Gays petition Clinton to stop Bahati

By Risdel Kasasira (email the author)


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Posted Monday, December 6 2010 at 00:00

Kampala

Gay activists have petitioned US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to stop Ndorwa West MP David Bahati from attending a conference in Washington.

In a statement issued yesterday on Lez Get Real website, gays said Mr Bahati should not be allowed to enter the US because of his anti-homosexuality bill that seeks life imprisonment, and in certain cases, death by hanging for homosexuals.

“…As it is within the Secretary of State’s lawful discretion to deny entry to the United States to any person who represents a threat to internal security and orderly administration, it is our respectful request that Mr Bahati be denied permission to enter the United States, and that a visa for that purpose, if already issued, be withdrawn,” the statement said.

Convening tomorrow
Mr Bahati and five other MPs are scheduled to attend a financial management conference of practitioners in the US starting tomorrow. The gays also want to demonstrate at the venue of the meeting to show their distaste of the Bill and Mr Bahati. But Mr Bahati said he would continue with his trip.

“I know US as a defender of democracy in the world and can differentiate between the efforts of a legislator in a democratic parliament from acts of dictatorship,” he said. Unlike other MPs, the American mission in Kampala gave him a single-entry visa specifically for the event.


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