Groups unite to fight anti-gay bill

Though homosexual acts are already illegal in Uganda, the proposed legislation would increase the penalty for such actions from 14 years in prison. Originally, the bill would have imposed the death penalty for those guilty of “aggravated homosexuality” or engaging in a homosexual act in which one of the participants is a minor, HIV-positive or a “serial offender,” but the death penalty provision was removed in late January.

The two student groups collected signatures for a petition that expresses opposition to a bill that has drawn criticism worldwide. President Obama has called it “odious” and urged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to pressure Uganda to reject the bill.

Despite the fact that the two groups are often opponents in ideological and campus policy debates, members of each group said they saw a need for collaboration on the petition because of the situation’s “pressing nature.”

“There is substantial agreement on the dignity of all people,” said Shivani Radhakrishnan ’11, president of the Anscombe Society. “Opposing the bill gave us the opportunity to focus on the agreements between the two groups.” Radhakrishnan is also a member of The Daily Princetonian Editorial Board.

Nat Gardenswartz ’12, co-president of the Pride Alliance, said in a e-mail on Thursday that he was “very pleased by today’s partnership with the Anscombe Society.”

“Although Anscombe and the Pride Alliance are often perceived as opposing forces on campus, today’s cooperation shows that the two groups share some common ground and are willing to work together to pursue common causes,” he said.

Brendan Carroll ’11, who belongs to neither the Anscombe Society nor the Pride Alliance, asked the presidents of each organization to co-sponsor the petition.

“I do think that there are probably unexplored areas of overlap between Anscombe and Pride. After all, they both like talking about sex, a lot,” Carroll said in an e-mail, adding that “neither of them wants to see LGBT persons attacked or harmed.” Carroll is also a columnist for the ‘Prince.’

Radhakrishnan echoed this sentiment and said she hoped the collaboration between the two groups would help people recognize that there is substantial agreement on some issues, such as the treatment of people in general.

“The Anscombe Society upholds basic human rights for everyone, including those who are attracted to people of the same sex,” she said.

Carroll praised the two groups for working “very smoothly” with each other and said the collaboration was an example of “how civil discourse ought to be conducted: without personal animosity.”

“While I sincerely hope that the Ugandan bill is defeated, Anscombe and Pride have already given the campus an example of how two opponents in debate can work together to achieve constructive results without sacrificing their principles,” he said. “And that’s a significant victory in itself.”

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Radhakrishnan said she hoped the cooperation would set a “foundation of general good relationships.”

“It says something about the campus community when groups that disagree come together for the dignity of all people,” she said.

Clinton and President Obama spoke out against the Ugandan bill at the annual National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 4. The European Union has also condemned the proposed law.