How Arizona Christians Influenced Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” Bill

Parliament in Uganda has passed its “Kill the Gays” bill a second time after President Yoweri Museveni sent it back for “strengthening”. Though the bill cites the country’s refusal to bend toward “foreign influence” of Western acceptance of LGBTQ identities, it turns out that a group of Arizona Christian activists had inspired it.

If signed into law, The Anti-Homosexuality Act would make “aggravated homosexuality” a capital crime, and would enforce a life sentence to those found guilty of “recruitment, promotion and funding” of same-sex “activities.” The law is the first to make identifying as LGBTQ a crime. The bill received overwhelming support in Parliament, with one lawmaker even going as far as to say that the bill was not tough enough, calling for the castration of gay men to prevent them from engaging in intercourse in prison.

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow drew the connection between the Ugandan bill and Family Watch Internation, a Christian organization based out of Arizona. Family Watch International was labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and has advocated for extreme measures such as the banning of LGBTQ topics in schools. Maddow pointed out the close connections between the group’s President, Sharon Slater, and the Ugandan president’s wife, Janet Museveni, as well as other rabid supporters of the bill such as Uganda MP Martin Ssempa.

“I recently had the honor of meeting with Ms. Sharon Slater, President of Family Watch International, & her team,” Janet Museveni tweeted last month. “They attended the first African Regional Inter-Parliamentary Conference in Uganda, focusing on global challenges that threaten African families & values.”

Related Article: LGBTQ People Targeted in Uganda

“In March of this year, just weeks ago, this Arizona group was one of the key organizers of a conference in Uganda that hosted lawmakers, that hosted elected officials from more than a dozen countries in Africa,” Maddow says during her broadcast.

“Lawmakers from more than a dozen countries gathered in Uganda and promised that in their home countries, they would push legislation against the ‘sin of homosexuality.’ Yes, the Biden administration has already spoken out about this bill, but if they are going to turn up the heat on this if they are really going to try to use their influence to stop this, the time is now. The time is right now.”

While the bill has yet to be signed into law, it has already shifted the security and safety of Uganda’s LGBTQ population. Public agitation and anti-LGBTQ violence have begun to rise with more people who are suspected of being homosexual being attacked, with no legal discourse. LGBTQ youth in the country fear the threat of homelessness, as safehouses will most likely be closed when the bill passes.

Featured image courtesy of Chris Beckett on Flickr.