Obama: Anti-Gay Bill Step Backwards for Ugandans

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- President Barack Obama on Sunday harshly criticized plans by Uganda to further criminalize homosexuality, saying it would "complicate our valued relationship."

Defending gay rights around the world, as he has done at home, Obama said a bill that President Yoweri Museveni has pledged to sign will be a "step backward" for all Ugandans and reflect poorly on its commitment to protect the human rights of its people. It also marks a serious setback for anyone committed to freedom, justice and equal rights, Obama said.

Obama said the United States stands for the protection of fundamental freedoms and universal human rights and believes people everywhere should be treated equally.

"That is why I am so deeply disappointed that Uganda will shortly enact legislation that would criminalize homosexuality," Obama said in a written statement issued from Southern California, where he was spending the weekend. "The Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda, once law, will be more than an affront and a danger to the gay community in Uganda. It will be a step backward for all Ugandans and reflect poorly on Uganda's commitment to protecting the human rights of its people. It also will mark a serious setback for all those around the world who share a commitment to freedom, justice and equal rights."

"Enacting this legislation will complicate our valued relationship with Uganda," he said, adding that the U.S. has conveyed that message to Museveni.

Homosexuality already is illegal in Uganda under a colonial-era law that criminalizes sex acts "against the order of nature."

Museveni said last week that he plans to sign the new legislation, which has alarmed rights activists because it prescribes life imprisonment for acts of "aggravated homosexuality." Those acts are defined as sex acts where one of the partners is infected with HIV, sex with minors or the disabled and repeated sexual offenses among consenting adults.

It was unclear when Museveni will sign the bill. Ugandan lawmakers passed it in December and Museveni since has been under heavy pressure to enact it. The measure enjoys broad support among Christian clerics and lawmakers who say it is needed to deter Western homosexuals from "recruiting" Ugandan children.

Susan Rice, the U.S. national security adviser, said Sunday on Twitter that she spoke "at length" with Museveni on Saturday night and urged him not to sign the bill.

Uganda is one of many sub-Saharan African countries where homosexuals face severe discrimination, if not jail terms. Nigeria last month increased penalties against gays there.

Obama has made support for gay rights a hallmark of his presidency.

He supports same-sex marriage and his administration eliminated the Clinton-era ban on openly gay service in the military.

For his State of the Union address last month, Obama included basketball player Jason Collins, the first male athlete on a major U.S. sports team to announce that he is gay, among guests chosen to sit with first lady Michelle Obama. Obama has said Collins' announcement marked a moment of progress for the gay community.

Obama also welcomed last week's announcement by a University of Missouri football player that he is gay.

He also has spoken out against a Russian law banning gay propaganda and included openly gay athletes on the U.S. delegations to the opening and closing ceremonies at the Sochi Olympics.