Starbucks Buys Coffee From Uganda – Where Some Leaders Want To Kill Homosexuals
So, I get kind of worked up about issues like Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Marriage Equality and Employment Non-Discrimination for GLBT People. The fight for equality seems to never end.
On several levels, we have succeeded in passing hate crimes laws that include sexual identity, gender identity or perceptions of either as eligible for extra punishment.
But what if our country considered a “hate law?” A law that made hatred the law of the land and required people to expose the objects of hate – who could be put to death?
It’s happening in Uganda.
“The African nation of Uganda proposed an Anti-Homosexuality Bill on 13 October 2009 that would, if enacted, broaden the criminalisation of homosexuality by introducing the death penalty for people who have previous convictions, are HIV-positive, or engage in same sex acts with people under 18 years of age. The bill also includes provisions for Ugandans who engage in same-sex sexual relations outside of Uganda, asserting that they may be extradited for punishment back to Uganda, and includes penalties for individuals, companies, media organisations, or non-governmental organisations that support LGBT rights.”
What can we do about it? Well, first we need to ask questions. Uganda is like any other country. It relies on foreign trade to sell its products – the largest of which is coffee.
Starbucks states in a recent press release:
“Starbucks currently buys coffee from ten African countries including Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.”
So, we may not know the degrees, but we do know the following two things:
- The extreme anti-homosexuality law is still being considered in Uganda and it still includes the death penalty for some “offenses.”
- Starbucks buys coffee from Uganda.
By all appearances, the work Starbucks is doing for (Red) to combat AIDS in Africa is impressive. So, why have they not yet issued a statement about buying coffee from a country that threatens to put HIV-positive people to death? How much are they buying?
I sent a media request to Starbucks asking for comments. I will report back when I hear something.
What do you think?
Tags: Uganda
NO MORE STARBCUCK COFFEE BREAKS FOR THIS SHOP….