Uganda to Jail Same-Sex Couples Who Marry
365Gay.com,
July 7, 2005
KAMPALA—Uganda’s parliament has
passed tough new laws against gays in the African nation. The new law makes it
a criminal offense for same-sex couples to marry.
“Parliament has adopted a proposal to amend the
Constitution so as to criminalize same-sex marriages,” Bernard Eceru, a
spokesperson for the government told the Ugandan Newspaper. Eceru said that
111 MPs voted in favor of the amendment, 17 against and three abstained.
Specific jail terms for offenders were not included in
the legislation but are to be laid out in revisions to the Ugandan penal code
at a later date, Eceru told the paper.
Gay sex is already illegal in Uganda. Hundreds of gays
and lesbians have fled the country. Many have sought refuge in the United
Kingdom but have often been denied refugee status and returned home.
Uganda’s Anglican Church is one of the leaders of the
conservative movement in that faith that has been threatening a schism over
the election of a gay bishop in the United States.
In addition to making gay marriage a criminal offence the
Ugandan Parliament removed presidential term limits.
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