By melanie Nathan, May 2023
Today is a dark and sad and terrifying day for LGBTQI+ people as more LGBTQI+ people seek safe shelter and flee their country. Museveni signed The Kill the Gays Bill.
Uganda has passed one of the world's toughest anti-gay laws that calls for life imprisonment for anyone convicted of homosexuality. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed the bill on Monday despite widespread condemnation from many Western governments and human rights activists.
Same-sex relations were already illegal in Uganda, a religiously conservative East African nation. But the new law levies harsher penalties for LGBTQ people. It calls for the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality," which is defined as same-sex relations involving HIV-positive people, children or other vulnerable people. Anyone convicted of "attempted aggravated homosexuality" can be imprisoned for up to 14 years. Ugandans who engages in gay sex can receive life in prison, while anyone who attempts to have same-sex relations can face 10 years in prison. The greatest promoters of this legislation are the American Evangelicals who have courted Ugandan Parliamentarians for over a decade, pumping millions of US dollars into this endeavor. Their investment and symbiotic relationships now full realized. To help counter this terrifying situation, PLEASE contribute to our emergency FUND as we continue, as we have done for years, to help LGBTQI+ people from Uganda who are fleeing this persecution and seeking safety. DONATE HERE.
Here it the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023, as signed:
