Canada warns LGBTQ travelers going to the U.S., Uganda charges a man with "aggravated homosexuality," and a stranger assaults two men in a homophobic attack in the U.K.
Canada Warns Travelers Visiting US
Canada has advised LGBTQ travelers on the potential dangers of visiting the United States.
According to Reuters, the advisory reads, in part, "Some states have enacted laws and policies that may affect 2SLGBTQI+ persons. Check relevant state and local laws."
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was asked why the advice has been updated and said the Canadian government had experts “look carefully around the world” and “monitor whether there are particular dangers to particular groups of Canadians."
"Every Canadian government ... needs to put at the center of everything we do the interest and the safety of every single Canadian and every single group of Canadians. That's what we're doing now,” said Freeland.
Man Charged With ‘Aggravated Homosexuality’
Photo by Jbmc74, Wikimedia Commons.
A 20-year-old is facing the death penalty after being arrested and charged with “aggravated homosexuality” under Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ law that was introduced earlier this year.
Jacquelyn Okui, a spokesperson for Uganda’s directorate of public prosecutions, told The Guardian that the suspect, “was charged in Soroti [in eastern Uganda] and he is on remand in prison.”
The charge sheet said that the suspect is accused of “unlawful sexual intercourse with … [a] male adult aged 41.”
Okui told Agence France-Presse that she was not sure whether this was the first time a Ugandan had been charged under the new law.
The law, which passed in May, also includes penalties for consensual same-sex relations of up to life in prison.
Men Injured In Homophobic Attack
Michael Smith. Photo via justgiving.com.
Two men in London were the victims of a homophonic attack – the second attack within six days.
According to The Guardian, politicians and campaigners blame the rise in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric for the recent violence.
The victims of the latest attack, Michael Smith and his partner Nat Asabere, were waiting for a bus after attending a Pride event and talking about going to a drag show when they were punched repeatedly by a stranger.
“We were chatting away and there was a guy behind me who obviously overheard our conversation. All of a sudden, he whacked me at the back of my head. Then he started having a go at Michael, slapping him around the face and then punching him on the lip,” said Asabere.
A few days prior, two men were stabbed outside a nightclub.
“The incident is being treated as a homophobic attack. Officers are keeping an open mind. However, at this time they are not treating this incident as linked to another incident in Clapham High Street on 13 August,” said the Metropolitan police.
“I am not going to let anyone take my sexuality away from me or Michael’s sexuality, we are human beings,” said Asabere.
