Death Penalty for being gay

[marshlander]

Always more pleasurable to report good news than bad. Whilst not exactly "good news" I am pleased to see the South African Anglicans beginning to organise to lobby President Zuma to apply pressure on Malawi in support of Stephen Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga who were sentenced to 14 years' hard labour last week for their relationship which a court branded "unnatural acts and gross indecency". An aspect of this situation which hasn't been made very clear so far is that Tiwonge is a transsexual woman, although that shouldn't make any difference.

Call for Zuma to lobby to free Malawi gays - Times LIVE

If anyone here feels as angry and as powerless as I do about this appalling situation, I'll see you in London on Saturday outside the Malawian High Commission.

Date: Saturday, 29 May 2010
Time: 13:00 - 14:30
Location: outside the Malawi High Commission London
70 Winnington Road, London N2 0TX

[Genersis]

Intresting idea, Can't see me being much help though! :S

[marshlander]

Intresting idea, Can't see me being much help though! :S

The truth is we can never know how much influence such action might have. There is even an argument that taking action such as this is ineffective or, worse still, counter-productive. However, when combined with other efforts that are taking place I believe a peaceful show of displeasure may give cause for some people to wonder why we feel strongly enough to stand around on a Saturday afternoon when we could otherwise be out shopping. For this we need numbers.

[marshlander]

Now this is what I call a result

BBC News - Malawi pardons jailed gay couple

The demo took place today and was very well attended. Sadly while there are a lot of L and G people who have limited understanding of B, most proved today that T is way off the radar

A pardon for Steven and Tiwonge at the whim of the president, however brave he may have been to have taken such a decision in the prevailing climate of opinion in Malawi, though, is not a satisfactory and permanent solution.

[marshlander]

And for those who were unable to stand around in the rain last Saturday, here is a brief synopsis of the protest outside the (empty?) Malawian High Commission in residential Hampstead.

[marshlander]

I don't know how any relationship could survive the pressure put upon Steven and Tiwonge, but it is very, very sad news that they split up. Steven's reported denial of Tiwonge reminded me of Winston Smith and Julia at the end of Orwell's 1984. Come to think of it, there are a number of parallels in the two stories

Gay City News > Archives > Gay City News > News > Malawi Gay Couple at Center of World Outcry Split

[Genersis]

Very sad to hear.:frown:
But how much longer do you think they would of surrvieved with the knowledge of their sexuality public? Maybe they're doing this to get the media off of them(as well as other peoples prying eyes), so they can get together secretly?:confused:

I can only speculate But either way its sad news.

[Gaywolf]

It´s a real shame! I wonder if it´s not because religion is so important in Africa. Cos too many Christians are prejudiced against homosexuality. There IS a connection!

Gaywolf

[Wintereis]

This proposed legislation is a direct violation of two articles of the Bill of Rights and a challenge to the Supreme Court Ruling in Laurence vs. Texas. I manage to be entirely shocked and yet, wholly unsurprised.
Texas GOP: Proudly Following...Uganda?

[Wintereis]

Sorry,
Texas GOP: Proudly Following...Uganda?


The Texas Republican Party has released its 2010 platform, and where did they turn for inspiration? To the Founding Fathers? To a strict reading of the Constitution? Actually, it looks to me like they turned to…Uganda.
The international community has raised a stink over Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality bill. But the Texas GOP has built some of its key features into its party platform, including a policy of imprisoning straight people who help gays get married. I guess I’ve unfairly stereotyped Texan Republicans, because I never thought they’d want to make their state more like a country in Africa. The parallels are damned clear, though, starting with their basic principles.
Uganda and Texas on Homosexuality’s Threat to the Family

Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill:

And the Texas GOP platform (the first three lines give you the general idea — the rest just specifies the rights they want to ensure we never have):

Well, okay, we know the GOP doesn’t like teh gays. But do they want to follow Uganda’s lead by throwing us in prison?
Uganda and Texas on Criminalizing Homosexuality

Uganda:

Texas:

That’s a little scary. Still, Texas has a long and proud history of sodomy laws. Surely the state GOP doesn’t want to further imitate Uganda and imprison people without even proving they committed sodomy…
Uganda and Texas on Criminalizing Same-Sex Marriage

Uganda:

Aaaand here’s Texas:

The Texas GOP doesn’t just want to convict the gay couple. They want to throw in the person who issued the marriage license and the official who performed the ceremony (Uganda’s law would do the same thing, but in other provisions I’ve haven’t excerpted). Now “felony” generally means mandatory jail time. Or worse. Of course, one key difference is that Uganda mandates life imprisonment, while Texas doesn’t. Texas doesn’t say how severe they want the penalty to be. In some ways, that’s even scarier: at least one Texas prosecutor has argued (in a different context) that life imprisonment wouldn’t be that big a deal to gays:

In arguing for the death penalty, prosecutor Morris said, “Sending a homosexual to the penitentiary certainly isn’t a very bad punishment for a homosexual” because of sexual interactions between male inmates, so a life sentence would be inadequate.

I don’t even know how to end this entry. I guess it comes back to the fact that we can never settle for anything less than full civil equality. There can be no compromise — there can’t even be negotiation – with people who deny your basic right to exist. The Texas GOP controls the governor’s office, the State Senate, and the State House. This is the platform of the people in charge. Remember that when somebody tells you gays don’t face the same threat to our civil rights as other minorities.
Share: