New bill would send people to prison for 10 years for identifying as LGBTQ+ in Uganda - LGBTQ Nation

"Not content with holding title to one of the harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the world, Uganda's parliament is considering a bill that would outlaw identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. The country's Anti-Homosexuality Act, passed in 2023, already provides a sentence of life in prison for gay men who have sexual relations, and in extenuating circumstances, even death. The new measure would criminalize Ugandans for simply saying they're anything but straight."

"In an awkward mashup of identifying prohibitions, language in the bill echoes executive orders issued by the U.S. president in his crusade against the transgender community. The measure mandates punishment of up to 10 years in prison for any person who "holds out as a lesbian, gay, transgender, a queer or any other sexual or gender identity that is contrary to the binary categories of male and female.""

"The bill also criminalizes the "promotion" of homosexuality and "abetting" and "conspiring" to engage in same-sex relations. Much of the bill's content is revived from the original "Kill the Gays" law, passed in 2013 but overturned by Uganda's high court on technical grounds. "One of the most extreme features of this new bill is that it criminalizes people simply for being who they are as well as further infringing on the rights to privacy, and freedoms of expression and association that are already"

Uganda's parliament is considering a bill that would outlaw identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. The 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act already prescribes life imprisonment for gay men who have sexual relations and, in extenuating circumstances, even death. The new measure would criminalize Ugandans for simply saying they are anything but straight and would impose up to 10 years in prison for anyone who "holds out" as a non-binary or LGBTQ identity. The bill also criminalizes the "promotion" of homosexuality and "abetting" or "conspiring" to engage in same-sex relations and revives content from the overturned 2013 law. The measure would further infringe on rights to privacy, freedom of expression, and freedom of association.

Read at LGBTQ Nation