Uganda to jail people who intify as LGBTQ one of world's most anti-gay laws : NPR

Contents:

• UGANDA ANTI-HOMOSEXUALY BILL: LIFE PRISON FOR SAYG YOU'RE GAY
• UGANDA'S ANTI-GAY LAW: HOW RTRICTED ARE LGBTQ RIGHTS AI?
• A NEW ANTI-GAY LAW UGANDA LLS FOR LIFE PRISON FOR THOSE WHO ARE NVICTED
• NO, UGANDA IS NOT MAKG ILLEGAL TO BE GAY (AGA)
• UGANDA TO JAIL PEOPLE WHO INTIFY AS LGBTQ ONE OF WORLD'S MOST ANTI-GAY LAWS
• ‘DEEPLY TROUBLG': UN RIGHTS CHIEF ON UGANDA ANTI-GAY BILL

UGANDA ANTI-HOMOSEXUALY BILL: LIFE PRISON FOR SAYG YOU'RE GAY

Media ptn, Watch: Cheers and applse as Uganda pass anti-gay billPeople who intify as gay Uganda risk life prison after parliament passed a new bill to crack down on homosexual activi.

Homosexual acts are already illegal Uganda but this bill troduc many new crimal well as makg merely intifyg as gay illegal for the first time, iends, fay and members of the muny would have a duty to report dividuals same-sex relatnships to the was passed wh wispread support Uganda's parliament on Tuday eveng. The bill's backers say they are tryg to protect children but Ms Byagaba said: "Whether you're heterosexual or homosexual, the ernment and parliament should troduce laws, or at least implement existg laws that protect all children - boys, girls om filement. The fal versn has yet to be officially published but elements discsed parliament clu: A person who is nvicted of groomg or traffickg children for purpos of engagg them homosexual activi fac life prisonIndividuals or stutns which support or fund LGBT rights' activi or anisatns, or publish, broadst and distribute pro-gay media material and lerature, also face prosecutn and imprisonmentMedia groups, journalists and publishers face prosecutn and imprisonment for publishg, broadstg, distributn of any ntent that advot for gay rights or "promot homosexualy"Death penalty for what is scribed as "aggravated homosexualy", that is sexual abe of a child, a person wh disabily or vulnerable people, or s where a victim of homosexual asslt is fected wh a life-long illnsProperty owners also face risk of beg jailed if their premis are ed as a "brothel" for homosexual acts or any other sexual mori rights' activiA small group of Ugandan MPs on a mtee sctisg the bill disagreed wh s premise.

They argue the offenc seeks to crimalise are already vered the untry's Penal Co 2014, Uganda's nstutnal urt nullified another act which had toughened laws agast the LGBT clud makg illegal to promote and fund LGBT groups and activi, as well as reeratg that homosexual acts should be punished by life imprisonment, and was wily nmned by Wtern urt led that the legislatn be revoked bee had been passed by parliament whout the required quom.

UGANDA'S ANTI-GAY LAW: HOW RTRICTED ARE LGBTQ RIGHTS AI?

SummaryCompaniLaw punish 'aggravated homosexualy' wh athWispread nmnatn om WtLGBTQ activists vow urt challengeKAMPALA, May 29 (Rters) - Uganda's Print Yoweri Meveni signed one of the world's tought anti-LGBTQ laws, cludg the ath penalty for "aggravated homosexualy", drawg Wtern nmnatn and riskg sanctns om aid relatns were already illegal Uganda, as more than 30 Ain untri, but the new law go stipulat pal punishment for "serial offenrs" agast the law and transmissn of a termal illns like HIV/AIDS through gay sex. "The Ugandan print has today legalised state-sponsored homophobia and transphobia, " said Clare Byagaba, a Ugandan rights Stat Print Joe Bin lled the move "a tragic vlatn" of human rights and said Washgton would evaluate the implitns of the law "on all aspects of U. Existg Ugandan law lls for a maximum 10-year sentence for tentnally transmtg HIV and do not apply when the person who ntracted the fectn was aware of their sexual partner's HIV ntrast, the new law mak no distctn between tentnal and untentnal transmissn and ntas no exceptn based on awarens of HIV amend versn of the bill, adopted earlier this month after Meveni returned to parliament, stipulated that merely intifyg as LGBTQ is not a crime and revised a measure that obliged people to report homosexual activy to only require reportg when a child is volved.

A ls rtrictive 2014 anti-LGBTQ law was stck down by a Ugandan urt on procral grounds, after Wtern ernments had ially spend some aid, imposed visa rtrictns and curtailed secury 2009, a bill dubbed "kill the gays" for ially proposg executg homosexuals was troduced after a nference Kampala drew reprentativ om the Uned Stat cludg proment anti-gay evangelil Stt well as relig mpaigng, Ai's anti-LGBTQ attus also have their roots the lonial era, cludg an anti-sodomy sectn of Bra's penal . * In 2017, Chad crimalised same-sex acts what the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (ILGA) lled "a worryg example of legal regrsn the regn".

KAMPALA, March 21 (Rters) - Uganda's parliament passed a law on Tuday makg a crime to intify as LGBTQ, handg thori broad powers to target gay Ugandans who already face legal discrimatn and mob than 30 Ain untri, cludg Uganda, already ban same-sex relatns. Supporters of the new law say is need to punish a broar array of LGBTQ activi, which they say threaten tradnal valu the nservative and relig East Ain addn to same-sex terurse, the law bans promotg and abettg homosexualy as well as nspiracy to engage homosexualy.

A NEW ANTI-GAY LAW UGANDA LLS FOR LIFE PRISON FOR THOSE WHO ARE NVICTED

[1/4]Bugiri Municipaly Member of Parliament Asuman Basalirwa, addrs the hoe as he participat the bate of the Anti-Homosexualy bill, which propos tough new penalti for same-sex relatns durg a stg at the Parliament buildgs Kampala, Uganda March 21, 2023.... Meveni has not mented on the current proposal but he has long opposed LGBTQ rights and signed an anti-LGBTQ law 2013 that Wtern untri nmned before a domtic urt stck down on procral recent weeks, Uganda thori have cracked down on LGBTQ people after relig lears and policians alleged stunts were beg reced to homosexualy month, thori arrted a sendary school teacher the eastern district of Jja over accatns of "groomg of young girls to unnatural sex practic" was subsequently charged wh gross cency and is prison awag police said on Monday they had arrted six people acced of nng a work that was "actively volved the groomg of young boys to acts of sodomy". Law uld be the first to crimalise intifyg as lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer (LGBTQ): Rights WatchUganda’s parliament has passed sweepg antigay legislatn that propos tough new penalti for same-sex relatnships and crimalis anyone intifyg as LGBTQ.

While more than 30 Ain untri, cludg Uganda, already ban same-sex relatnships, the new law passed on Tuday appears to be the first to outlaw merely intifyg as lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer (LGBTQ), Human Rights Watch said. Frank Mugisha, executive director of Sexual Mori Uganda, a leadg gay rights anisatn whose operatns were spend by thori last year, told the AFP news agency earlier this month that he had already been undated wh lls om LGBTQ people over the new bill.

Ugandan lawmakers on Tuday approved some of the world’s harsht anti-gay laws, makg some crim punishable by ath and imposg up to 20 years prison for people intifyg as LGBTQ+. Acrdg to the bill, the ath penalty n be voked for s volvg “aggravated homosexualy” – a broad term ed the legislatn to scribe sex acts mted whout nsent or unr durs, agast children, people wh mental or physil disabili, by a “serial offenr, ” or volvg ct. “A person who ms the offense of aggravated homosexualy and is liable, on nvictn to suffer ath, ” read the amendments, which were prented by the chairperson for legal and parliamentary affairs Roba Rwakoojo.

NO, UGANDA IS NOT MAKG ILLEGAL TO BE GAY (AGA)

Opposn lawmaker Asuman Basalirwa troduced the Anti Homosexualy Bill 2023 to parliament, sayg aims to “protect our church culture; the legal, relig and tradnal fay valu of Ugandans om the acts that are likely to promote sexual promiscuy this untry.

Uganda’s print signed to law a wi-rangg anti-LGBTQ bill on Monday that impos life imprisonment for same-sex activy and the ath penalty some s, signalg an tensifitn of the East Ain natn’s crackdown on LGBTQ+ people spe wispread ternatnal nmnatn of the Anti-Homosexualy Act 2023 punish wh ath those found guilty of “aggravated homosexualy, ” a tegory broadly fed by legislators to clu offens that range om havg gay sex wh a mor to scg someone through “misreprentatn” or “undue fluence. ”The law also impos life imprisonment for anyone found to have performed a sexual act wh a person of the same genr, and up to seven years prison for “an attempt to m the offense of homosexualy.

UGANDA TO JAIL PEOPLE WHO INTIFY AS LGBTQ ONE OF WORLD'S MOST ANTI-GAY LAWS

The fal bill, approved by Meveni, remas largely the same but no longer clus a requirement for people to report homosexual activy nor crimaliz merely intifyg as LGBTQ+. Uganda passed legislatn that pels life imprisonment for beg LGBTQ and the ath penalty for gay sex wh a mor amid a wing crackdown on sexual mori the Christian-majory natn East new bill, which is likely to be challenged urt, prohibs advocy for LGBTQ rights and mandat people to report the muny to law enforcement. The steps, rights groups say, will give law enforcement broad powers to terfere people’s liv and effectively shut down groups that work for the LGBTQ majory of the lawmakers supported the Anti-Homosexualy Bill, lol media reported.

But Meveni, who’s spent more than three s power, has not shied om takg on the Wt on the issue of week, llg homosexual people “viatns om normal, ” he told Parliament that Wtern untri were threateng to impose sanctns on opponents of homosexualy, acrdg to Monor, a lol English-language news webse. Versns of the bill have been around sce 2009, and 2014, Meveni’s ernment passed a siar law, whose first eratn clud the ath penalty for HIV-posive people and for engagg gay sex wh a mor. Pastors have also equently appeared at anti-gay events the 2011, Sexual Mori Uganda (SMUG), an umbrella group of Ugandan LGBT anizatns, sued Amerin preacher Stt Lively for his public speech the untry.

Uganda is one of several Ain natns where is illegal to be queer; the natn enacted s Anti-Homosexualy Act 2014, which allowed for life imprisonment for some homosexual acts between nsentg adults, and dified the reprsn of LGBTQ Ugandans. The latt bill, ially passed by parliament March, tak Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ polici much further, punishg LGBTQ advocy wh up to 20 years prison and proposg the ath penalty for “aggravated homosexualy” — homosexual acts volvg children or members of other at-risk groups, or volvg a person who is HIV posive.

‘DEEPLY TROUBLG': UN RIGHTS CHIEF ON UGANDA ANTI-GAY BILL

A person nvicted of “attempted aggravated homosexualy” n be imprisoned for up to 14 years, and “attempted homosexualy” uld land a person a 10-year prison sentence. Uganda was already hostile to LGBTQ people, even before the 2014 Anti-Homosexualy Act; lonial fluence was baked to the penal , and a 2009 bill lloquially lled the “kill the gays” bill sparked ternatnal outrage for a provisn that would allow gay people to be hanged. The bill also required cizens to spy on their neighbors, iends, and fay members and report those they spected of beg LGBTQ or advotg for gay rights or face a three-year prison sentence, acrdg to a Human Rights Watch report at the time.

The 2023 bill also appli to trans and genr-nonnformg people, punishg wh up to 10 years prison anyone who “holds out as a lbian, gay, transgenr, a queer, or any other sexual or genr inty that is ntrary to the bary tegori of male and female.

In realy, the US particular has fluenced or supported anti-LGBTQ polici and attus Uganda, particularly via evangelil groups like the Fellowship Foundatn, which had a hand craftg the 2009 “kill the gays” bill, acrdg to a 2020 report om Open Democracy. In 2012, SMUG sued Amerin evangelist Stt Lively a US urt for his role promotg the anti-LGBTQ agenda that fluenced the “kill the gays” bill and led to the persecutn of LGBTQ people Uganda. US evangelil groups are also stmental phg an “ex-gay” narrative Uganda — ntributg to the ia of “rehabilatn” that Meveni prevly spoke about wrg to the 2023 bill.

“The prodigal son parable has propped up the ex-gay movement Uganda, ensurg there are open arms to gay people who n speak about prevly beg that life of ‘s’ and nounce their gayns publicly, ” Okereke wrote. “The wave of homophobia and transphobia Uganda, and the regn, has nothg to do wh Ugandan or Ain valu, ” Ugandan human rights activist and lawyer Nilas Opiyo told the Guardian.