Uganda cleric shows gay porn film

The pastor showed the pornography to about 300 people in his church

An anti-gay clergyman in Uganda has screened gay pornography in his church, in an attempt to gain support for proposed anti-homosexuality laws.

"We are in the process of legislation and we have to educate ourselves about what homosexuals do," Pastor Martin Ssempa told the BBC.

Gay rights activists suggested the pastor "needed medical help".

The anti-gay bill, which proposes the death penalty for some gay people, has caused outrage around the world.

US President Barack Obama described the proposals as "odious".

Moral defender?

Homosexuality is already against the law in Uganda and punishable by lengthy jail terms.

Anti-gay rallies have been held in Uganda

But supporters of the bill, including the pastor, want the punishments ramped up.

"In Africa, what you do in your bedroom affects our clan, it affects our tribe, it affects our nation," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

He showed the pornography to about 300 people in his church.

The pastor had planned to lead a march in the capital, Kampala, but was forced to abandon the plans because of "security concerns".

Monica Mbaru, from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, roundly condemned the pastor's behaviour.

"You cannot screen pornographic material to your followers and then want to argue that you are upholding society's morals," she told the BBC.

"I think we are dealing with someone who needs medical help."

The anti-gay proposals garnered wide support among Ugandan MPs, but President Yoweri Museveni recently hinted that he was coming under international pressure to scrap the private member's bill.

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