Members of the European Parliament's Intergroup on LGBT Rights have strongly denounced the "Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009" pending in Uganda's Parliament.

"The proposed legislation includes provisions to punish those alleged to be lesbian, gay or bisexual with life imprisonment and, in some cases, the death penalty; any parent or teacher failing to report their LGBT children or pupils to the authorities with a fine equivalent to $2,650 or three years' imprisonment; and landowners providing shelter to LGBT people with seven years' imprisonment," the MEPs said Nov. 9.

Intergroup Co-President Michael Cashman called the bill "deeply worrying."

Co-President Ulrike Lunacek said: "I strongly appeal to Ugandan politicians to be as courageous as they were when overthrowing the Idi Amin regime, and not to ban Ugandan citizens from being free to love whomever they wish. Homosexuality is nothing un-African; it has existed at all times and in all cultures."