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LEARN MOREPosted: 5:29 p.m. EDT May 29, 2023
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz spoke out against a new law signed by the president of Uganda in east Africa that would punish its LGBTQ citizens, including allowing for the death penalty in some cases.
On Monday Uganda's president Yoweri Museveni approved one of the most anti-gay pieces of legislation in the world that has been condemned by Western nations and the UN.
Homosexuality was already illegal in Uganda, but the country's new law heightens penalties, including allowing for the death penalty.
Under the new legislation, someone deemed to have violated its language describing "attempted aggravated homosexually" could face up to 14 years in prison.
The law also focuses on what the legislative language describes as "serial offenders," and the transmission of HIV/AIDS through sex could lead to capital punishment. People in Uganda could also face up to 20 years in prison for what lawmakers called "promoting" homosexuality.
Sen. Cruz called the move by the Ugandan government "horrific & wrong" and said, "ALL civilized nations should join together in condemning this human rights abuse."
The Texas senator said, "Any law criminalizing homosexuality or imposing the death penalty for 'aggravated homosexuality' is grotesque & an abomination.
The U.S., the UK and the European Union all condemned the law's passage calling it an affront to equality, saying all people in Uganda should be able to live free of persecution.
President Joe Biden said in a statement Monday, "Since the Anti-Homosexuality Act was introduced, reports of violence and discrimination targeting Ugandans who are or are perceived to be LGBTQI+ are on the rise."
The statement continued, "Innocent Ugandans now fear going to hospitals, clinics, or other establishments to receive life-saving medical care lest they be targeted by hateful reprisals."
