Unintended Consequences in Uganda

So if you've watched any TV or read anything in a "news"paper (online or actual print) you know that Uganda just passed a law which makes for stiff penalties for being gay (or being caught in "gay acts"). Now like I said in regards to Arizona's recent brush with legal stupid, one does not (and in this case should not) pass laws for things that can be best handled by individuals with their own personal behavior. However; Uganda in it's apparent fascination with homosexuality has gone and made the situation in that country worse.

In a free country one has free association or not association. You don't like homosexuals then you are free to not deal with them in your private life. Don't befriend none. Don't invite them to your home. etc. Nobody is or should be forced to be around or deal with people they simply do not like, no matter how sane or insane the reasoning. They are free people. But when you decide to pass a law with stiff penalties for free people living their lives you open the door to abuse.

The English-language tabloid Red Pepper published a list this morning of the country's alleged 200 top gay individuals under the headline "Exposed!" just a day after Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed a sweeping anti-gay bill into law.

"Publishing information about these people certainly puts them at risk in their local communities," said Maria Burnett, Senior Africa Researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Whether or not we're going to see violence, it's a possible byproduct of this bill and the rhetoric politicians have been churning out."

"We haven't seen the large-scale vigilante mob attacks that have marked the last couple of months in Nigeria, but we are certainly concerned that could be the case," Burnett said…

The well-known Ugandans accused in the report included a Catholic priest, a hip-hop star, and an activist.

You see, now a person or organization that has it out for a person simply has to accuse that person of being gay and the legal system is put on them and they risk having mobs of people come after them. So in addition to targeting the stated object of the law it has put the entire citizenry under threat. I'm sure that the legislators who came up with this dumb law never considered that they or anyone else could be blackmailed by anyone who would claim that they have "evidence" that so and so is gay (photoshop is a powerful tool and GIMP is free). And how exactly does one defend oneself against such an accusation?

Silly law created by silly people. I'm sure Uganda has far more important things to deal with.