Uganda has officially passed a law on Tuesday making it a crime that can result in death or 20 years in prison for people who identify as LGBTQ.
“The objective of the bill was to establish a comprehensive and enhanced legislation to protect traditional family values, our diverse culture, our faiths, by prohibiting any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex and the promotion or recognition of sexual relations between persons of the same sex,” lawmaker Asuman Basalirwa said on Tuesday.
Lawmaker Fox Odoi-Oywelowo spoke out against the bill, saying it “contravenes established international and regional human rights standards” as it “unfairly limits the fundamental rights of LGBTQ+ persons.”
“Our creator God is happy (about) what is happening … I support the bill to protect the future of our children,” lawmaker David Bahati said during debate on the bill. “This is about the sovereignty of our nation, nobody should blackmail us, nobody should intimidate us.” Following Bahati’s speech supporters of the bill in the audience began to cheer and celebrate.
Rights advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned earlier this month that the law would violate Ugandans’ rights. “One 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,” HRW Uganda researcher Oryem Nyeko said in a statement that called on politicians in the country to “stop targeting LGBTQ people for political capital.”
The White House also took the time to address this outrageous bill saying, “We have grave concerns with the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, AHA, by the parliament of Uganda yesterday, and increasing violence targeting LGBTQIA+ persons,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “If the AHA is signed into law and enacted, it will impinge upon universal human rights, jeopardize progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, deter tourism and… damage Uganda’s international reputation.”