The fight for same-sex marriage still has a long way to go
As same-sex couples rejoiced in Cook County, Illinois last week for their ability to wed, it seems the battle for same-sex marriage took a different turn in another part of the world.
Ugandan President Yoweri Musevini signed a controversial anti-homosexuality bill, which includes harsh and controversial penalties for homosexual sex. One penalty sentences first-time offenders to 14 years in prison. Practicers of ‘aggravated homosexuality’, or “repeated gay sex between consenting adults, as well as acts involving a minor, a disabled person or where one partner is infected with HIV” will receive a maximum of life in prison, according to a report from the Associated Press.
The bill was first introduced in 2009 and originally included the death penalty for some homosexual practices. However, due to Britain and other Europeans threatening to withdraw aid to Uganda, the bill was briefly shelved.
The law has unsettled relations with the U.S., and President Obama has said that the bill will complicate relations with the country as well.
