On Wednesday January 26, Uganda’s most prominent gay rights activist, David Kato, was beaten to death at his home. His death came several months after a national newspaper published the names of Ugandan gay men and lesbians, including David’s, and called for their death. Earlier last year Ugandan legislators considered the Anti-Homosexuality Bill which, if passed, would criminalize gays and lesbians and impose extremely harsh penalties, even death. David spoke out against this violent homophobia, even though he knew he was risking his life. He spoke movingly to the New York Times in a recent interview about his own coming out process, and warned: “A good human rights defender is not a dead one, it’s a live one.”

President Obama spoke out in the wake of Kato’s murder, saying:
“LGBT rights are not special rights; they are human rights. My Administration will continue to strongly support human rights and assistance work on behalf of LGBT persons abroad. We do this because we recognize the threat faced by leaders like David Kato, and we share their commitment to advancing freedom, fairness and equality for all.”