The setup for this dilemma should be entirely hypothetical but, sadly, it may become reality for millions of people soon.

In Uganda there is currently under consideration a bill for a law that would make being homosexual illegal (those interested can read the entire outrageous document here [and keep track of the typos while you are at it—it’s sad])

Two points of interest for the sake of this dilemma:

A)    A person who knows of someone else’s homosexuality is criminally liable (up to three years in prison, in fact) if he or she doesn’t report the crime/criminal within 24 hours of coming by the knowledge of that second person’s homosexuality.

B)     Promoting homosexuality is punishable by no less than five years in jail. While there is no precise definition of what “promoting homosexuality” is, the tone of the document leads me to believe that any positive statement or observation of homosexuality would be considered criminal under the law.

Today’s dilemma:

You are a resident of Uganda. The anti-homosexuality act in question has been passed and is now law. Your adult child comes to you and tells you that s/he is homosexual. Further, s/he tells you that s/he has been reading about homosexuality, gender identity, human rights, etc. online—exchanging information with other homosexual individuals inside and outside of Uganda—and then offers to share with you some of that literature, to help you understand that homosexuality is not unnatural nor a choice.

What do you do?

To clarify the question: would you report your adult child for the ‘crime’ of being homosexual and/or the crime of ‘promoting’ homosexuality through his/her reading and online activity?

~~~*~~~*~~~

You can read a bit more about how this bill came about here.