A California business owner and rights activist went to great heights to make a statement in support of Uganda's embattled lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
Three Twins Ice Cream owner Neal Gottlieb of Sausalito, Calif. posted the following image of himself on Uganda's Margherita Peak on Facebook:
Gottlieb penned an open letter to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in the post accompanying the image, saying he'd planted the rainbow flag atop the summit "in protest of your country’s criminalization of homosexuality," before noting:
If you had a son, daughter, niece or nephew that was homosexual, would you want her or him to be imprisoned for life? What if you have friends that are closeted homosexuals? Should they be locked up for the rest of their lives? If you were born gay, would you deserve to be imprisoned?
He then added:
As the president of a nation you have the opportunity to be a great man and lead your country forward. Instead, you choose to hold your people back like the imperialists, the dictators and the warlords that have held Africa back generation after generation. The people that you wish to imprison are the same people who can help Uganda grow into a great nation.
Earlier this year, President Barack Obama condemned Uganda's anti-LGBT legislation, calling it a "step backward" for the entire nation, according to reports.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry echoed those sentiments, likening Uganda's stance on homosexuality to anti-Semitic laws in Nazi Germany.
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