Ugandan lawmakers have re-introduced a bill that could impose the death penaltyfor gay sex acts. The proposed bill will also criminalize the "promotion and recruitment" of homosexuality.
'Ugandans are really tired'
LGBT+ people in Uganda have long been on the receiving end of legal and cultural discrimination. But after the initial bill was thrown out in 2014 there was hope among activists that this could be the end for such legislation.
Ugandan gay rights activist Dr. Frank Mugisha said the Ugandan LGBT+ community would fight the bill.
"Once they bring the bill we will fight it the same way we fought the other one," he told the Associated Press. "Ugandans are really tired. This is not an issue for Ugandans now."
Lawmakers backing the bill want to see it become law by the end of the year.The original law was only invalidated on a technicality, as the parliament lacked a quorum.
According to Human Rights Watch, 32 African nations have laws criminalizing homosexuality. Anti-gay laws are often leftovers from the colonial era, one reason gay rights activists have fought vigorously to have the laws removed.ed/stb (AP, Reuters)