Anti-Homosexuality Bill: Uganda passes updated version of brutal law
Uganda’s parliament has passed one of the world’s cruellest anti-LGBTQ+ laws, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, for a second time.
The legislation was originally passed on 21 March and would have made identifying as LGBTQ+ a criminal offence. However, President Yoweri Museveni refused to sign it and instead returned it to parliament with recommended changes, including adding a differentiation between engaging in homosexual acts and identifying as LGBTQ+.
The updated version of the law would no longer criminalise people for identifying as a member of the community, though it does propose jail terms of up to 20 years for those who advocate for or promote LGBTQ+ rights.
As with the original version, those convicted of “attempted aggravated homosexuality” could be jailed for up to 14 years, while those found guilty of “attempted homosexuality” would be put behind bars for 10 years. READ MORE: Uganda’s president calls on Africa to “save the world” from homosexuality It also retains the death penalty for those charged with “aggravated homosexuality,” which it defines as cases of sexual relations involving those who are living with HIV, minors and other categories of vulnerable people.
