Ugandan parliament revisits Anti-Homosexuality Act

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Ugandan Parliament may take action on the Anti-Homosexuality Act this week. It has reappeared for parliamentary debate for the first time since its proposal in 2009. The original bill called for making homosexuality punishable by imprisonment, or death in aggravated circumstances.

Not reporting gay individuals to the government would also become a criminal act. Despite a great deal of international condemnation, the bill is largely supported in Uganda.

One of the bills backers, Martin Ssempa told the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee that the death penalty is "something that we have moved away from," in recent hearings, according to the Associated Press. However, he stresses the importance of passing the bill, stating that "homosexuality is killing our society."



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