Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has apparently connected the dots between the hideously repressive Anti-Homosexuality Bill under consideration in Parliament and the gajillion dollars in assistance that Uganda receives annually from liberal western governments.

The bill (which I posted on previously here) would expand the repertoire of Uganda’s institutionalized homophobia considerably and embroil snarky bloggers everywhere in a race to coin a catchy slang term for the act of failing to report another’s gayness “to the relevant authorities within twenty-four hours of having first had that knowledge.”

As recently as two months ago, Museveni seemed to be on board with neutralizing the gay menace, cautioning Uganda’s youth to watch out for “European homosexuals [] recruiting in Africa.” However, the Ugandan government has come under substantial pressure from both NGOs and donor governments, including the U.S. (motto: “America – A Marginally Better Place to Be Gay than Uganda”).

Museveni’s comments today, as reported by AFP, suggest that he’s gotten the message:

“Because it is a foreign policy issue, it is not just our internal politics, and we must handle it in a way which does not compromise our principles but also takes into account our foreign policy interests.”

The bill’s sponsor, Parliament Member David Bahati, has so far refused to withdraw it. However, as this letter to the New York Times points out, Museveni undoubtedly has the power to compel Parliament to get rid of the bill. So cross your fingers that we can soon all settle back into complaining about Uganda’s corrupt government and lack of democratic process and forget this whole thing ever happened.

Well, it’s official. Absolutely nobody thinks Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill is a good idea.

The bill, which would double-plus-criminalize (yes, that’s the technical term for criminalizing something that’s already criminal) homosexuality, criminalize failure on the part of a relevant authority to report another’s homosexuality (!!), and mandate the death penalty for acts of”aggravated homosexuality,” has already been decried by France, the U.S., Human Rights Watch, and a bunch of people outside the Ugandan mission to the U.N. today.

But now gay-conversion-superstars Exodus International (motto: “Jesus is the antidote to gay”) have added their voices to the chorus of condemnation. According to the gay intarwebbers at queerty.com (warning: site’s ads may be NSFW) Exodus’s concern is just business: If Uganda’s gays are executed, they lose a major market for Jesus-based conversion.

Our old pal (Ugandan Ethics and Integrity Minister) Buturo blames human rights for the resistance to the bill, noting that he is “really getting tired of this phrase human rights.” You and me both, buddy.