Uganda passes one of world's most extreme anti-LGBTQ laws, US fumes

Uganda's parliament passed a law on Tuesday making it a crime to identify as LGBTQ, handing authorities broad powers to target gay Ugandans who already face legal discrimination and mob violence.

Uganda's anti-gay bill passed on Tuesday is concerning and represents one of the most extreme actions taken against the LGBTQ community in the world, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday

Gays and lesbians and others supporting their cause wear masks to preserve their anonymity as they stage a rare protest against Uganda's tough stance against homosexuality. (AP file)

Uganda's parliament passed a law on Tuesday making it a crime to identify as LGBTQ, handing authorities broad powers to target gay Ugandans who already face legal discrimination and mob violence.

Frank Mugisha, one of a few Ugandans who live openly as gay, told Reuters he was scared the law will trigger "mass arrests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) persons and mob violence toward LGBTQ communities."

"LGBTQ persons are going to fear going to health centres for services... there's going to be a lot of trauma and cases of mental health that will lead to a lot of suicide," he said.

The US has also warned of possible economic repercussions if the law takes effect. "We would have to take a look at whether or not there might be repercussions that we would have to take, perhaps in an economic way, should this law actually get passed and enacted," news agency AFP quoted National Security Council spokesman John Kirby as saying.

Same-sex relations were already illegal in Uganda, but supporters of the new law say it is needed to punish a broader array of LGBTQ activities, which they say threaten traditional values in the conservative and religious East African nation.

It includes steep sentences that include death for "aggravated homosexuality" and life in prison for same-sex relations. Aggravated homosexuality involves same-sex relations with people under the age of 18 or when the perpetrator is HIV positive, among other categories, according to the law.

The legislation will next be sent to President Yoweri Museveni, who has repeatedly denounced homosexuality, to be signed into law.