Scott Long on the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill

Yesterday I highlighted a couple of interviews that journalist Rex Wockner did during his stay in New York in October. I'd helped to transcribe those interviews from the original recordings and noted that there was a third interview that might or might not see the light of day - and that I'd make note of it if and when it was published.

Well, Rex just posted his interview with Scott Long tonight on his blog and it's truly worth a read. Scott is the Director of the LGBT Division at Human Rights Watch and, in it, he speaks candidly about his long-standing work on LGBT rights around the world.

Of particular interest, are his comments on a proposed and draconian anti-gay bill making its course through the Ugandan legislature which would make homosexuality a crime punished by death.

An advance quote:

When we first were leaked the text of it, a bunch of us were just looking at it in astonishment. (T)he preparation for it has been laid by years of fanatical homophobic agitation in Uganda that comes from the president and comes from the first lady and comes from ... the minister of ethics and integrity, James Nsaba Buturo, who are all obsessed by homosexuality. But the groundwork has also been laid, again, by these years of religious agitation, which has been promoted by U.S. evangelicals...

To read more about the involvement of U.S. evangelical leaders in this horrible bill as well as the rest of Rex's interview with Scott, please go here.

And, on a related note, for updates on the latest on the Uganda bill, please visit Box Turtle Bulletin. The latest, as of tonight: There are indications that worldwide pressure on the Ugandan government to scratch the bill might be working ("Op-Ed In Ugandan Gov’t Newspaper: 'Parliament Should Not Pass This Bill'”).