MP David Bahati was behind the bill and told the AFP: “This is a victory for Uganda. I am glad the parliament has voted against evil.
“Because we are a God-fearing nation, we value life in a holistic way. It is because of those values that members of parliament passed this bill regardless of what the outside world thinks.”
"I am officially illegal," Ugandan gay activist Frank Mugisha said after the vote.
Bahati initially proposed legislation in 2009, and was pushing for the death penalty.
But last year he performed something of a U-turn and claimed the bill would instead focus on protecting children from gay pornography, banning gay marriage, counselling gays and punishing those who promote gay culture.
In 2012 Uganda's speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaga, said Ugandans were "demanding" the law and its passage would serve as a "Christmas gift" to its advocates.
Ugandan law previously punished homosexuality by up to 14 years in jail.
On Friday leading gay rights charity Stonewall told HuffPost UK: "Today’s news that the Ugandan parliament has approved the infamous anti-gay bill is both shocking and deeply saddening.
"This is a huge setback to LGBT activists in Uganda who now face life in prison simply for how they were born. We’ll continue to support LGBT activists in the country and we hope everyone in Britain stands in solidarity with their struggle."
Labour MP Diane Abbott told PinkNews.co.uk: “This really is dreadful news that has come from Uganda today, especially when it comes just days after the death of Nelson Mandela, who stood up for the rights of all including the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
“Now we have an African country going backwards on this important human rights issue. This new law is a licence for more killings and brutality.”
President Yoweri Museveni must sign the bill before it becomes law.
Museveni has previously been quoted in the past as saying: "If there are some homosexuals, we shall not kill or persecute them but there should be no promotion of homosexuality.
"We cannot accept promotion of homosexuality as if it is a good thing."
India Government Asks Court to Review Anti-Gay Law
India's government asked the Supreme Court on Friday to review a decision in which it upheld a colonial-era law that bans homosexual acts and makes them punishable by up to a decade in prison.
Law Minister Kapil Sibal said he hoped the court would overturn the law. "Let's hope the right to personal choices is preserved," he said.
The court is expected to take up the review petition soon.
The Supreme Court ruled last week that only lawmakers and not the courts can change the law. The ruling struck down a 2009 lower court decision that said the law violated fundamental human rights.
The Supreme Court ruling dealt a blow to gay activists who have fought for the chance to live openly in India's deeply conservative society.
Gautam Bhan, a gay activist, welcomed the government move Friday and said the Supreme Court was the forum that should decide the issue.
The law, dating back to the 1860s, when Britain ruled over South Asia, states that "whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal" can be punished by up to 10 years in prison.
According to international human rights groups, more than 70 countries have laws criminalizing homosexual conduct, with India by far the most populous.
New Jersey conducts first gay weddings - video
Posts
