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UgandaBԪַs legislature passes harsh new anti-LGBT bill

Ugandan lawmakers passed a bill prescribing jail terms of up to 10 years for offenses related to same-sex relations, responding to popular sentiment but piling more pressure on the East African countryBԪַs LGBTQ community.

Ugandan lawmakers passed of up to 10 years for offenses related to same-sex relations, responding to popular sentiment but piling more pressure on the East African countryBԪַs LGBTQ community.

The bill was passed late Tuesday inside a packed parliamentary chamber, and after a roll call ordered by the House speaker, who had repeatedly warned it was necessary to identify those who might oppose the bill. It was supported by nearly all of the 389 legislators present.

BԪַCongratulations,BԪַ said Speaker Anita Among. BԪַWhatever we are doing, we are doing it for the people of Uganda.BԪַ

An earlier version of the bill enacted in 2014 later was nullified by a court on procedural grounds. Human Rights Watch has described the legislation as BԪַa more egregious versionBԪַ of the 2014 law, which drew widespread international concern and was struck down amid pressure from UgandaBԪַs development partners.

The bill now will go to President Yoweri Museveni, who can veto or sign it into law. He suggested in a recent speech that he supports the bill, accusing unnamed Western nations of BԪַtrying to impose their practices on other people.BԪַ

The bill was introduced last month by an opposition lawmaker who said his goal was to punish BԪַpromotion, recruitment and fundingBԪַ related to LGBTQ activities. His bill creates the offense of BԪַaggravated homosexuality,BԪַ which applies in cases of sex relations involving those infected with HIV as well as minors and other categories of vulnerable people. It was not immediately clear what the punishment is for that offense following last-minute amendments in a protracted plenary session in the capital, Kampala.

The bill also creates the offense of BԪַattempted homosexuality,BԪַ punishable with up to 10 years in jail.

Same-sex activity is already punishable with life imprisonment under a colonial-era law targeting BԪַcarnal knowledge against the order of nature,BԪַ partly the basis of a report by dissenters on the parliamentary committee that vetted the bill before TuesdayBԪַs vote.

The bill is BԪַill-conceivedBԪַ and unconstitutional because it BԪַcriminalizes individuals instead of conduct,BԪַ said lawmaker Fox Odoi, representing the dissenters.

The bill, if signed into law, BԪַwould violate multiple fundamental rights, including rights to freedom of expression and association, privacy, equality, and non-discrimination, according to Human Rights Watch.

BԪַOne of the most extreme features of this new bill is that it criminalizes people simply for being who they are as well as further infringing on the rights to privacy, and freedoms of expression and association that are already compromised in Uganda,BԪַ the groupBԪַs Oryem Nyeko said in a statement earlier this month. BԪַUgandan politicians should focus on passing laws that protect vulnerable minorities and affirm fundamental rights and stop targeting LGBT people for political capital.BԪַ

Anti-gay sentiment in Uganda has grown in recent weeks amid alleged reports of sodomy in boarding schools, including a prestigious one for boys where a parent accused a teacher of abusing her son. Authorities are investigating that case.

UgandaBԪַs LGBTQ community in recent years has faced pressure from civilian authorities who wanted a tough new law punishing same-sex activity.

The Ugandan agency overseeing the work of NGOs last year stopped the operations of Sexual Minorities Uganda, the most prominent LGBTQ organization in the country, accusing it of failing to register legally. But the groupBԪַs leader stated that his organization had been rejected by the registrar of companies as undesirable.

The recent decision of the Church of England to bless civil marriages of same-sex couples also has inflamed many, including some who see homosexuality as imported from abroad.

BԪַThe Church of England has departed from the Anglican faith and are now false teachers,BԪַ Ugandan Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba said in a statement last month that described BԪַa crisis at hand.BԪַ

Homosexuality is criminalized in more than 30 of AfricaBԪַs 54 countries.

Rodney Muhumuza, The Associated Press





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