People stand against the law (via Twitter/@tortugadiaz)

The ban does not just criminalize gays; people that do not report homosexuals can be sentenced to prison as well. 

Additionally, tourists and visitors are included in the country’s anti-gay bans as well. 

Originally, the bill was set to include a death sentence (such as when the person committing the act is HIV positive), but this was then reduced to a life sentence. 

President Barack Obama referred to the law as “odious,” as well as numerous gay rights groups calling Uganda “the worst place to be gay.”

The country defends itself claiming they are a “God-fearing nation” and that they “need to value life in a holistic way.” 

The country’s intolerance has been rampant for years. A gay rights activist was murdered in 2011, as well as local newspapers printing names and addresses of homosexual citizens. 

The country’s parliament may have passed the bill, but President Yoweri Museveni must still sign it into law. 

Reach Executive Producer Jillian Morabito here.