New US funding reductions to Uganda in wake of 'abhorrent' antiLGBT law

Flashback: At the end of the above piece, after covering Pastor Rick Warren's various lying denials of his actions, Rachel Maddow took note of Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley's denial of having anything to do with "the family," a Christer sect of Washington lawmakers who were among the first to have knowledge of proposed anti-LGBT legislation at an Ugandan prayer breakfast they hosted.

Kate Nocera of Buzzfeed has identified new actions to be taken immediately by the U.S. government in reaction to Uganda's Nazi-esque targeting of its LGBT citizens. It is now against the law in that country to fail to report known LGBTs to the government; they can receive prison terms of up to life. Four types of aid to Uganda will be cut:

• $6.4 million will be diverted from the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda, a group that has publicly supported the anti-gay law and will go to other organizations;
• A U.S.-funded study to help identify populations at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS has been suspended out of fear that staff and survey respondents could be put in danger because the law criminalizes “promoting homosexuality”;
• $3 million in funding designated for tourism and biodiversity promotion will be redirected to NGOs working on biodiversity protection, now that LGBT tourists and allies in Uganda are now at risk;
• The Department of Defense will move several events scheduled in the country later this spring to other locations. “Certain near-term invitational travel” for Ugandan military and police personnel has also been suspended or canceled.

     National Security Council spokesman Jonathan Lalley wrote in an email that the U.S would continue “to look at additional steps we may take, to work to protect LGBT individuals from violence and discrimination, and to urge Uganda to repeal this abhorrent law.”

     “As we continue to consider the implications of President Museveni’s decision to enact the Anti-Homosexuality Act, the United States has taken certain immediate steps to demonstrate our support for the LGBT community in Uganda, deter other countries from enacting similar laws, and reinforce our commitment to the promotion and defense of human rights for all people — including LGBT individuals — as a U.S. priority,” Lalley said.