var addthis_config = {“data_track_addressbar”:true};Uganda‘s infamous and internationally criticized anti-gay bill mandating life in prison for acts of homosexuality has likely been signed into law. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill (AHB) likely was signed by President Yoweri Museveni today, according to a report by Michael Lavers of The Washington Blade.
“Reports have begun to emerge that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday signed a bill that would impose a life sentence upon anyone found guilty of repeated same-sex sexual acts,” Lavers reports.
Frank Mugisha, executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, on his Twitter page cited “reliable, but not confirmed sources†who indicated Museveni signed the so-called Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
On Friday, Museveni announced he would sign the AHB into law. Video was subsequently released showing Museveni telling Ugandan lawmakers in his own party — to cheers and applause — that he would sign the legislation.
WATCH: Uganda ‘Not Slaughtering’ Gays, So ‘Of Course We’re Tolerant’ Says Ethics Minister
The Blade also notes the timing of a virulently anti-gay Republican U.S. Senator’s visit to Uganda. Sen. James Inhofe, who famously said on the floor of the Senate that his family has “never had a homosexual,” met with President Museveni exactly four weeks ago.
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Sen. Inhofe, second from left. President Museveni, third from left.
“A picture on the Ugandan government’s Facebook page shows U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and other American lawmakers met with Museveni on Jan. 23,” the Blade notes.
“I certainly disagree with the controversial legislation that Uganda may enact in the coming days,†Inhofe told the Blade on Thursday in a statement, referring specifically to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. “As I’ve said before, it is my hope that the country will abandon this unjust and harsh legislation.â€
Meanwhile, CNN reported yesterday that “Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has just signed that bill, according to the minister, but has not yet handed it over to parliament.”
And Gay Star News adds this disquieting observation:
But even if Museveni does not sign the bill and deliver it to parliament tomorrow, as widely predicted, it may still become law as the parliament can put it on to the statute books without his signature.
Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill requires life in prison for “aggravated homosexuality,” and demands that anyone who knows of any gay person report them to authorities of face jail themselves. It also provides for fines or jail for anyone supporting the civil rights of LGBT people or helping them, for example, with housing or transportation.
Image via Wikimedia