A bill that would make people who identify as gay or a sexual minority a criminal offense has been approved by Uganda's parliament.
If President Yoweri Museveni signs the bill into law, individuals could face lengthy prison sentences.
Friends, family, and members of the community would be required to report people in same-sex relationships to the authorities under the proposed legislation.
In the country in east Africa, homosexual behavior is already against the law.
However, the bill aims to go even further by criminalizing people based on their sexual identity. On Tuesday, Uganda's parliament approved the bill, which was first presented earlier this month.
It will currently go to President Museveni who can decide to utilize his denial - and keep up with great relations with Western benefactors and financial backers - or sign it into regulation.
Additionally, the bill stipulates that anyone convicted of grooming or trafficking children for homosexual activities faces life in prison.
In addition, they risk being prosecuted and imprisoned if they publish, broadcast, or distribute pro-gay media content or literature, or if they support or fund LGBT rights organizations or activities.
The bill's premise was rejected by a small group of Ugandan lawmakers on a committee that was looking into it. They argue that the country's Penal Code Act already covers the offenses it seeks to criminalize.
LGBT people and activists in Uganda have stated that the country's anti-homosexual sentiment exposes them to physical and online violence, and that the bill may have far-reaching effects for Ugandans as a whole.
A similar act that had tightened laws against the LGBT community was overturned in 2014 by Uganda's constitutional court.
It included reiterating that homosexual acts should be punished with life imprisonment and making it illegal to promote and fund LGBT groups and activities.
Because the legislation was passed by parliament without the required quorum, the court decided that it should be overturned. Western nations had voiced their widespread disapproval of the law.
Same-sex relations are prohibited in around 30 African nations, where many individuals maintain moderate strict and social qualities.
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