This Is What a Gay Pride Parade Looks Like in One of the World's Least Gay-Friendly Countries

In Uganda, one of the least gay-friendly countries in the world, the homosexual community is still stepping out, holding a pride parade Saturday.

A Ugandan man with a sticker on his face takes part on August 9, 2014 in the annual gay pride in Entebbe, Uganda. Uganda's attorney general has filed an appeal against the constitutional court's decision to overturn tough new anti-gay laws, his deputy said on August 9. Branded draconian and 'abominable' by rights groups but popular domestically, the six-month old law which ruled that homosexuals would be jailed for life was scrapped on a technicality by the constitutional court on August 1. Isaac Kasamani/AFP/Getty Images

As the AP reported:

Scores of Ugandan homosexuals and their supporters are holding a gay pride parade on a beach in the lakeside town of Entebbe.

The parade is their first public event since a Ugandan court invalidated an anti-gay law that was widely condemned by some Western governments and human rights watchdogs.

According to one gay activist at the parade, roughly 200 people were expected to attend, and while some marched openly, others wore masks to avoid being identified.

Ugandan activists hold colorful garlands as they take part on August 9, 2014 in the first gay-pride march since the anti-gay law was overturned, in Entebbe, Uganda. Uganda's attorney general has filed an appeal against the constitutional court's decision to overturn tough new anti-gay laws, his deputy said on August 9. Branded draconian and 'abominable' by rights groups but popular domestically, the six-month old law which ruled that homosexuals would be jailed for life was scrapped on a technicality by the constitutional court on August 1. Isaac Kasamani/AFP/Getty Images

Uganda has received international attention over harsh anti-gay legislation, which initially included the death penalty for some homosexual acts.

Western nations threatened to withdraw aid over the issue, but in December the Ugandan parliament passed a bill that imposed a penalty of life imprisonment for "aggravated homosexuality," which includes sex acts involving an HIV positive person or sex with minors.

In February, President Yoweri Museveni signed the bill into law, but just this month a Ugandan court struck down the anti-gay law on technical grounds.

A transgender Ugandan poses in front of a rainbow flag during the 3rd Annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride celebrations in Entebbe, Uganda, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014. Scores of Ugandan homosexuals and their supporters are holding a gay pride parade on a beach in the lakeside town of Entebbe. The parade is their first public event since a Ugandan court invalidated an anti-gay law that was widely condemned by some Western governments and rights watchdogs. AP Photo/Rebecca Vassie

Uganda's anti-gay legislation has received mixed reactions from religious communities.

"Our reaction from the church is very clear, we don’t support homosexuality,” John Baptist Kauta, secretary-general of the Uganda Episcopal Conference, told Catholic News Service.

However, the conference of Catholic bishops did not support the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality."

“The bishops were not in favor of that,” Kauta said. “We were for compassion, and we believe (homosexuals) can change.”

Some have noted the involvement of American evangelicals in Uganda's push against homosexuality, with the Daily Beast reporting that "the ideology underlying the bill comes from American conservatives."

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