Merry Xmas: Uganda Promises to Pass New Anti-Gay Bill By Holiday

Lawmakers from Uganda want to pass a revised anti-gay law as a "Christmas gift" for Ugandans, after a previous measure was recently nixed over legal technicalities, Reuters reports.

Uganda's parliament passed a measure last year that would punish those who had gay sex with life in prison, but the draft law caused international outrage, causing United States and other countries to halt aid to Uganda. A court overturned the bill in August, however.

It was reported last month that lawmakers were determined to hammer out a new measure on Nov. 4 and hopefully pass the bill as soon as possible.

Abdu Latif Ssebagala, a member of a parliamentary committee formed in September to draft a new version of the anti-gay bill, spoke with Reuters and said he finished writing the measure and was ready to present it to parliament for a debate.

"The draft is ready and we have strengthened the law, especially in areas of promotion and luring children. Next week we expect to meet the speaker to fix a date for the re-tabling to parliament," he told Reuters.

Ssebagala said the committee wants the bill passed in the next few weeks so Uganda's citizens "can celebrate it as a Christmas gift."

Reuters reports Uganda President Yoweri Museveni said he wanted the bill changed so it would remove penalties for consenting adults but Ssebagala said the new version still punishes adults who consent to gay sex.

"This bill is inconsistent with fundamental freedoms and human rights ... accepting it would be a display of weakness rather than leadership," Asia Russell, Uganda-based director of international policy at Health GAP, an HIV advocacy group, told Reuters.