Ugandan bill threatens jail for saying you're gay (BBC)

[Pete Ross Junior]

Ugandan bill threatens jail for saying you're gay (BBC)

Uganda's parliament is set to consider a draft law that criminalises anyone identifying as LGBTQ+, and threatens them with 10 years in jail.

The bill also threatens landlords who rent premises to gay people with a prison sentence.

Speaker Annet Anita Among used homophobic language as she addressed lawmakers after the bill was tabled.

It is the latest sign of rising homophobia in a country where homosexual acts are already illegal.

Campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it believed that if the law was passed, Uganda would be the only African country to criminalise those who simply identify as LGBTQ+.

The proposed law would also ban the funding or promotion of LGBTQ+ activities.

It also prescribes a 10-year jail term for anyone who engages in a same sex relationship or marriage. Consent will not be a defence.

Anyone convicted of gay sex with a minor would also be jailed for 10 years.

The bill was tabled by opposition MP Asuman Basalirwa, and it is unclear whether President Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Movement (NRM) - which has a majority in parliament - will back the bill.

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