Ugandan President to Veto Antigay Bill

The president of Uganda has said that he will veto a bill making its way through parliament that would severely punish people for aiding or abetting homosexual activity.

A state department official told the DC Agenda that President Yoweri Museveni pledged to diplomats that he would reject the antigay bill. The legislation, introduced by legislator David Bahati, would impose the death penalty on repeat violators of the already standing ban on gay sex, as well as on those who have same-sex relations while HIV-positive.

Museveni told U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs Johnnie Carson on two separate occasions -- October 24 and December 4 -- that he wouldn't support the bill, according to the DC Agenda.

The legislation is scheduled for a final reading in January.