Being LGBTQ shouldn’t be made a crime, according to Museveni.

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President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has requested lawmakers to clarify in a proposed anti-homosexuality law that it is not illegal to merely identify as gay in an effort to soften a proposal that has attracted criticism from around the world.

The proposed bill, which may be among the strictest anti-LGBTQ laws in the world, was overwhelmingly approved by the East African nation’s lawmakers last month and was forwarded to the president for ratification.

Being LGBTQ shouldn't be made a crime, according to Museveni. Afro News Wire

The proposed law would make a wide variety of homosexual behaviour illegal, including encouraging or supporting the lifestyle, and it would carry the death penalty for so-called “aggravated homosexuality.”

The law has drawn harsh criticism from human rights activists, Western governments, and businesses.

The letter Museveni wrote to the parliament’s speaker on Tuesday outlining his justifications for returning the measure and the amendments he desired was read aloud to lawmakers by Thomas Tayebwa, the deputy speaker of the house.

Museveni wrote that it was important to make a distinction between those who claim to be homosexual and those who actually carry out homosexual practices.

Being LGBTQ shouldn't be made a crime, according to Museveni. Afro News Wire

“The proposed law should be clear so that what is thought to be criminalized is not the state of one having a deviant proclivity but rather the actions of one acting on that deviancy,” Museveni wrote in the letter.

“The bill should be reviewed and include a provision that clearly states… a person who is believed or alleged or suspected of being a homosexual who has not committed a sexual act with another person of the same sex does not commit an offence.”

Additionally, he urged lawmakers to eliminate clauses requiring people to report gay activity because doing so would pose “constitutional challenges” and lead to social unrest.

Last Monday, Museveni urged lawmakers to “look into the issue of rehabilitation” and amend the legislation. The mandatory death penalty should also be eliminated from the statute, according to the deputy attorney general of the nation.

Being LGBTQ shouldn't be made a crime, according to Museveni. Afro News Wire

Tayebwa referred the bill back to the legislative body’s legal affairs committee, which will examine it, produce a report, and send it back to the whole House for more discussion and approval.

It will be sent back to the president for approval after being passed by the entire House once more.

As a result of a colonial-era rule that makes sex activities “against the order of nature” unlawful, homosexuality is already prohibited in the East African nation. Life in jail is the penalty for that crime.

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