Court says no to anti-gay act on technicality

Uganda's Constitutional Court has invalidated an anti-gay bill that was passed earlier this year, pleasing activists and the LGBT community. According to reports, the anti-gay legislation passed in February lacked the necessary quorum. Hardly a ringing endorsement of equality and liberty, but a victory nonetheless, and one hard-earned by lawyers from Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF) of Uganda, and their partners at UHAI-EASHRI, the local leaders of this battle, incidentally, belying the claim that LGBT equality is some sort of Western conceit. It's good that such a crap excuse for a law has been stopped in its tracks, as the tough law would've allowed imprisonment for homosexual acts or any kind of promotion of homosexuality, but it could make the backlash against LGBT Ugandans even worse. Records kept by Sexual Minorities Uganda show that violence against LGBT people has increased tenfold since the passage of the Anti-Homosexual Act. Add in fiery preaching by anti-gay zealots, often funded by American organizations, and you have a volatile brew ready to explode. Activists worry that this court decision could provide the spark. If the law won’t protect Uganda from Satan, people will have to take up arms themselves. Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail. There are supportive clergy calling for coexistence rather than violence, and maybe the Obama administration, instead of merely backpedaling reactively, could support these voices pro-actively as well. Maybe Museveni could call for a period of national reflection. Or maybe, things will continue to get worse.