a country, we have repeatedly put pressure on Uganda to drop their homophobic bill, but this is no longer a policy debate. Individual lives are suddenly at risk and we must offer every single one of the individuals listed in that newspaper immediate refugee status and a visa to enter the United States.
This is one time when the United States does have the power to help. It only takes a minute — but we cannot make it happen without your help.