2135 Rayburn Home’ Of Washingtone D.C. phone: (202) Building Committee on 1010 Energy and Commerce athan Deal Congress of the United States January 27, 2010 Oversight and Investigations Mrs. Wendy Spencer Dear Mrs. Spencer: Thank you for contacting me regarding the issue of homosexuality in Uganda. | appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me on this important issue. Due to security concerns, Congress has changed the way in which it receives and distributes mail. The safeguards put into place by the U.S, Postal Service and the House of Representatives may result in delays of at least two to three weeks for the delivery of current mail to Members of Congress. L apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause. As you may know, homosexuality is illegal and punishable by life sentence or possible death in Uganda. It is considered under their penal code to be “carnal knowledge against the order of nature,” A new piece of legislation has appeared in Kampala - the Ugandan capital — shifting the punishment from a life sentence to a death sentence. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill features several provisions: gays and lesbians convicted of having gay sex would be sentenced, at minimum, to life in prison; people who test positive for HIV may be executed; homosexuals who have sex with a minor, or engage in homosexual sex more than once, may also receive the death penalty; the "promotion of homosexuality," is forbidden, in effect banning organizations working in HIV and AIDS prevention; anyone who knows of homosexual activity taking place but does not report it would risk up to three years in prison. Should this or other pertinent legislation come to the House floor for a vote, I will keep your views in mind. I want to be clear in underscoring my full support for the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman. In the past, [ have been hesitant to go as far as supporting a constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between aman and a woman in an effort to preserve states’ rights.