Uganda May Execute HIV-Positive Gays

A proposed law in Uganda calls for gays to be imprisoned for life or even sentenced to death.

The Times of London reports Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 is making its way through Parliament after receiving its first reading last month.

According to the bill, a person who is convicted of gay sex is liable for life imprisonment and death for a second offense. It also states that if a person engaging in gay sex is also HIV positive he/she would be sentenced to death under the heading "aggravated homosexuality."

In addition, the bill proposes seven-year prison sentences for discussing homosexuality and for anyone who defends the rights of gays and lesbians, and a three-year prison sentence for anyone who is aware of evidence of homosexuality and fails to report it to the police within 24 hours.

It is believed that the bill has a good chance of passing.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper have condemned the proposal telling Uganda that the legislation is unacceptable.

Homosexuality is illegal in most African nations according to Human Rights Watch , which organized a demonstration in Burundi in August to protest a new law in that country that makes "sexual relations with persons of the same sex" illegal and punishable by up to two years in prison.