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Uganda passed a law on this week making it a crime to identify as LGBTQ, handing authorities broad powers to target gay Ugandans who already face legal discrimination and mob violence,

NBC News reported.

While more than 30 African countries, including Uganda, already ban same-sex relations, the new law appears to be the first to outlaw merely identifying LGBTQ, according to Human Rights Watch.

The legislation imposes prison sentences for people identifying as homosexual and life in prison for those who engage in gay sex. It also bans individuals and organizations “promoting and abetting” homosexuality, as well as conspiracy to engage in same-sex relations, Sky News reported Wednesday.

The anti-gay bill also orders death sentences for so-called “aggravated homosexuality,” which includes sexual abuse of a child, a disabled or vulnerable person, or in cases where a victim of homosexual assault is infected with a life-long illness, the BBC noted.

Supporters said the bill is aimed at protecting children and traditional values in Uganda. But critics and some legislators warn that the draft law was “ill-conceived” and unconstitutional because it “criminalizes individuals instead of conduct.”

Advocates fear that the bill would lead to more attacks on gay people.

President Yoweri Museveni will now decide whether to sign it into law. Museveni – a close ally to the West – has made a number of anti-LGBTQ+ comments in recent weeks and has criticized Western countries for pressuring Uganda over the issue.

In 2014, Uganda’s constitutional court struck down a similar bill that would have strengthened laws against the LGBTQ+ community.

That bill would have made it illegal to advocate and sponsor LGBTQ+ groups and activities, as well as reiterating that homosexual acts should be punishable by life in prison, and was highly criticized by Western nations.