The Biden administration strongly condemned the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that the Ugandan Parliament passed this week, vowing to protect LGBTQ+ rights globally at all costs. If President Yoweri Museveni signs the bill into law, it would make LGBTQ+ identity illegal and punishable by up to life in prison and, in some cases, the death penalty.
When theGrio first asked during Tuesday’s White House press briefing whether the administration was concerned about the bill and a summit being held next week in Uganda intended to bolster similar bills across the African continent, strategic communications spokesperson John Kirby said, “Of course.”
“President Biden has been nothing but consistent about his foundational belief in human rights and [that] LGBTQ+ rights are human rights,” said Kirby. “We’re never going to shy away [or] be bashful about speaking up for those rights and for individuals to live as they deem fit, as they want to live, and that’s something that’s a core part of our foreign policy and will remain so.”
A source with knowledge of U.S. discussions in the region told theGrio that U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield spoke to Museveni shortly after the bill was passed to express condemnation. The Ugandan leader claimed he didn’t know the bill was going to pass in Parliament, the source said.
During Wednesday’s press briefing, Kirby went further in the administration’s criticism of the bill — even leaving the door open for sanctions. “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 enacted,” said Kirby, a retired U.S. Navy admiral and former Obama State Department spokesperson.
The Biden official said economic sanctions, which would likely cut critical PEPFAR funding for health assistance, would be “really unfortunate”…
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