Ugandan lawmakers on Friday unanimously
approved a bill that increases the punishment for gay sex in the
African nation.
According to the AP, the bill calls for
tough sentences for violators, including life imprisonment for
certain acts.
The measure approved Friday was first
introduced in 2009 and drew international condemnation for including
the death penalty.
The revised bill calls for life
imprisonment for people repeatedly convicted of having consensual sex
with a member of the same sex. The sentence can also be imposed in
cases where one of the partners is HIV-positive, a minor or disabled.
The bill also bans the promotion of
homosexuality, effectively silencing opponents of the measure.
“This is a victory for Uganda,”
David Bahati, the bill's sponsor, told the AFP
news agency. “I am glad the parliament has voted against
evil.”
“Because we are a God-fearing nation,
we value life in a holistic way. It is because of those values that
members of parliament passed this bill regardless of what the outside
world thinks,” he added.
Frank Mugisha, a prominent Ugandan gay
rights activist, called on President Yoweri Museveni to veto the
bill, calling it “the worst anti-gay law in the world.”
“It will open a new era of fear and
persecution,” he
told the AP. “If this law is signed by President Museveni, I'd
be thrown in jail for life and in all likelihood killed.”