Uganda passes world's harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, causes international backlash
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed anti-LGBTQ legislation into law on May 29 that includes the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" and for "serial offenders." The law also includes a 20-year sentence for promoting homosexuality.

Countries across the world have responded, including legislators on both sides of the aisle in the United States. "This Uganda law is horrific & wrong," tweeted Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

President Biden has threatened to cut American aid to Uganda. "The enactment of Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act is a tragic violation of universal human rights," Biden said in a White House statement, which also calls the act a "shameful... development in an alarming trend of human rights abuses and corruption in Uganda."

The UN Human Rights Office said that it is "appalled." In a joint statement, the UN AIDS program, the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and the Global Fund said they were "deeply concerned" about the law's impact.

Other political leaders stated their support for the Anti-Homosexuality Act and President Museveni. "Kenya is following you in this endeavor to save humanity," tweeted George Kaluma, a Kenyan parliament member who submitted anti-Queer legislation earlier this year.

"It's not genetic. It's not hormonal. It is a psychological disorientation where somebody, because of some experience, hates the people you should love and loves the people you should not allow," said Museveni of homosexuality during an address after the signing.

"If you try to recruit people into a disorientation, then we go for you. We punish you," he added.