ANTI-GAY BILL in UGANDA
Anti-Gay Law in Uganda is one of the contentious issues today making the LGBT community reacted differently. Many believe that this newly signed law exercises gender discrimination obviously. Below is the news today (dated on February 24, 2014) about anti-gay bill in Uganda from http://www.aljazeera.com/.
Uganda's president signed a controversial anti-gay bill that allows harsh penalties for "homosexual offences"."The president has just signed the anti-homosexuality bill," said presidential spokeswoman Sarah Kagingo, calling it a "landmark" law, the Reuters news agency reported.
Earlier in the day, Ugandan Government spokesman Ofwono Opondo said, the president "wants to sign it with the full witness of the international media to demonstrate Uganda's independence in the face of Western pressure and provocation."
The bill is popular in Uganda, but rights groups have condemned it as draconian in a country where homosexuality is already illegal.
Museveni's decision to sign the bill comes less than a week since he announced plans to put the bill on hold to give scientists a chance to prove that homosexuality could be triggered by genes and is not a "lifestyle choice".
"Aggravated homosexuality"
The law punishes first-time offenders with 14 years in jail. It also sets life imprisonment as the penalty for acts of "aggravated homosexuality".
The bill originally proposed the death penalty for some homosexual acts, but that was later removed amid international criticism.
US President Barack Obama has urged Museveni not to sign the bill, saying doing so would "complicate" the east African country's relationship with Washington.
Uganda is a key Western ally in the fight against Islamic extremism in Somalia where Ugandan troops have formed the backbone of the African Union peacekeeping force battling al Qaeda-aligned fighters.
LGBT RIGHTS
The rights of LGBT community is one of the many concerns that the world still facing today. The equality rights of this society have reached the mainstream for more than decades now. The rapid increase number of LGBT members today is relative to the number of organizations pushing the LGBT rights to be realized; however, the aim to acquire privileges is quite far from over. The rights of LGBT are both human and civil which focusing on no discrimination to any of the members all around the world.So, what are those rights do LGBT need then?
Same Sex Marriage. Many of the LGBT members are pushing the right to recognize same sex marriage or civil unions globally. In fact, there are certain places around the world practicing the said right; however, the number of nations which consider this as an immoral act is very huge. In USA, there are several states recognizing the said law as above-board nowadays. California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington are the American territories that legally recognize same sex marriage or civil unions as of December 2013. Even though there are many places where same sex partnership is legal, several countries, even some states of America, are still closing their doors for such right. So, what’s the purpose of getting married if they could not bear a child? Most of the members on this community wanted to have partner until they reach the old age. It is quite not easy to live if they are both getting old and no children who could take care them both but, the LGBT community have prepared several counseling activities for this issue.
Adoption and Parenting. Most of the LGBT members believe that they have right to adopt children. Since both partners could not bear children, adoption is one of the best solutions to practice their parenting skills. So, how would they know how to foster children?The LGBT community organizes trainings and seminars in order to become productive parents. Further, adopting children could be an alternative way of having people that would take care of them in return when they both get old.
Gender Equality. The right to be protected is one of the major concerns of the LGBT community. LGBT nowadays are getting prevalent anywhere but it can’t be denied that there are a lot of this group are bullied or discriminated. It is very obvious that gender inequity is very common in schools internationally and they are physically abused sometimes. Various reports, either television or radio, have featured gender discrimination in the field of education. No matter how LGBTs excel to their classes, they are still persecuted. It’s really hard to believe that there are some students who punch or kick these people without any reason aside from being on the third sex category.
Gender discrimination is also common in workplace. There are jobs which consider gender matters most. Example in military, gays are not allowed. However, there are discrete gays who act very manly to this work. Even in sports like basketball, gays are inevitable. Jason Collins is one of the best examples. Also, some action stars are not really real straight men, Rustom Padilla of Philippines is one. A hunk actor who used to hold guns in his movies turned into a transsexual actress and commercial model. Whatever profession we all know, LGBTs are really in and sometimes they are dominating. On the other note, no matter how these people try their best to be recognized, discrimination is still present. It is so sad to know that some consider them as a disease or a curse. But, what makes LGBTs great, they still keep their heads up despite of unlawful criticisms.
Overall, the issue of rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders to date is one of the hot topics over the internet globally. This issue is indeed far from over. It’s been more than decades that the LGBT rights have been submitted to different nations’ supreme courts but only few responses have been received up to now. Furthermore, even this society is not fully accepted to entire community, the numerous members who are practicing intimate union are getting more obvious.
Same Sex Marriage. Many of the LGBT members are pushing the right to recognize same sex marriage or civil unions globally. In fact, there are certain places around the world practicing the said right; however, the number of nations which consider this as an immoral act is very huge. In USA, there are several states recognizing the said law as above-board nowadays. California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington are the American territories that legally recognize same sex marriage or civil unions as of December 2013. Even though there are many places where same sex partnership is legal, several countries, even some states of America, are still closing their doors for such right. So, what’s the purpose of getting married if they could not bear a child? Most of the members on this community wanted to have partner until they reach the old age. It is quite not easy to live if they are both getting old and no children who could take care them both but, the LGBT community have prepared several counseling activities for this issue.
Adoption and Parenting. Most of the LGBT members believe that they have right to adopt children. Since both partners could not bear children, adoption is one of the best solutions to practice their parenting skills. So, how would they know how to foster children?The LGBT community organizes trainings and seminars in order to become productive parents. Further, adopting children could be an alternative way of having people that would take care of them in return when they both get old.
Gender Equality. The right to be protected is one of the major concerns of the LGBT community. LGBT nowadays are getting prevalent anywhere but it can’t be denied that there are a lot of this group are bullied or discriminated. It is very obvious that gender inequity is very common in schools internationally and they are physically abused sometimes. Various reports, either television or radio, have featured gender discrimination in the field of education. No matter how LGBTs excel to their classes, they are still persecuted. It’s really hard to believe that there are some students who punch or kick these people without any reason aside from being on the third sex category.
Gender discrimination is also common in workplace. There are jobs which consider gender matters most. Example in military, gays are not allowed. However, there are discrete gays who act very manly to this work. Even in sports like basketball, gays are inevitable. Jason Collins is one of the best examples. Also, some action stars are not really real straight men, Rustom Padilla of Philippines is one. A hunk actor who used to hold guns in his movies turned into a transsexual actress and commercial model. Whatever profession we all know, LGBTs are really in and sometimes they are dominating. On the other note, no matter how these people try their best to be recognized, discrimination is still present. It is so sad to know that some consider them as a disease or a curse. But, what makes LGBTs great, they still keep their heads up despite of unlawful criticisms.
Overall, the issue of rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders to date is one of the hot topics over the internet globally. This issue is indeed far from over. It’s been more than decades that the LGBT rights have been submitted to different nations’ supreme courts but only few responses have been received up to now. Furthermore, even this society is not fully accepted to entire community, the numerous members who are practicing intimate union are getting more obvious.
ANTI-BULLYING ACT IN THE PHILIPPINES
“The implementing rules on the anti-bullying law have been set, giving the education department powers to suspend private schools that won't act against bullies. As Jing Castaneda tells us, the law also covers bad behavior online.” ANC.Recently, anti bullying law in the Philippine education sector has been passed already. Discrimination due to the sexual preference of the person is now against the law. This rule covers that schools are responsible for all cases of bullying and penalizing private schools if they won’t participate. Bullying in schools, especially in elementary and high school, is very common in the Philippines where LGBT members are most of the victims. Many in this third sex group are excelling in academic but, this is also relative to the numbers of the group who are discriminated. In some cases, there are some LGBTs who prefer to stop schooling for they were bullied by their classmates or schoolmates because of their sexual orientation.
This Anti-bullying act of the country brings big impact to the LGBT community in the Philippines. This will help them to act freely in accordance to what is proper to the society. Anti-bullying law in the Philippines does not necessarily mean to make LGBT dominant in the community but to acquire equal rights. Moreover, this law covers the cyber-bullying as well, a type of bullying done through social media, instant messaging or chat which now very obvious.
The objective of this law is to protect the victims and also the bully. Victims will be free from any form of discrimination and bullies will be disciplined. Further, the Department of Education is still calling the community, especially the parents, to help avoid discrimination; by this, quality education will be equally attained by everyone.
ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY IN INDIA
"Gay sex is not natural and we cannot support something which is unnatural," said BJP chief Rajnath Singh of India.Recently, India has passed a new law stating to criminalize homosexuality. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code makes sex with persons of same gender is punishable by law. This new national rule has been protested by many organizations headed LGBT community in India. It is ironic that the country is tolerating transsexuals but, prohibiting homosexuality. One of the major reasons why gay sex is not accepted is because it is not natural. They believe that only straight men and women have the right to live in their country which is an obvious sign of gender inequality.
"Sources close to Singh said the BJP chief's statement was a well thought out move. They said that he was not impressed by the argument that gay sex should be allowed as long as it is among consenting adults. "By that yardstick, we should be allowing prostitution also because it also represents consent among adults," said a source close to the BJP chief.
The source also said that Singh was of the opinion that the government should think twice before challenging the SC order. "It does not involve a policy matter. It is about criminal procedure: something which courts are better equipped to deal with. The judges must have examined the issue in its entire complexity," said a source in what marked BJP's disagreement with criticism of the SC order" (timesofindia.indiatimes)
Anti-Homosexual matter is common in India. This issue has been opposed by Naz Foundation (India) Trust, the National AIDS Control Organisation, Law Commission of India, Union Health Ministry, National Human Rights Commission and The Planning Commission of India, pushing acceptance and gender equality for LGBT community.
To date, anti-homosexuality concern in India is a big debate between government and people. Many believe that the new law should be reviewed and decriminalized, which is also supported by United Nations.
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