December 15, 2009 | Sex & Society

Uganda digs in heels, stills wants gays dead

"Learned behaviour can be unlearned," argued David Bahati, the man behind a bill before the Ugandan parliament that calls for the execution of gays. "You can't tell me that people are born gays. It is foreign influence that is at work."

The bill will be debated in the coming weeks. Analysts believe it will become law in February.

"Most people have misunderstood the bill," Bahati told the Observer. "The section of the death penalty relates to defilement by an adult who is homosexual and this is consistent with the law on defilement which was passed in 2007. The whole intention is to prevent the recruitment of under-age children, which is going on in single-sex schools. We must stop the recruitment and secure the future of our children."

Yes, the famous recruitement argument is alive and well!

And any pressure from the rest of the world means little to those officials hell bent on legislating hate.

"We are not going to yield to any international pressure – we cannot allow people to play with the future of our children and put aid into the game," Bahati said. "We are not in the trade of values. We need mutual respect."

Two hundred  religious leaders joined under the banner Inter-Religious Council of Uganda have called for an end to diplomatic ties with the likes of the UK, Sweden and Canada, who are "bent on forcing homosexuality on Ugandans."

We couldn't agree more. And with it we'll take any aid we've been providing in the process, thank you very much!

You can read the full article in the Guardian.