Ugandan lawmakers have passed a law that, among other things, prescribes a prison sentence of up to ten years for identifying as LGBTQ+.
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In a country where same-sex relationships are already illegal, the new legislation represents a further crackdown on LGBTQ+ people. It prohibits a variety of activities, including promoting and abetting homosexuality and conspiring to engage in homosexuality.
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According to Reuters, opposition lawmaker Asuman Basalirwa introduced the Anti Homosexuality Bill 2023 to parliament, claiming that the bill aims to “protect our church culture; Ugandans’ legal, religious, and traditional family values from acts that are likely to promote sexual promiscuity in this country.”
Basalirwa stated on March 21;
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“The bill’s goal was to establish comprehensive and enhanced legislation to protect traditional family values, our diverse culture, and our faiths by prohibiting any form of sexual relations between people of the same sex and the promotion or recognition of sexual relations between people of the same sex.”
However, lawmaker Fox Odoi-Oywelowo spoke out against the bill, claiming that it “violates established international and regional human rights standards” by unfairly limiting the fundamental rights of LGBTQ+ people.
The bill is expected to be sent to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni for approval. Last week, Museveni referred to homosexuals as “deviants.”
Uganda made headlines in 2009 when it passed an anti-homosexuality bill that included the death penalty for homosexual sex.
In 2014, lawmakers in the country passed a bill, but they replaced the death penalty clause with a proposal for life in prison. That law was eventually overturned.
