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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Petition opposes Uganda gay bill | Petition opposes Uganda gay bill |
| (29 minutes later) | |
| Campaigners opposing Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill have taken an online petition to parliament, signed by 450,000 people from around the world. | Campaigners opposing Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill have taken an online petition to parliament, signed by 450,000 people from around the world. |
| The petition is the latest attempt to halt the bill, which carries the death penalty for some homosexual acts. | The petition is the latest attempt to halt the bill, which carries the death penalty for some homosexual acts. |
| US President Barack Obama has called the proposed legislation "odious". | US President Barack Obama has called the proposed legislation "odious". |
| The European Union has also condemned the bill, as did Britain's Africa minister, Baroness Kinnock, when she visited Uganda last week. | The European Union has also condemned the bill, as did Britain's Africa minister, Baroness Kinnock, when she visited Uganda last week. |
| The petition was delivered by counsellors, who could face jail for failing to inform the authorities if somebody confided their homosexual activities to them. | The petition was delivered by counsellors, who could face jail for failing to inform the authorities if somebody confided their homosexual activities to them. |
| ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY BILL Death penalty For "serial offenders", HIV-positive "offenders", or those engaging in homosexual activity with a minor or disabled person Life in prison For homosexual acts Seven years in prison For helping, counselling, or encouraging a person to engage in a homosexual act Fear over gay death-penalty plans | |
| "This is a bill that requires various members of community, family members, service providers and spiritual mentors to "spy" on one another," a letter accompanying the petition reads. | "This is a bill that requires various members of community, family members, service providers and spiritual mentors to "spy" on one another," a letter accompanying the petition reads. |
| The campaign is being led by Anglican priest Canon Gideon Byamugisha and he has been joined by HIV/Aids activists and civic organisations. | The campaign is being led by Anglican priest Canon Gideon Byamugisha and he has been joined by HIV/Aids activists and civic organisations. |
| Campaign group Avaaz, which organised the online petition, hopes to get one million signatures. | Campaign group Avaaz, which organised the online petition, hopes to get one million signatures. |
| Homosexual acts are already illegal in Uganda - the bill proposes increasing the penalties for homosexual acts from 14 years in prison to life. | |
| It also proposes the death penalty for a new offence of "aggravated homosexuality" - defined as when one of the participants is a minor, HIV-positive, disabled or a "serial offender". | |
| The government has indicated it expects the final bill to be watered down. | |
| However, it is a private member's bill and so the government says it cannot directly intervene before parliament votes on it. | |
| The bill's sponsor David Bahati says he is trying to defend Uganda's culture. |