Lawmakers in Uganda on Tuesday approved
a new version of a controversial bill that criminalizes gay sex.
Last month, President Yoweri Museveni
returned the bill to the national assembly, asking them to remove a
clause that criminalized identifying as LGBTQ.
Gay sex is currently illegal in Uganda,
where violators face life imprisonment.
The new bill would expand on the law by
imposing the death penalty on a person convicted of “aggravated
homosexuality,” which is defined as sex involving a minor.
The bill also criminalizes people who
are HIV-positive, making it a crime for them to engage in gay sex.
Violators could face the death penalty or 14 years in prison.
Even attempting to have sex with a
member of the same sex is punishable by up to 10 years in prison,
according to the legislation.
The bill also calls for a 20-year
prison sentence for those advocating for LGBTQ rights.
A similar bill approved in 2014 that
imposed the death penalty was struck down by a court on technical
grounds.
According to the AP, the United States
has threatened economic sanctions on Uganda if the bill becomes law.