The Ugandan parliament on Tuesday passed a revised version of the controversial anti-LGBTQ bill after President Yoweri Museveni asked that certain provisions from the original legislation be amended, reported Africa News.
Last month, under international pressure, President Museveni asked parliamentarians to re-examine the bill, urging them to clarify that being homosexual was not a crime but that only sexual relations were.
But despite the changes, the new bill still lists most of the harshest measures that were adopted in the previous legislation passed in March. As per the new bill, homosexual conduct will still be illegal, but getting identified as homosexual without being found conducting any sort of homosexual acts will not be outlawed.
The bill, however, retains the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality, which includes sex with a minor, having sex while HIV positive, and incest.
The amended bill distinguishes people who get identified as LGBTQ+ and those who actually engage in homosexual acts.
The bill previously proposed 20 years imprisonment for even identifying as LGBTQ+, but now states that those who do not act on their “deviant proclivity” will not be punished by law.
The previous version of the bill required the Ugandan people to report any suspected same-sex activity to the authorities or face imprisonment of up to six months. But, now, the reporting requirement relates only to suspected sexual offenses against children and vulnerable people or facing years of imprisonment.
The newly amended bill passed by lawmakers on Tuesday will now be sent to Museveni, who can sign or veto it. The Ugandan president is currently under a lot of pressure from the international fraternity to veto the bill.
The United States government has warned Uganda of facing economic consequences if the legislation gets enacted. Some U.N. experts have described the anti-LGBTQ bill as “an egregious violation of human rights.”
