Will Uganda's New Anti-Gay Law Sabotage Anti-AIDS Efforts?

(This post was written for my two-hour blogathon for A Dare to Remember. Please sponsor me!)

Stephen Harper has joined Gordon Brown and other Commonwealth leaders in condemning Uganda's proposed new anti-homosexuality law, which would proscribe the death penalty for anyone engaging in a homosexual act in which one person has AIDS, and would also give harsh prison sentences to anyone publicly defending homosexuality or failing to report known homosexuals to the police.

“I did raise it directly with the president of Uganda and indicated Canada’s deep concern and strong opposition,” Mr. Harper announced at the conclusion of the 53-country meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

“We deplore these kinds of measures. We find them inconsistent with frankly I think any reasonable understanding of human rights,” the prime minister said.

“I was very clear on that with the president of Uganda.”

Sadly, the Commonwealth appears somewhat divided on the issue, with some African and Caribbean leaders either quietly supporting the measure or dismissing it as "an internal matter".

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* UPDATE: Time has once again gotten away from me, and I won't be able to put in my two hours until Sunday. But that just leaves more time for more people to sponsor me! I'm already up to $50 - let's bump that up, shall we?

I'll make you a deal - I'll make a commitment now to start blogging at 1:00 pm Sunday, and update the blog post live so you can watch my convoluted writing process in action. Now THAT'S worth a Dare!