Lawrence v. Texas invalidated state-level sodomy laws as unconstitutional.However, unless a state proactively removes prohibitions on same-sex intimacy, local law enforcement authorities could choose to selectively enforce the law with the intent of targeting LGBTQ people — forcing them to expend money and energy defending themselves in court, even if the charges would ultimately be dismissed.Additionally, if the Supreme Court were to reverse its finding in the Lawrence case, those 12 states where anti-sodomy statutes have not been repealed would immediately be revived and could be used to prosecute LGBTQ people.Under Massachusetts’ anti-sodomy statute, which equates same-sex activity with bestiality, a person could be imprisoned for 20 years in prison for violating the law.A similar law punishes those convicted of an “unnatural and lascivious act” with a five-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $1,000.The anti-sodomy and “unnatural acts” laws are being targeted for repeal by some more liberal members of the state legislature, who are seeking to repeal or erase other outdated laws governing personal conduct, typically known as “morality” laws.One such law is a prohibition on “night walking,” which critics say can be used to harass individuals, especially transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals, for simply being out in public, allowing law enforcement to claim that such people intend to engage in prostitution.However, despite arguments from opponents, repealing the “night walking” law would not change other commonwealth laws declaring prostitution illegal.The Senate also added an amendment repealing a ban on “blasphemy,” a rarely-enforced statute in which Massachusetts residents are supposed to be punished
U.S. Removes Uganda from Trade Deal Following Homophobic Law
05.01.2024 - 16:51 / thegavoice.com
The U.S. has removed Uganda from the list of nations eligible to benefit from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) because of their enactment of the “Anti-Homosexuality Act.”
Last May, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed the “Anti-Homosexuality Act,” which makes “aggravated homosexuality” punishable by the death penalty and “recruitment, promotion, and funding” of same-sex “activities” punishable by a life sentence, according to LGBTQ Nation. In a statement following the law’s passage, President Joe Biden called for the law to be repealed.
“The enactment of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act is a tragic violation of universal human rights—one that is not worthy of the Ugandan people, and one that jeopardizes the prospects of critical economic growth for the entire country,” the statement read. “I join with people around the world—including many in Uganda—in calling for its immediate repeal. No one should have to live in constant fear for their life or being subjected to violence and discrimination. It is wrong.”
Now, in a December 29 proclamation, Biden wrote that he had determined that Uganda did not meet the requirements to continue benefitting from the AGOA trade deal, along with Central African Republic, Gabon, and Niger. Passed in 2000 and extended in 2015, AGOA allows sub-Saharan African countries meeting criteria reevaluated annual by the U.S. president to export over 1,8000 products to the U.S. duty-free. Eligibility criteria include enacting policies to reduce poverty, combat corruption, and protect human rights.
In an October 30 letter to the speaker of the House and president pro-tem of the Senate, Biden wrote that he intended to terminate AGOA for Uganda because its government “had engaged in gross
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